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Law: Websites

A guide to finding information relating to law. Includes links to key resources and sources of help.

This guide cannot - and does not aim to - provide an exhaustive list of websites for researching law. To identify and access more sites of potential value, the resource listings in the specialist portals below are a good place to start, as well as any details of useful websites provided in the handbook for your specific module.

Subject portals

General resources

National and international laws

Guides and tutorials

Legal profession and education

Tips on evaluating websites

There is a huge amount of information on the Internet but its quality is variable. Follow these tips to help you evaluate what's good and what's not!

Before believing the information given on a web site, or quoting it in your essay or project, think about the following:

Authority

  • Who is responsible for the page/site?
  • Is it a reliable organisation (eg a well known university) or a subject expert?
  • Can you trust them?

Accuracy and reliability

  • Is the information correct?
  • Is the grammar and spelling correct?
  • Is it complete, or are they just giving one point of view?
  • Do they have their own agenda eg political organisations?
  • Is the information fact or opinion?

Currency

  • Can you tell how up-to-date it is?
  • Is it regularly updated?
  • You don't want to quote out-of-date information

Audience / relevance

  • Is the information of the right level to be quoted in your project? If it is aimed at the general public or school children it might not be!

Feel!

  • Is the site well structured and easy to navigate?
  • Are the links from the page up-to-date and valid?
  • If it is well designed and maintained then you can feel more confident about the information it provides

IALS Global Law Library (London)

As the main national-level specialist legal research library, the Library of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS) supports the production and dissemination of the results of advanced academic study and research in the discipline of law.

For more information see the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies website.

The Law Society Library (London)

Library of the representative body for solicitors, holding an extensive historical collection of primary and secondary legislation, law reports and legal journals, as well as a legal textbook collection dating from the 16th century onwards.

For more information see Library services' section of The Law Society website.