University of Kent

Special Legal Topics

Arbitration

• American Arbitration Association
• Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
• CPR - International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution
• ICC International Court Of Arbitration
• ICSID - International Centre for the Settlement of Investment. Close links with the World Bank
• International commercial arbitration links from D'Angelo Law Library, University of Chicago (now very dated)
• Kluwer Arbitration Blog - comments from experts from law firms, arbitration institutions and academia on recent developments
• Permanent Court of Arbitration

Banking and International financial regulation

• Bank of England
• Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
• Bretton Woods project - set up to scrutinise and influence the World Bank and IMF
• Collapse of Enron: a biblography - from LLRX
• Doing Business Law Library - law library at the World Bank which includes banking law from many countries
• European Central Bank
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
• Financial Services Authority
• Guide to financial sources on the internet - by Marcus Zillman from LLRX
• International Monetary Fund
• IOSCO - International Organization of Securities Commissions
• Rethinking Finance - international civil society organisations commenting and providing information on alternative ideas and analysis
• UNCITRAL

Civil rights and legal advice

• Campaign for Freedom of Information
• Children's Legal Centre - charity concerned with law and policy affecting children and young people
• Citizens Advice - charity helping people resolve money, legal and other problems by providing free advice and information, and by influencing policymakers.
• Equality and Human Rights Commission
• Friends, Families and Travellers - addresses problems facing the traveller and gypsy community
• Garden Court Chambers - useful links to statutes, cases and helpful websites
• Institute of Race Relations - educational charity researching, publishing and collecting resources on race relations throughout the world
• JUSTICE - all party law reform and human rights. Organisation working to improve the legal system and the quality of justice.
• Law Centres Federation - supports and provides law centres in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Legal Action Group Charity campaigning to promote equal access to justice
• Liberty - civil liberties and human rights organisation
• Public Law Project national charity aiming to improve access to public law remedies.
• Statewatch - European network for justice, civil liberties, accountability and openness
• Traveller Law Research Unit - legacy website concentrating on travellers in the UK and Ireland

Consumer credit

• Doing Business Law Library - includes credit laws from many countries
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
• Financial Services Authority - UK body with useful library of past publications and research
• Financial Supervision - from the Finnish Financial Supervision Authority
• Identity Theft: annotated bibliography - US focus from LLRX.com

Constitutional law

• Canadian Forum on Civil Justice - useful source of information, including bibliographic database on civil justice
• Constitution Finder - database of constitutions, charters, amendments and other documents
• Federal Trust for Education and Research - think tank which studies the interactions between regional, national, European and global levels of government
• Inter-Parliamentary Union - information on national parliaments across the world.
• Researching constitutional law on the internet - good, but dated listing
• The Constitution Unit - at University College London. Constitutional reform and comparative studies

Contract law

• Consumer Law - European and Danish material from the National Consumer Agency of Denmark
• CORI - Contracting and Organizations Research Initiative at the University of Missouri
• Department of Trade & Industry - site includes consultations, publications, and links to other agencies.
• Health & Consumer Protection Directorate-General - of the European Union.
• Office of Fair Trading - includes reports, consultations papers etc. and articles from the journal Fair Trading

Criminal justice

Starting points

• Crime reduction - official site with information on government initiatives for community safety, aimed at the general public as well as crime prevention practitioners.
• The Criminal Justice System - (England and Wales) gathers together all official agencies involved in criminal justice
• Criminology links - (subject based) from the Radzinowicz Library at the University of Cambridge
• Department of Constitutional Affairs: Criminal Matters - gathers together official sources for the administration of criminal justice 
• Garden Court Chambers - useful links to statutes, cases and helpful websites
• Home Office - the site includes the Research, Development and Statistics Directorate with a mass of useful publications, including Home Office Research Studies
• UK criminal justice web links - Centre for Criminal Justice Studies, Leeds University.  Also includes worldwide links

