Websites for Constitutional Law

Here are a handful of useful websites that focus on constitutional law and civil rights.

Constitute

This free online resource allows you to read, search and compare constitutions from around the world. Developed by the Comparative Constitutions Project and Google Ideas in 2013, Constitute now includes the current constitutions (in English) for nearly every independent state in the world, as well as some draft and historical texts. There is also an Arabic version of the website.

Constitute provides easy access to the full text of a particular country’s constitution, while it also has some more sophisticated features. Subject filters let you quickly determine which countries’ constitutions enshrine freedom of the press, or which contain provisions for secession, for example. Using the site’s “Compare” feature lets you create a side-by-side display of comparable provisions in two countries’ constitutions. For example, compare the mandatory retirement age of judges in Australia and Canada.

Charterpedia (EU) 

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union applies to the EU and to its Member States within the scope of EU law. This website acts as an annotated Charter, providing links to case law (from national courts, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights), explanations, and related publications for all 54 articles.

Charterpedia (Canada) 

Similar to the EU Charterpedia, the Department of Justice’s recently launched online tool lets you find the following information under each Charter section:

  • similar provisions in Canadian laws and international instruments binding on Canada
  • purpose
  • analysis with references to “relevant case law, and citations to Supreme Court of Canada decisions are hyperlinked whenever possible”.

Rights Watch Blog

This bilingual blog is a joint project of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and Pro Bono Students Canada. The focus is on fundamental rights and freedoms in current Canadian cases and events. Daily posts are written by Pro Bono Students Canada law students from across the country.