Hosted by the University of Pittsburgh, the Archive of European Integration (AEI) is an electronic repository for research materials on European integration and unification. It contains not only official European Union or European Community documents, but also independently produced research materials.
Brexit Law is a blog, written by members of Brick Court Chambers, about the legal issues arising from the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. As well as posts providing news and analysis, the blog provides a page of links to key legal texts relating to the process.
This page of the Cabinet Office web site provides Government Explanatory Memoranda on EU documents submitted to Parliament April 2012 onwards, and information about parliamentary scrutiny of EU documents.
The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) acts as the liaison between the European Union and Europe’s national bars and law societies. The Documents section of its web site includes the CCBE’s Code of Conduct for European Lawyers as well as national codes of conduct, reports from committees looking at various topics and subject areas, and position papers. The News section includes recent newsletters and press releases.
The home page of the Council of Europe site provides a useful starting point for all Council of Europe information, with links to the web pages of the Council’s many institutions, secretariats, directorates and activities, including the Committee of Ministers, the European Court of Human Rights, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Treaty Office.
The Committee of Ministers is the Council of Europe’s decision-making body, comprising the foreign affairs ministers of all the member states or their permanent diplomatic representatives in Strasbourg. Documents include (under “Adopted Texts”): full text of Committee of Ministers decisions and conclusions of meetings 1952 onwards; Committee of Ministers recommendations 1979 onwards; resolutions 1949 onwards; declarations 1977 onwards; and replies to Assembly recommendations 1973 onwards.
The Council of Europe’s official treaty web site provides both full text and summaries of the complete European Treaty Series (ETS) 1949-2003, and its continuation the Council of Europe Treaty Series (CETS) 2004 onwards, together with details of signatures, ratifications, reservations, etc.
The Court of Justice of the European Union, based in Luxembourg, comprises the European Court of Justice (officially the Court of Justice), the General Court (formerly the Court of First Instance) and the Civil Service Tribunal. The database on this site covers cases 1954 onwards, with search options that include case number and names of parties. The cases can also be browsed by date by selecting “Numerical access”, which can be found under “Case-law” in the site menu. Other site content includes press releases 1996 onwards.
The Association of the Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the European Union produces this database. It currently contains over 33,000 references to national decisions concerning community law, 1959 onwards, and is updated regularly. Analysis is available in French, and also in English for selected decisions before 18 September 2019.
The Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) was a ministerial department responsible for overseeing negotiations relating to the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. It was established on 14 July 2016 and closed on 31 January 2020. Information, guidance, policy papers and other publications remain accessible here on the GOV.UK site.
This is a Factsheet (last revised September 2010, and now no longer updated) produced by the House of Commons Information Office describing how the United Kingdom Parliament scrutinises and seeks to influence the workings of the European Union. It includes a brief outline of the EU institutions and their methods of legislating.
This is a searchable online version of the official directory of the European Union which is published by the EU’s Publications Office. It provides information about the institutions, bodies and agencies of the EU. Directories for individual institutions can also be browsed or downloaded. The site is updated weekly.
EUR-Lex is the European Union’s web site providing access to EU law. It incorporates the EU’s CELEX database and includes legislation in force, case law 1954 onwards, the Official Journal 1952 onwards, the treaties setting up the European Communities and European Union, and community preparatory acts. The “National law and case law” section allows access to national measures implementing EU legislation, and also other legislation and case law from the individual jurisdictions. The site, which is maintained by the Publications Office of the EU, is updated daily.
A section of the EUR-Lex web site which provides timelines for EU decisions and legislative proposals as they go through the major stages of the decision-making process between the European Commission and the other EU institutions, and find information about the decision-making process. Links are provided to available electronic texts such as COM documents, the Official Journal and European Parliament documents.
This page of the Europa web site brings together in one place links to official documents of the EU institutions and bodies which are contained in various sections of the Europa site. These include the Official Journal, public registers of documents, and documents of the individual institutions, agencies and other bodies.
Europa, the official web site of the European Union, is the EU’s portal site for information on all areas of EU activity, including its membership, history, institutions, laws and publications. The “EU by topic” section includes links to information about the EU’s activities indexed by subject; “About the EU” has general information about the EU and links to web sites of the EU’s institutions, agencies and other bodies; and “EU law” provides access to case law, legislation, treaties and other legal documents.
