The Law Library of Congress is unique in many ways. To accomplish our mission of providing authoritative legal research, reference, and instruction services, and access to an unrivaled collection of U.S., foreign, comparative, and international law materials, our staff publishes legal research reports at the request of Congress. Additionally, our staff publishes articles in the Global Legal Monitor, which is described as the Law Library’s global legal newspaper. Our staff includes foreign and U.S.-trained legal specialists and law librarians from around the world who cover nearly every region and its jurisdictions. Many of these foreign law specialists have a law degree from their country of origin and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from a U.S. law school.
The foreign law specialists write reports and provide expert witness testimony for Congress and various executive branch agencies. If the office requesting the report grants permission, these reports are made available online via the Law Library’s website and on HeinOnline. You can access the Law Library’s reports by topic, region, and year of publication, or you can simply browse all the reports. These reports address specific legal issues for a particular country or present a comparative multinational analysis of legal approaches to an individual problem in various countries.
As mentioned, our foreign law specialists and law librarians also write for the Global Legal Monitor (GLM), an online publication from the Law Library of Congress covering legal news and developments worldwide. You can browse the GLM articles by topic, jurisdiction, or author. In 2024, we published 280 GLM articles.
Here is a countdown of the most-viewed legal research reports and Global Legal Monitor articles that were published in 2024, starting with the reports.
Most Viewed Legal Research Reports
10. Textile Waste Bans in Selected Countries
9. Germany: Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation Freedom Act
8. European Union: New Pact on Migration and Asylum
7. Australia: Offshore Processing of Asylum Seekers
6. Regulation of Assisted Dying: Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland
5. Innovative Technology in Legislatures in Selected Countries
3. Book and Media Censorship in Selected Countries
Most Viewed Global Legal Monitor Articles
10. India: Government Begins Implementing Controversial Citizenship Amendment Act
8. Germany: New Self-ID Act for Transgender, Intersex, and Nonbinary Persons Enacted
7. England and Wales: New Law Implements Ban on XL Bully Dog Breed
6. Germany: New Cannabis Act Enters into Force
4. France: New Immigration Law Enacted After Extensive Censure by Constitutional Council
3. Zambia: Amendment to Marriage Act Enacted, Child Marriage Outlawed
2. Saudi Arabia: New Rules Issued Regulating Foreign National Residency Visas
1. India: Legislative Assembly of Uttarakhand Enacts Uniform Civil Code
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