Foreign Law Translations

The most recent issue of InSITE, a current awareness service of the Cornell University Law Library, describes a translation service offered by the Institute for Transnational Law at the University of Texas in Austin:

"The Institute for Transnational Law is hosted by the School of Law at the University of Texas at Austin. This site is a resource for French, German, Austrian, and Israeli legal materials in the fields of constitutional, administrative, contract and tort law. The English translations of decisions from Germany include cases from the Reichsgericht, the Bundesverfassungsgericht, and the Bundesgerichtshof. Translations from French include decisions of the Conseil constitutionnel, the Conseil d'Etat and the Cour de cassation. Since it is very difficult to find any English translations of foreign court opinions or statutes even at subscription services, this is a valuable resource, although the material available is limited. According to the Institute for Transnational Law's website, their intention is to eventually 'build a comprehensive database of leading French and German cases, beginning with the areas of contract, tort, commercial, and constitutional law (mainly human rights) and making them available to foreign audiences who cannot access the originals.' The site does issue warnings that the collection is not complete and 'should not be relied upon for the basis of a legal opinion or course of action without careful review of current applicable authority.' Because the English translations are intended to emphasize readability rather than exactness, no absolute reliance on the translations should be considered."

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