Other resources

• Australian Institute of Criminology - includes full text articles and research reports as well as extensive information on criminal justice in Australia
• British Crime Survey
• Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice - US site. Policy research.
• Coroners' law resources - a useful site with comprehensive information on coroners, compiled at King's College London
• Crimes against Children Research Center - US site
• Criminal Cases Review Commission - independent public body set up to investigate suspected miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Criminal Courts Review - the official site for Lord Justice Auld's review of the workings of the the criminal justice system (September 2001)
• Crown Prosecution Service - the site includes news, reports, press releases and statistics
• European Judicial Network - Protocols, agreements and reports on European co-operation on criminal justice from the EU and Council of Europe. Includes full text of relevant Conventions.
• Federal Justice Statistics Resource Center - information about suspects and defendants in the US criminal justice system
• HEUNI European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control. Affiliated to the UN. Includes 'National Criminal Justice Profiles' of countries in Europe and North America, as well as full text working papers and a quarterly newsletter.
• HM Prison Service - the Resource Centre includes publications, documents and statistics
• The Home Office Research Development & Statistics Directorate - statistical information on all aspects of criminal justice, details of the Home Office's research programme with links to publications
• Howard League for Penal Reform - UK penal reform charity
• Independent Police Complaints Commission - non departmental public body funded by the UK Home Office
• Kent Criminal Justice Centre at the University of Kent contains links to resources
• NACRO - National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders./li>
• Penal Law: A Web - from Buffalo Criminal Law Center
• Prison Policy Initiative
• PrisonReform.org - links to government sites, campaign groups, support groups, charities and other organisations related to prison, prison reform and penal reform
• Proceedings of the Old Bailey 1674 to 1834 - an online database of over 100,000 criminal trials, with digitised original documents and detailed indexing
• Restorative Justice Online- US site.
• Sentencing Guidelines - encourages consistency in sentencing throughout the courts of England and Wales and supports sentencers in their decision making
• Serious Fraud Office - includes case notes and press releases
• Serious Organised Crime Agency - includes information on its work in serious crime, including drugs, financial crime, immigration, firearms and terrorism.
• World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems - from US Bureau of Statistics - now quite dated.
• UNICRI - United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute

Online journals with freely available content

• Internet Journal of Criminology - free access journal published by New University Press at Nottingham Trent University
• Research and Public Policy - series of papers.  Mainly Australian
• Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice - mainly Australian 

Employment law

• ACAS - Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service improving organisations and working life through better employment relations
• British Employment Law - for employers, employees, personnel managers etc.
• Disabled People - Directgov pages for disabled people
• Disability Rights Commission - an independent body set up by Act of Parliament to stop discrimination and promote equality of opportunity for disable people
• EIROnline - European Industrial Relations Observatory: news and analysis on European industrial relations
• Employment Appeal Tribunal - includes judgments
• Equality and Human Rights Commission - website for legal advisers in England and Wales
• ILO - International Labour Organization. Includes both ILO documentation and a range of information resources, guides and databases put together by the ILO Library and Information services

Environmental law

• Basic guide to international environmental legal research - by Heidi Frostestad Kuehl for GlobaLex
• Center for International Environmental Law - campaigning organisations working for the public interest to promote human health and environmental matters
• Ecolex - information service on environmental law, operated jointly by UNEP, IUCN and FAO. Includes searchable database of treaties on the environment, national legislation, court decisions, and law and policy literature.
• ELDIS - information sources on development information at the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex University
• ENDS - Environmental Data Services.
• Environment News Service - a daily US based newswire.
• ENTRI - Environmental Treaties and Resource Indicators. Access to multilateral environmental treaty data
• Environment directorate-general - The European Commission's site
• Europa-environment - Activities of the European Union, Environment.
• European environmental law - Asser Institute (Netherlands) including legislation and case law
• FAO Legal Office - The site includes databases on food, agriculture and renewable natural resources (FAOLEX), and water and fisheries law; there are also full text publications on legal matters
• Global warming : a comparative guide to the E.U. and the U.S. and their approaches to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol - by Deborah Paulus-Jagric for GlobaLex
• Globelaw - contains material on international environmental law including treaties and conventions
• GreenNet - global computer network for environment, peace, human rights and development groups
• IISDnet - International Institute for Sustainable Development has links to environmental information
• International Environmental Law Research Centre - independent research organisation focusing on international and comparative environmental law issues, with a particular emphasis on India and East Africa. Access to working papers and some full text articles.
• International Water Law Project - American-based site includes links to treaties and regional agreements, case law, a bibliography and links to internet resources on water law
• Internet guide to international fisheries law -  a reference guide to international fisheries law and the law of the sea, containing texts of treaties and agreements, cases, a directory of organisations and links to other sites
• Law & Your Environment - layperson's guide to environmental law, especially in England and Wales, hosted by the UK Environmental Law Association and Cardiff University
• Research guide on transboundary freshwater treaties and other resources - by Barbara H. Bean for GlobaLex
• Researching international marine environmental law - by Arundhati Ashok Satkalmi for GlobaLex
• Sustainable development law (SDL) research guide - by Gary Yessin for GlobaLex
• UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Unit - provides information services on conservation and sustainable development
• Water Law and Standards - joint FAO and WHO project for water law, health and development. Includes comparative data
• Wildlife Committee - this International Association group's pages contain resources and links, including occasional papers

