Research Guides: Introduction to Foreign and International Legal Research: European Union Materials

Quick Guide: Finding Selected EU Materials

Treaties are categorized as primary legislation in the EU. They may be found in:

Eur-Lex: Treaties
Includes the Official Journal versions of the founding and amending treaties governing the EU, and accession treaties for member states that joined after the EU's founding.
European Union Treaties (University of Minnesota Law Library)
This guide provides links to selected EU founding treaties. It is geared toward law students doing cite-checking for law journals.
European Union Treaties (Westlaw)
Treaties Office Database of the European External Action Service
This database contains "all the bilateral and multilateral international treaties or agreements concluded by the European Union (EU), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC) and the former European Communities (EC, EEC, ECSC)", including treaties signed but not yet in force.

EU regulations, directives, decisions, and opinions are categorized as secondary legislation in the EU. Below are starting places for locating EU secondary legislation:

The European Union's European Court of Justice (ECJ) interprets EU legislation.

Official European Court of Justice case law from 2012-present can be found on Curia, the official website of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
ECJ cases from 1954 onward are available on EUR-Lex:
- On the main EUR-Lex Case-law page, you can select the year under "Direct Access to Case Law" going back to 1973.
- To find case law from before 1973, try using Advanced Search (under Collection, select Case-Law) and search by keyword, document number, or CELEX number (a unique EUR-Lex document identifier).
EU case law is also available in:
- Westlaw and Lexis
- Official reporters, including the Reports of Cases before the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance (NRLF KJE924.5.R47, 1992-2000).
- Parallel reporters, such as: Common Market Law Reports (NLRF JN30.C65 (1962-66); European Community Cases (KJE 925.5 C653 (1989-93); and European Union Law Reporter (KJE925.5 E87 (1996-July 2011).

Online EU Law Collections

EU Exit Web Archive
Maintained by the UK's National Archives, this site contains a wide selection of EU legal materials. It will be updated until the UK leaves the EU, at which time it "will provide a comprehensive and official UK reference point for EU law as it stood at EU exit."
EUR-Lex: Access to European Union Law
EUR-Lex is the best place to start to find English translations of primary law from an EU member state. It is an official EU website providing free access to EU law, including the Official Journal of the European Union, treaties, legislation, case law, and much more. It is updated daily and translations of many materials are provided in the 24 official EU languages.
Lexis - European Union
Lexis contains EU case law and legislation.
N-Lex
N-Lex compiles links to the national law databases of individual EU countries. Researchers can search in individual country databases or several at once.
Westlaw's European Union Library
Westlaw contains EU case law, treaties, legislation and proposed legislation, journals, and more.

EU Institutional Websites

Curia: Court of Justice of the European Union
The official website of the European Court of Justice. Find cases by case number or party name.
Europa
The official website of the European Union.
European Central Bank
The ECB is the central bank of those EU countries which have adopted the euro. On the ECB website, find statistics, papers, and publications such as the Economic Bulletin.
European Commission
The European Commission "helps to shape the EU's overall strategy, proposes new EU laws and policies, monitors their implementation and manages the EU budget. It also plays a significant role in supporting international development and delivering aid." On the EC website, you can access EU laws, EU-level statistics, and publications such as EC fact sheets, studies, and planning documents.
European Council / Council of the European Union
The European Council and the Council of the European Union share a website, but are two separate institutions. The European Council sets the policy agenda for the EU. The Council of the European Union (also known as the EU Council) adopts EU laws, coordinates member states' policies, and negotiates international agreements.
On the Documents and Publications portion of the website you can find a variety of European Council and EU Council documents, such as agreements and conventions, legislative acts, preparatory legislative documents, meeting documents, press releases, and more.
European Parliament
The website for the directly-elected body of the EU. Start with the Public Register of Documents for parliamentary documents and texts.

Selected EU Legal Research Guides

For additional information on conducting EU legal research, consult one of the following guides:

European Union Legal Materials: An Infrequent User's Guide (GlobaLex)
Updated November/December 2016
e-RG: European Union (American Society of International Law)
Updated 2015

International and Foreign Legal Research: A Coursebook by Marci Hoffman and Mary Rumsey
Call Number: Shields Library Ebook
Publication Date: 2012 (2nd ed.)
Chapter 12 focuses on the European Union. To view this book from off-campus, you must first download the UC Davis library VPN client.
International Legal Research in a Nutshell by Marci Hoffman
Call Number: West Study Aids Online
Publication Date: 2021 (3rd ed.)
Chapter 7 focuses on European Union legal research.