This guide provides an introduction to research in federal government contracts law. It will identify print and online sources of statutory law, administrative law, case law, and secondary materials. The guide will also provide locations, call numbers, and web sites for materials available through the Jacob Burns Law Library.
The law of federal government contracts developed as a means for contractors to redress grievances based upon the award, performance, or non-performance of their contracts with the government. As a sovereign, the United States government can be sued only with its permission. The terms of this permission are set forth in the amalgamation of executive orders, statutes, policies, regulations, court, and administrative tribunal decisions that is collectively known as government contracts or public procurement law. As a highly specialized area of law, government contracts can seem to be intimidating, overwhelming, and confusing. Contributing to the confusion is the "language" of government contracts that includes not only acronyms and abbreviations, but also special/different meanings given to ordinary words and phrases. "Public procurement," "government procurement," and "public contracts" are other terms used to refer to government contracts. In the topical databases on LEXIS and WESTLAW, government contracts materials are organized under the topics "Public contracts" (LEXIS) and "government contracts" (WESTLAW).
The basic techniques for researching federal statutes, regulations, and court decisions also apply to government contracts law. For information on researching, locating, and updating federal statutes, cases, and regulations, please see the following Jacob Burns Law Library Research Guides: Federal Statutory Research, Locating Federal Regulations, Locating Presidential Documents, and Finding Cases and Interpreting Citations located at: http://www.law.gwu.edu/burns/pubs.htm
