Case law
Introduction
This guide offers an overview of resources for finding international case law.
See the guide Jurisprudentie for Dutch case law. Refer to the research guides for case law resources in a specific field of law.
Do you need help or do you have suggestions or comments? Please contact us.
Databases
- Beck-online
German law library containing, among other things, case law (journals e.g. NJW(-RR), AP, NVwZ). Contains BeckRS (Rechtsprechung), BeckEuRS (Rechtsprechung des EuGH, EuG und EuGöD), BFH-Urteile, FG-Urteile, Anhängige Verfahren, Erledigte Verfahren, Urteile des Gemeinsamen Senats der obersten Gerichtshöfe des Bundes and Case Law in International Insolvency Law. - European e-Justice Portal - Member State case law
Contains an overview of freely accessible databases with decisions and opinions of the various courts of each EU member state. Use the entry Judicial systems for an overview of the organization and the relevant procedures of the courts of the member states. - Google Scholar
Contains full-text published opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court (1791 to present), Federal District, Appellate, Tax, and Bankruptcy Courts (1923 to present) and State Appellate and Supreme Courts (1950 to present). Includes ‘how cited’ function. - vLex Justis - International Law Reports
Regular and systematic reporting in English of decisions of international courts and arbitrators as well as judgments of national courts. Contains over 10,000 cases reported in full or digest form since 1919. See also the alphabetical Consolidated Tables of Cases for volumes 126-180 and for volumes 1-125. - Lexadin - Courts & Cases
An overview of around 160 countries and their court(s) and juridical system. N.B. This site can be useful but - please beware - it contains a lot of ‘broken links’. - Westlaw
Access to cases in Westlaw UK (from 1865), US Research (Federal & State from 1658) as well as case law from Australia, Hong Kong and Canada, IP and International Arbitration cases. Full-text access to legal journals. - WorldLII - Courts & Case Law
Links to court websites and case law databases of all countries. N.B. This site can be useful but - please beware - it contains a lot of ‘broken links’.
Translated case law
Dutch case law is rarely translated. If a translation is available it is probably not official.
You can try to find an (unofficial) translation with a search engine on the internet: translations or English summaries are sometimes published on law blogs. It is not recommended to translate a case using online translation software e.g. Google Translate or Babylon.
Dependent on the field of law, some translated cases can be found in Justis.com - International Law Reports or ILDC (International Law in Domestic Courts).
Sometimes English summaries of case law are published in the Netherlands International Law Review (public and private international law) or the Uniform Law Review (transnational law).