Organisations

• Communities and Local Government - UK government department website with responsibilityfor local government, planning, building and the environment
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs- UK government department website
• Environment Agency (England and Wales)
• European Environment Agency
• Friends of the Earth - campaigning organisation for environmental problems
• Greenpeace International - campaigning organisation
• International Court of Environmental Conciliation and Arbitration
• IUCN - World Conservation Union
• Planning Portal - UK government's online planning and building regulations resource for England and Wales
• UKELA - United Kingdom Environmental Law Association
• UNEP - United Nations Environment Programme
• WWF - global environmental conservation organisation
• World Bank - includes sections on climate change and renewable energy

Online journals with freely available content

• Duke Environmental law & Policy Forum

Family law

• Carelaw - an information site for children and young people in care in England and Wales
• Children's Legal Centre - charity concerned with law and policy affecting children and young people
• Family Law Week - free source of the latest news, cases and know-how
• Garden Court Chambers - useful links to statutes, cases and helpful websites
• INCADAT - International Child Abduction Database. Hague Convention site. Includes latest cases on Convention on Civil aspects of International Child Abduction and searchable database of case law.
• International Family law resources. From LLRX. Includes access to full text of treaties and conventions arranged by subject area (eg: divorce, child custody, adoption). See also section on Islamic Family Law
• Sharing Pensions Independent Financial Advisor's company site. General overview of the whole area of division of assets on divorce, as well as more specific analysis of the pension sharing issue. Includes digests of legislation and consideration of recent case law.

Feminist legal studies

• AWID Women's Rights - Association for Women's Rights in Development - rich in content
• Doing Business Gender Project - sponsored by the World bank
• Equality and Human Rights Commission
• Feminist jurisprudence materials - Cornell Legal Information Institute
• Global List of Women's Organisations
• Government Equalities Office - UK collection of resources with policy documents
• Legal Momentum : Advancing Women's Rights - site of New York based National Organisation for Women's Legal Defense and Education Fund
• Women in International Law - Lyonette Louis Jacques' list of resources
• Women's Human Rights Resources - Bora Laskin Law Library, University of Toronto
• Women's Legal History Biography Project - historiography of women as lawyers

Online journals with freely available content

• Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy -  in full text online from vol 4 1997
• Feminist and women's journals: Law - listed on the Feminist Majority Foundation's site. The list is not comprehensive

Gay and lesbian rights

• Gay law net - Australian based site with links to gay laws worldwide
• Gay/Lesbian law pathfinder - US materials by Mark Plotkin for LLRX
• Queer resources directory - international links to resources on gay and lesbian issues
• Sexuality, gender and the law - Lyonette Louis-Jacques' comprehensive listing of resources worldwide on all aspects of sexuality & gender, including numerous full-text articles and documents

Immigration law

• Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (UK)
• ECMI - European Centre for Minority Issues
• Electronic Immigration Network - The public site contains general resources and links on immigration and asylum.
• European Council on Refugees and Exiles - network for NGOs in Europe on asylum & refugees.  The site includes ELENA - the European Legal Network on Asylum, a legal forum for practitioners
• Garden Court Chambers - useful links to statutes, cases and helpful websites
• Guide to International Refugee Law Resources on the Web - by Elisa Mason for LLRX
• Immigration Advisory Service - free advice and representation in immigration and asylum matters
• Immigration, asylum and refugee law - an extensive list of links to resources from the D'Angelo Law Library, University of Chicago
• Immigration, Work Visa and Work Permit Services - commercial site with practical checklists and guidance notes.
• Migration policy group. Links to policy papers and analysis of legislation on migration and discrimination. Comparative reports on national discrimination laws and EU Directives.
• UK immigration sources on the web - links to immigration resources

Information technology law

• Council of Europe : Data Protection
• Cybercrime Law - global information from Judge Schjolberg of Norway
• Europa: Data Protection - European Union Data Protection web site
• ICANN - private-public partnership based in the US, responsible for management and oversight of the coordination of the internet's domain name system
• Information Commissioner's Office - UK independent authority set up to promote access to official information and to protect personal information
• Information Society - the EU's gateway to all its Information Society sites, including the IS Directorate General, the Commissioner's website, Newsroom and themes from which you can explore different topics
• Institute for Information Law - at the University of Amsterdam
• ITU - website of the United Nations agency for information and communication technology
• JISC Legal - covering Data Protection and e-security related to the provision of information. Mainly commentary, but includes useful links to other sites as well as legislation and legislative proposals from a number of jurisdictions.
• Justia News and Commentary - updates on current US cases
• Nominet UK - internet registry for UK domain names
• Society for Computers & Law - UK organisation with information rich site
• Stanford Center for Internet and Society - informative site with good use of Web 2.0 features

