The Law Collection of the EUI reflects the research interests of the Law Department. Teaching and research of the Law Department focus on European law, international and comparative law, legal theory and law in context (see the Department's research themes and projects|).
The Library's acquisitions policy for books, journals, documents and electronic resources follows closely this research profile. A specific feature of the law collection (like the rest of the Library) is that it is multilingual, which has to be kept in mind when consulting the on-line catalogue. Furthermore, the collection is very young, pointing at current developments in the various areas, rather than the historical aspects.
European Union Law
Top priority is given to the acquisition of materials in the area of European Union law in all its aspects, institutional and substantive. The secondary sources (books, periodicals and encyclopedias) are in the main languages of the EU (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish).
This is complemented by a fully equipped European Documentation Centre| where all the official publications and documents of the EU are available on paper and accessible through a series of bibliographic and full-text databases on-line, see EU sources|.
Public International Law
Library holdings are roughly centred on public international law in general (basic textbooks), human rights law, the law of international organizations (UN), international regulation of trade law, labour law, environmental law, cultural law, law of war relief and war crimes.
The secondary literature in these areas (books and periodicals) is complemented by source material (treaties, law reports) on paper and/or electronic.
Legal Theory
The holdings of books and periodicals are on the following themes: philosophy of law in general, law and morals, legal method (semiotics, logics, interpretation) sociological jurisprudence, law and economics.
Comparative Law
Many of the research projects in the Law Department are of a comparative nature. The library holdings are closely linked to these projects. A few examples of areas covered are: general theory of comparative law, labour and social law, environmental law, constitutional and administrative law, private law and commercial law, procedural law, economic, particularly antitrust law. Areas which are typically not covered are family law, criminal law and tax law.
National Law
The very nature of comparative law requires some basic holdings of the national law of the countries under consideration. The Library has a core collection of primary and secondary legal materials of the Member States of the European Union and some other countries relevant to comparative law (US).
Given the small number of researchers using these national collections, the books collection is very much based on on-demand acquisition. There is, however, a large collection of encyclopedias, national law reports and reports of legislation on paper, see list of law reports| complemented by databases on Cd-Rom and on-line (see databases|).
Document Types
Books
The monograph holdings are kept in the Law Collection on the top floor of the Library and are shelved in the following order: legal theory, public international law, European law, comparative law, and national law.
In particular, the national collections (mainly the EU Member States) reflect the research interest of the single members of the Law Department and cannot claim to be coherent or complete. The monthly list of monograph acquisitions| includes all books purchased or received as a gift by the Library.
Periodicals
The Library subscribes to about 400 legal journals on paper in the areas of research of the Law Department. They are shelved together with the other periodicals in the Periodicals area on the ground floor of the Library (classification SER 34).
The current issues of about 70 of the most consulted legal journals are on display on the entrance floor of the Library (CUR 34). The early years of most journals are kept in storage and can be requested by filling out an Item in Storage Request Form at the Library entrance.
Back numbers of some periodicals are in microform or microfiche format and can be found in the Microforms Room on the lower floor of the Library. Consult the online catalogue for the exact location of the EUI periodicals holdings.
Many journals are available in electronic format and are accessible through the online catalogue (EUI members only). Consult the relevant webpage| for an overview of the electronic legal journals subscribed to by the Library.
Law Reports and Reports of Legislation
Case law publications and periodical reports of legislation can be found in the Case Law Collection on the top floor of the Library (CAS followed by a Steiner classification number). See our list of law reports on paper|. The most consulted law reports are on display in the Case Law Collection (LCUR).
Complementary to our law reports on paper, the Library gives access to some CD Roms and online databases containing legislation or case law, as you can see on the list of databases|. See also the full-texts of recent legislation and case law on the Internet (see Internet resouces|).
National Official Journals
The Library subscribes to the Official Journals of France, Spain (on microfiche), Italy and Germany (on-line). In the on-line catalogue the Official Journals on microfiche are indicated with a shelf number (MIC) followed by a Steiner classification number. The on-line version of the Italian and German Official Journal is accessible through the Library catalogue.
Other Official Publications
Official publications issued by international organizations such as the EU, the Council of Europe, the United Nations are important for the research done at the EUI.
The EUI Library is a depository library for the EU and these publications are housed in the European Documentation Centre| located at the end of the main floor of the Library. Many international official documents are freely available on the Internet.
The Library subscribes to ODS and the UN Treaty Series, see the A-Z list| of electronic resources.
Legal Dictionaries and Bibliographies
Law dictionaries, both bi-lingual and multi-lingual, are to be found at the beginning of the Law Collection (LAW Aa24, LAW Aa25).
Legal bibliographies on paper are shelved with the other subject bibliographies on the entrance floor and are classified with a Dewey (starting from 01634). Some of these bibliographies are now available on-line as part of such as the Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (see e-resources A-Z|).