Law resources | Library | University of Antwerp

Tips and links on searching

Unfortunately there are no international databases for law that contain all the important publications and documents. Most databases are limited to a specific country or theme. Therefor you will have to thoroughly consider which database(s) to consult. In the overview of databases you can find a list of all the databases available at the university. The most important ones are listed again on the webpage ‘Databases in detail’ with more detailed information on their content and use.

When searching for law literature, the Discovery Service doesn’t always provide a good solution because many law databases aren’t included. A search in the Discovery Service can certainly yield interesting information but will never provide a complete overview of existing literature. It will also not contain any legislation or jurisdiction. You will therefore often have to supplement the Discovery Service with a query in other databases.

When looking for a specific journal (article) or a book, you can best use the catalogue, which will guide you to the correct database or website.

For comparative legal research including English law Halsbury's Laws of England is the obvious starting point. This unique encyclopedic title gives a comprehensive introduction to English Law and is thus an essential resource for comparative law including the UK.

Finally, when looking for a good textbook on a specific law specialty, the online guide for legal searches by the KULeuven, www.rechtgenoot.be, can be of some help. You can look up the titles you find there in our catalogue to see whether we have a copy in the library.

Databases in detail

Database	Country	Source type	VPN	Full text?
Jura	BE	legislation, jurisdiction, legal doctrine	exceptionally possible until the switch to SSO (which includes off campus access)	FT for Dutch publications of Kluwer
Stradalex	BE	legislation, jurisdiction, legal doctrine	yes, but no printing and downloading off campus and some books are excluded from off campus access.	FT for legislation, jurisdiction and subscribed journals/books of Larcier, Bruylant and Intersentia (choose 'My subscriptions')
LexNow replaces Jurisquare	BE	legislation, legal doctrine	yes	FT for journals/books of Anthemis, Die Keure and some other smaller publishers
Westlaw UK	UK	legislation, jurisdiction, legal doctrine	yes	partially FT, partially abstracts
Westlaw International	US/INT	legislation, jurisdiction, legal doctrine	yes	partially FT, partially abstracts
HeinOnline	US/INT	jurisdiction, legal doctrine	yes	FT
Lexis 360	FR	legislation, jurisdiction, legal doctrine	yes	partially FT, partially abstracts
Juris	DU	legislation, jurisdiction, legal doctrine	yes	partially FT, partially abstracts
InView Essential previously Kluwer Navigator	NL	legislation, jurisdiction, legal doctrine	yes	FT
Kluwer Competition Law	INT	legislation, jurisdiction, legal doctrine	yes	FT
Eur-lex	EU	legislation, jurisdiction	yes	FT
Criminal Justice Abstracts	INT	legal doctrine	yes	partially FT, partially abstracts

Publications by specialty

Below you can find links to different types of publications in our catalogue by law specialty. You can refine the results even further to a specific location, language, etc. with the Reduce button.

If you want to stay informed about new acquisitions within a certain specialty, you can use this form to set up an alert. Once the alert is active you can use filters to refine your profile via My Library.

Constitutional law

Criminal law

Civil law

Commercial law

Procedural law

Administrative law

Social law

Tax law

International law