Comparative Law · Free
Comparative Law Tools
How do the world’s legal systems differ, and how are they alike? These free tools let you compare countries, courts, codes, citations and legal ideas side by side, in plain English. Built for law students, lawyers working across borders, translators, teachers and the curious.
Map the world's legal systems
See which legal family each country belongs to, and compare systems side by side.
FreeLegal Families Atlas
An interactive world map of common law, civil law, mixed, religious and customary systems, with a plain-English profile for each country.
FreeCompare Legal Systems
Put two to five countries, or whole legal families, side by side: sources of law, courts, becoming a lawyer, and what surprises students.
FreeLegal World Maps
One question, one map: monarchy or republic, federal or unitary, who can strike down a law, juries, and one chamber or two.
Practise and research across borders
How a lawyer qualified in one country can work in another, and how to read the citations they meet.
FreeBar Admission for Foreign Lawyers
Can a lawyer qualified in one country practise in another? The routes, the regulators, and what you can do without requalifying.
FreeHow to Read a Legal Citation
Click through real citations piece by piece, in every major legal system, and see which style guide applies.
FreeCan a Foreigner Buy Property?
Who may own land, houses and flats abroad, where a company can buy instead, and which zones and kinds of property are closed to foreigners.
Compare the US states
The fifty states each write their own criminal law, so the same crime can carry very different penalties.
How legal systems are built
Courts, codes and constitutions: how they are organised, and who copied whom.
The language of the law
Legal ideas that do not translate, and the everyday terms behind them.
New tools are added regularly. Every tool uses plain English, describes only stable features of each legal system, and names its sources. They are educational overviews, not legal advice. Looking for the paid courses and exam preparation? See the courses and the exam-prep products.