The European Union’s Occupational Safety and Health Agency (EU-OSHA) was established in 1994. Its website has links to EU legislation, guidelines and standards, recent news, documents from research programmes, and other information relating to occupational safety and health. The “Publications” section includes research reports, annual reports, factsheets, newsletters, and other publications.
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. Its functions include proposing legislation, implementing agreed policies, upholding EU law, and negotiating international agreements. The “Law” section of the web site links to EU legislation (via a link to the EUR-Lex site) and information about the application of EU law throughout the member states.
This section of the European Commission’s web site is devoted to competition law and policy. It provides links to a wide range of documents, including relevant Official Journal content, legislation and case law. Publications include Competition Weekly e-News and Competition Policy Brief, the latter providing frequent updates on policy issues and key cases.
This is the website of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, which is concerned with employment and social policy within the EU, including anti-discrimination measures. The “Publications and documents” section includes links to legislation, and a “Document database” of policy documents and reports, 2005 onwards.
The “Justice and fundamental rights” policy area of the European Commission’s web site includes information about civil and criminal justice, data protection, discrimination and equality, and human rights.
As well as ECLAS, the union catalogue covering the European Commission’s Central Library and around twenty-five smaller specialised libraries, this site also includes a link to the Europe Direct site where there is a directory of European Documentation Centres (EDCs) and Europe Direct information centres (EDICs) in EU member states.
This page on the European Commission web site provides links to guidance for translators and guides to style and clear writing in the official languages of the EU.
The European Council consists of the heads of state or government of the EU member states, together with its President and the President of the Commission; and the Council of the European Union is the institution representing the member states’ governments which plays a major role in the negotiation and adoption of legislation. Their official web site includes the public register of Council documents 1999 onwards, with access to full text of those documents which have been released to the public under legislation relating to transparency or upon request; and information about Council meetings and activities.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), based in Strasbourg, was set up in 1959 under the European Convention on Human Rights. Information and documents relating to the history, composition and working of the Court include the HUDOC database of the case law of the Convention, the Court Rules, the text of the Convention and protocols, and dates of ratification. The HUDOC case law database covers the European Court of Human Rights, the defunct European Commission on Human Rights (1954-1998), and the Committee of Ministers. RSS feeds are available for ECHR news, webcasts and Information Notes.
The European Database of Asylum Law (EDAL) contains case law from over 20 EU member states interpreting refugee and asylum law, as well as from the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. It comprises case summaries with links to and/or PDFs of original judgments where available. Additional site sections include Legislation (national, European and international), Country Overview (outlining national asylum systems), Documentation (eg from the UNHCR, Council of Europe etc) and a blog (“Journal”). The database is managed by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE). The site is in English only, though database content is searchable in both English and the original language of the decision.
This portal provides information on justice and access to judicial procedures throughout the EU, with extensive links to relevant web sites and documents. The site is managed by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice. The main page has content categorised for citizens, businesses, legal practitioners, and judiciary.
This web site provides information and news about European environmental law and policy. Content includes links to relevant treaties, to full-text legislation of the EU and individual member states, and to case law including the European Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, the International Court of Justice, and some national decisions.
The European Judicial Network (EJN) is a network of contact points intended to facilitate judicial cooperation between EU member states in criminal matters. Its web site includes a Judicial Atlas which can be used to identify authorities to which to send requests for judicial cooperation, as well as information about the measures that can be requested, guidance about drafting and translating requests, documentation including legislation, and information about cooperation with third countries. Most of the information is freely available, but contact details and other information specific to contact points is password protected.
The European Observer on Fundamental Right’s Respect is a joint project of the Lelio and Lisli Basso Foundation, the Interdepartmental Centre for Research in European Communities Law at the University of Bologna, and European Magistrates for Democracy and Freedoms. Its web site includes European legislation and case law relating to human rights, as well as national case law from the member states of the EU, judicial decisions from other jurisdictions, and other legislative documents. There is also a bimonthly newsletter available, January 2007 onwards.
The European Ombudsman investigates complaints of maladministration in the institutions and bodies of the European Union. The site includes general information, annual and special reports, the text of the European Code of Good Administrative Behaviour, all decisions 30 June 1998 onwards, and selected earlier decisions.