Online journals with freely available content

• Berkeley Technology Law Journal
• The Filter - newsletter for public interest–oriented Internet issues from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School
• Journal of Information Law and Technology - peer reviewed journal for legal academics from the University of Warwick
• Journal of Science and Technology Law - from students of Boston University School of Law
• SMU Science and Technology Review - Southern Methodist University School of Law
• Stanford Technology Law Review

Intellectual property

Starting points

• CLEA - Collection of Laws for Electronic Access. An index of legislative texts by country, regional legislation and multilateral treaties from WIPO
• Collection of national copyright laws - hosted by UNESCO, this site includes the laws of the member states in one of the official languages
• Hieros Gamos - links to other sites
• Intellectual property digital library - access to intellectual property data collections hosted by the World Intellectual Property Organization
• Intellectual Property Resources Pages - links to legislation, organisations, other sites of interest and articles by subject, from the University of Kent Law School
• IP Menu - Intellectual property resources and legislation by country.
• Jurist - IP resources and links to journals on intellectual property
• Justia News and Commentary - updates on current US cases
• Researching intellectual property law: internet resources - a useful research guide with a world wide focus, from the D'Angelo Law Library, University of Chicago (now a bit dated)
• UK Intellectual Property Office - (formerly known as the Patent Office)

Other resources

• CCIPS - Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the US Department of Justice. Press releases and manuals for computer crime, intellectual property and electronic evidence.
• European Commission Copyright and Neighbouring Rights - IP resources on the European Union server.
• IPdailyupdate - news wiki focussing on intellectual property
• IPR Helpdesk - EU funded site designed as a central reference point for questions from contractors concerning Intellectual Property Rights issues
• IViR - Institute for Information Law. Based at the University of Amsterdam, is a research institute which publishes articles and commentary in areas of intellectual property, industrial property, telecommunications law and e-commerce, etc.
• Research Guide on TRIPS and Compulsory Licensing - from Globalex
• Stanford Center for Internet and Society - informative site with good use of Web 2.0 features

Organisations

• CIPA - Chartered Institute of Patent Agents
• CLA - Copyright Licensing Agency
• EPO - European Patent Office. Look at this guide to using Register Plus (.pdf)
• IFRRO - International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations
• Patents Court - guides
• Trilateral Co-operation Cooperative venture between Japanese Patent Office, European Patent Office and US Patent and Trademark Office
• UK Patent Office
• WIPO - World Intellectual Property Organisation

Online journals with freely available content

• Copyright Bulletin - e-bulletin published by UNESCO
• Intellectual Property and Technology Forum - Boston College
• Script - ed - from the university of Edinburgh

Islamic law

• Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law (CIMEL) - School of Oriental and African Studies
• Islamic Family Law - global study of Islamic Family Law at Emory University. Includes basic profiles of the legal systems of a number of jurisdictions having elements of Islamic law and an examination of the relationship between IFL and human rights, especially the rights of women and children.
• Islamic Legal Studies Program - at Harvard University

Land law and Trusts

• Communities and Local Government - UK government department website with responsibilityfor local government, planning, building and the environment
• DEFRA - Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs
• Garden Court Chambers -useful links to statutes, cases and helpful websites
• Landlaw.org - Land law resources, including links to bills, Acts, cases, and some commentary. Includes update on latest cases.
• Land Registry - government agency.
• National Native Title Tribunal - Australian site on the native title rights and interests
• New Land Law - a commentary on the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 by barrister Roger Horne
• Planning Portal - UK government's online planning and building regulations resource for England and Wales
• Property Litigation Association - up to date information on recent developments in property law
• Residential Property Tribunal Service - umbrella organisation for the regional offices of the Rent Assessment Panels. Includes guidance notes and copies of decisions
• Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization - international organization for indigenous peoples and minorities

Legal history

• Access to Archives - Database of English archive material from tenth century to present from the UK National Archives
• Avalon Project - Yale University.  Documents in law, history and diplomacy from pre 18th century to the present.  A collection of full text historical documents
• Bracton's De Legibus  -  in full text from Harvard University
• British Legal History - selected links from the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge
• Forum historiae iuris - online journal from the Law Faculty of the Humboldt University, Berlin (Now available in English)
• Guide to legal history - from Tarlton Law Library, University of Texas
• Medieval Sourcebook for law - Includes full text documents from various jurisdictions. Early Jewish Law, Islamic Law, Roman Law, English law, including the Anglo-Saxon Dooms, as well as links to ancient legal history
• Proceedings of the Old Bailey 1674 to 1834 - an online database of over 100,000 criminal trials, with digitised original documents and detailed indexing
• Roman law - discussion, links and texts in roman law from Saarbrucken University.  The site includes a Latin version
• Roman law resources - Civil law Centre, University of Aberdeen
• Selden Society
• Year Books - Index to the Year Books with good search facilities, bibliography and other information from David Seipp of Boston University

