Getting started
Collections and sources
Which documents LawDB covers and how to identify their language, version and origin.
Jurisdictions and official sources
| Jurisdiction | Content | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| Germany · de | Legislation, regulations and case law | NeuRIS; Gesetze im Internet as a supplement for federal legislation |
| European Union · eu | Legislative acts including consolidated versions; judgments, Opinions and procedural documents | EUR-Lex / CELLAR and InfoCuria |
| Council of Europe · coe | ECtHR decisions and Council of Europe treaty documents, where imported | HUDOC and the Council of Europe Treaty Office |
| United Nations · un | Published International Court of Justice documents | International Court of Justice |
| International · int | Publicly accessible Permanent Court of Arbitration case documents | Permanent Court of Arbitration |
Scope of coverage
Listing a source does not promise complete coverage of every court, year or document category. To appear in the local search index, a document must be published by its source, technically accessible and imported into LawDB.
list_jurisdictions returns the jurisdictions, content languages and court slugs currently registered. Search and document retrieval establish whether a particular document and its text are available.
Languages and versions
- EU documents may exist in up to 24 language versions. available_languages lists those held for the individual document.
- Document search operates in German or English. When retrieving a text, language can select other available versions.
- ICJ and PCA documents are commonly in English and French. ECtHR documents may include non-official translations; observe the translation notices and credits.
- Historical versions remain accessible where held. include_historical includes them in document search; is_current, point_in_time and act_status help identify the version and status.
Check provenance
Every result includes a LawDB link. Document retrieval also identifies the official source under source. Reuse returned links rather than constructing URLs from identifiers.