The European Parliament’s web site includes information on its role, organisation, legislative and other powers, procedures, membership and activities. Documentation includes reports, debates and parliamentary questions. A searchable register of documents can be can be found on the “Other websites” menu under “Register”.
The Legislative Observatory is a database, updated daily, of procedure files and factsheets on the progress of EU legislative and non-legislative procedures involving the European Parliament. Users who register (free of charge) for the “My Observatory” service can keep track of new developments in specific chosen procedures or subjects.
Content on the European Patent Office (EPO) site includes the text of the European Patent Convention (EPC); an online version of the book Case Law of the Boards of Appeal (9th edition, 2019); a complete searchable database of decisions of the EPO’s Boards of Appeal from 1979 onwards; and information on the development of the Unitary Patent system and the Unified Patent Court. All of this may be found under “Law & practice.”
European Sources Online (ESO) is a European information service provided by the European Documentation Centre at Cardiff University. It includes a searchable database of online information sources, and also provides a weekly email alert service. The service is updated daily.
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) is an advisory body, established in 2007 to help protect human rights within the EU by collecting evidence about the status of fundamental rights and providing advice based on that evidence. Its web site includes information about its work, and a searchable full text of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The “Tools” section includes a database of case law abstracts with links to full text where available, as well as other databases, information sources, and guides to good practice. “Products” includes a wide variety of publications including reports, studies, and discussion papers, and recent annual reports. A register of official documents on the site can be found under “About FRA”.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union which is responsible for various regulatory and executive tasks in the field of civil aviation safety and environmental protection. Responsibilities include giving advice to the European Union for drafting new legislation, and implementing and monitoring safety rules. EU Regulations, EASA Opinions and Decisions and many other documents are published on the site.
This guide, on the GlobaLex web site, to finding working documents or “travaux préparatoires” from the various institutions of the European Union is written by Patrick Overy, Subject Librarian for Law and Business at the University of Exeter and manager of the Exeter European Documentation Centre. The current edition is dated January/February 2021, with archived versions from 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2016 also available.
As well as providing updating for Trevor Hartley’s textbook The Foundations of European Union Law (8th edition, OUP, 2014), this section of the Oxford University Press web site provides a table of equivalence tracking changes to the numbering of the articles of the governing EU treaties, and access to an interactive map of Europe and an interactive timeline of the EU, which respectively provide key facts about the member countries of the EU and key dates in EU legal history.
On the web site of the Court of Justice of the European Union, this page gives access to the texts of the Brussels Convention 1968, the Lugano Convention 1988, and Council Regulation (EC) No.44/2001 on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters, as well as relevant case law from the European Court of Justice and national courts 1992-2011. The site content is produced in cooperation with the Saarland University Institute of Law and Informatics.
Labour Web is a European labour law site produced by the Massimo D’Antona Centre for the Study of European Labour Law at the University of Catania (Italy). It includes current and proposed directives, EU case law and other documents, EU press releases and statistics, and also relevant material from member states and international organisations.
Subscription service offering access to all types of EU document, with hypertext links to related EU and UK documents. Updated daily.
This section of the Matrix Chambers web site includes six briefings documents on various aspects of the law relating to elections, published in the run up to the 2015 UK General Election, and a set of similar articles about the 2016 EU Referendum, as well as a weekly round-up of links and news related to Brexit.
The Publications Office is the official publisher for the European Union. Its site allows official publications to be searched or browsed by subject, with links to the EU Bookshop. It also has links to online resources managed by the Publications Office, such as an online public access catalogue (OPac), and the EuroVoc multilingual thesaurus.
The Unified Patent Court is an international court, set up to deal with the infringement and validity of European patents and European patents with unitary effect (EPUE), and open for participation of all EU member states. It was set up in 2013 by the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, and will come into existence when that Agreement enters into force through the ratification process. Information on its web site includes details of progress towards ratification.
Subscription service covering EU legal information from 1951 to the present. It provides complete coverage of EU law, with access to the European Commission’s CELEX database of EU law and to the C Series of the Official Journal of the European Union, with extensive cross-referencing. Updating frequency varies according to database.
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