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European Union Legal Research

About This Guide

This research guide offers a brief introduction to research in European Union (EU) law.  The European Union (EU) is a supranational organization  composed of many European countries that have decided to cooperate on a number of issues (economic, monetary, security, etc.) and adopt uniform laws. This organization has a long history and its name has changed several times.  Read a brief history of the European Union.

For background sources on European Union law, see Ralph Folsom, European Union Law in a Nutshell (6th ed., 2011) Reserve KJE 949 .F55 2011.  A much more detailed overview of EU law is contained in Encyclopedia of European Union Law (Neville March Hunnings ed., 1996- ) KJE926 .E53x.To locate more sources, conduct a subject search on MNCAT using the subject: law european union countries.

An excellent guide to EU legal materials for novice researchers is Duncan Alford's European Legal Materials: A Guide for Infrequent Users.  Another useful guide is Marylin Raisch's European Union.

Credits: This guide is based on an earlier version created by Mary Rumsey.


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