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Law: Sources of law

The hub for the Bodleian Law Library's online subject guides
Subjects: Jurisprudence, Law

Purpose of these guides

This guide are intended for students and researchers studying law at the University of Oxford, although students and researchers from any field may find it useful.

These guides include sources which require an Oxford Single Sign On (Oxford SSO) but also, where possible, provide links to reliable sources available on the free web which only require access to the internet.

National Constitutions

The guide below starts with help on where to find the text of constitutions online, before moving on to aspects of constitutional and administrative law

Treaties, international conventions and agreements

The guide below starts with help on where to find the text of treaties online, before moving on to other aspects of treaty law & practice both in print and online

National, Federal, State & Provincial Legislation: primary and secondary

This guide conentrates on the legislation of the UK parliaments, and includes some guidance on the practice of statutory interpretation in England..It then moves on to sources of legislation from the foreign jurisdictions most usually taught or studied at Oxford. 

Case law: the decisions of courts and tribunals, and the awards of arbitrators

If you are looking for the court decisions of other jurisdictions or legal traditions, please see if we have a guide to the country which might help: