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The Global Legal Information Network (GLIN) has been instrumental in providing free access to the law. The Network makes the official texts of the laws and judicial decisions of many countries available to the public. Among the many countries represented in the database are common law countries including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Also included are many civil law countries including France, Germany, and Japan.
Much of the material is contributed directly by official national and international agencies and organizations. GLIN members contribute official full texts of legal materials in the original language and provide a summary in English. Frequently summaries in other languages are also provided.
Yale Law School, located in New Haven, Connecticut, is arguably the premier law school in the United States if not the world. The law school’s total enrollment of approximately 700 students makes it significantly smaller than other law schools of its caliber. Many suggest that this smaller size translates into greater selectivity in admissions and a student body with somewhat higher GPA and LSAT scores.
Yale Law School is alma mater to many preeminent jurists and legal scholars including three justices of the Supreme Court of the United States: Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Sonia Sotomayor. Other accomplished graduates include former presidents Bill Clinton and Gerald Ford.
In order for a free democratic government to function properly, participants must have access to the law and the means to understand it. Lawnix is a free online library and reference resource that presents legal materials in a form that can be better comprehended by non-members of the legal profession. The law is presented in somewhat more plain language derived from the original, complex case law. The case briefs can be used by both the general public and by law students who are still becoming acclimated to the language of the law.
The judicial branch of the United Nations (UN) is the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The authority of the Court is derived from the Charter of the United Nations. The seat of the International Court of Justice is in Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands and is the only one of the six principal branches of the United Nations not located in New York, New York.
The Court is charged with settling legal disputes submitted to it by sovereign states in accordance with international law. Matters can be brought before the Court either by unilateral or joint application in accordance with special agreements between party States. The Court is further empowered to issue advisory opinions to resolve legal issues submitted by organizations and agencies of the United Nations.