The foreign law specialists and legal analysts at the Law Library of Congress have had another busy year writing reports and other responses to requests from a wide range of patrons.  Some of these were detailed multinational studies, such as our reports on police weapons in select countries and on the regulation of genetically modified organisms, while others were shorter surveys that looked at the laws of a large number of countries on a specific issue, such as the criminalization of homosexuality in African jurisdictions and the regulatory responses to virtual currencies around the world.  Some reports were just on single countries, such as on rules related to the slaughter of domestic animals in Sweden.

We’ve made a real push this year to make more of our reports available to the public, and it appears our efforts have paid off!  Last December Hanibal highlighted the nine reports that we published on our website during 2013.  Since that time we have not only published eight more reports that were completed in 2013, but also added another 27 new reports to our Legal Topics page!  Here’s the full 2014 list in date order:

• Regulation of Bitcoin in Selected Jurisdictions (January 2014)
• Criminal Laws on Homosexuality in African Nations (February 2014)
• Restrictions on Genetically Modified Organisms (March 2014) (the entry on the United States was actually one of the most visited of our report pages for the year)
• Biometric Data Retention for Passport Applicants and Holders (March 2014)
• National Funding of Road Infrastructure (March 2014)
• The Parot Doctrine and the European Court of Human Rights (March 2014)
• Sentencing Guidelines (April 2014)
• Preservation of Historical Cemeteries (April 2014)
• Egypt: Mohammed Morsi Trial (April 2014)
• Child Restraint and Seatbelt Regulations (April 2014)
• Sweden: Slaughter of Domestic Animals (May 2014)
• Laws Criminalizing Apostasy in Selected Jurisdictions (May 2014)
• United Kingdom: Measures to Implement MARPOL Convention Annex VI, Chapter 4 (June 2014)
• Family and Medical Leave Benefits Provided by the Military (June 2014)
• European Union: ECJ Invalidates Data Retention Directive (June 2014)
• Bond Requirements in a Procurement Protest Procedure in Selected Countries (June 2014)
• Egypt: Charges Against Former President Mubarak and Potential Legal Ramifications–Status Update (June 2014)
• Laws on Children Residing with Parents in Prison (July 2014)
• Family Reunification Laws (July 2014)
• Egypt: Legal Framework for Arbitration (August 2014)
• Malian Rules of Judicial Ethics: A Comparative Study (September 2014)
• Police Weapons in Selected Jurisdictions (September 2014)
• Approval of Medical Devices (September 2014)
• Right to Peaceful Assembly (October 2014)
• Israel: Legal Aspects of Prisoner Exchanges (June 2014, updated November 2014)
• Constitutional Provisions on National and Religious Identity in Selected Countries (December 2014)
• Foreign Intelligence Gathering Laws (December 2014)

There are also many older reports on our website that remain a great resource for anyone interested in learning about how different countries have sought to address various legal and policy issues.  Published in 2007, our report on children’s rights is still one of our most visited, with the entries on China, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and relevant international law proving particularly popular.  Our 2013 report on firearms control laws, particularly the entries on Australia, South Africa, and Great Britain, was also viewed by a large number of people.  Within other reports, an entry on laws related to sex selection and abortion in India was among our most viewed, as were pages on Canadian laws related to medical malpractice liability and points-based immigration.

Several of the information pages related to US constitutional law were also well-used during 2014, including those on gun ownership and the Supreme Court; the War Powers Act; and presidential signing statements.

We look forward to seeing what interesting topics we will research and publish reports on next year!  We often write about our new reports on this blog under the Global Law category.  You can also sign up to receive alerts whenever a report is published.  Just click the “subscribe” button at the top of any page on our website and select an option under “Legal Research Reports.”