Legal theory

• Critical Legal Theory - Cornell University Legal Information Institute 
• Jurisprudence - Cornell University Legal Information Institute
• Law in Popular Culture - at the Tarlton Law Library, University of Texas
• Legal theory site - Deborah Charles Publications. Includes links to legal philosophy sites

Maritime law

Starting points

• AdmiraltyLaw.com  - Site hosted by Giaschi & Margolis, a Canadian law firm, with recent cases and a comprehensive page of Maritime law links
• Internet guide to international fisheries law -  a reference guide to international fisheries law and the law of the sea, containing texts of treaties and agreements, cases, a directory of organisations and links to other sites
• International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea - includes proceedings and judgments and basic documents

Organisations

• BIMCO - Baltic and International Maritime Council
• International Maritime Organization - United Nations agency
• Society of Maritime Arbitrators - ADR procedures

Medical and Mental health law

Starting points

• Bioethics Research - from Georgetown Law Library (US)
• Bioethics Resources on the Web -  from the National Institutes of Health (US)
• International Digest of Health Legislation - from the WHO. Searchable by country, subject or keyword; browseable by issue.
• Intute:health and life sciences - Internet resources in health and life sciences.  Includes the Medicine and Bioresearch gateway
• Library Guide - for Medicine and Health Sciences.  Jason Harper's useful Templeman Library guide includes links to online resources
• National Library for Health - NHS site with links to specialist libraries, including Mental Health
• Pubmed - includes citations from Medline and other life science journals
• Research guide on international health law - by Chenglin Liu for GlobaLex

Other resources

• American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics - much of the material on this site is subscription only, but material on DNA fingerprinting and civil liberties is publicly accessible 
• Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law - run by an American legal advocacy organisation for the civil rights and human dignity of people with mental disability. 
• Care and Health Law - produced by Belinda Schwehr, a specialist in community care law. Includes database summarising reported cases.
• General Medical Council site includes guidance in all areas of medical practice
• Medicine: Links to medical ethics material from the Australian Legal Information Institute
• Mental Health Review Tribunal - Provides information for patients and family members, healthcare and social care professionals, and legal representatives
• Nuffield Council on Bioethics - an independent body examining ethical issues raised by new developments in science and medicine.
• Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists - for information on law and ethics in relation to reproduction
• Task Force on Life and the Law - New York public information site
• World Medical Association - organisation representing physicians, established in 1947.  The site includes statements of policy on a large number of medical issues, and an Medical Ethics Manual

Online journals with freely available content

• Bionews - Weekly digest of news stories in assisted reproduction and human genetics from Progress Educational Trust. Free subscription and weekly email updates. searchable archive.
• Free Medical Journals - site dedicated to the promotion of free access medical journals worldwide.

Military law

• Aspals legal pages - definitive site for military law.  Includes summaries of case law, a reading list on military legal issues, information on the courts-martial system and international links.
• Federation of American Scientists - includes material on arms control, the legality of weapons and war, and an email bulletin called Secrecy News
• International Society for Military Law and the Law of War
• Military Law & Justice - mainly US but also includes international material from US law practice Philip D. Cave
• Military legal resources - full text access to various primary and secondary sources of military law via the Library of Congress Federal Research Division (FRD) website
• 2004 Operational Law Handbook - (US) covers the legal basis for the use of force in domestic operations to the laws governing intelligence and special operations

Religion and law

• Canon Law in the Anglican Church.
• Ecclesiastical Law Society - includes an index to cases reported in the Ecclesiastical Law Journal, and full text recent cases
• Religion and Law Research Consortium - academic site, which includes a database of worldwide law and religion documents, and country-specific pages
• Religion law UK - barrister Neil Addison's site contains news, practical information and links to web sites relevant to religion and the law

Social welfare law

• Care and Health Law - produced by Belinda Schwehr, a specialist in community care law. Includes database summarising reported cases.
• Department for Work and Pensions - (UK)
• European Centre - an intergovernmental organization for social welfare policy and research affiliated to the UN
• Intute: Social Sciences Social Welfare - links to resources on Social Sciences
• Social Care Institute for Excellence - good practise in social care
• Social Care Online - free database of social care information
• Social Security and Child Support Commissioners - includes a list of recent Commissioners' Decisions