Guide last updated by Hester Swift, August 2022
This guide was created by Hester Swift, Foreign & International Law Librarian at the IALS Library.
Email hester.swift@sas.ac.uk
Reference Desk hours:
Monday-Friday 9:30-17:00
Tel (0)20 7862 5790
Email ials@sas.ac.uk
We'd love to hear your comments about this Research Guide.
Email ials@sas.ac.uk
This research guide covers Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland, five countries with close cultural, historical and administrative links.
The Nordic region has a somewhat complicated political history, with Denmark and Sweden dominating for many centuries. Norway in its modern form gained independence in 1905 (it had previously been independent in the Middle Ages, until 1380). Finland declared independence in 1917 and Iceland attained full independence in 1944. Denmark, Sweden and Norway are constitutional monarchies, while Iceland and Finland are republics. Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish.
The Nordic legal systems can be classed as a branch of the civil law family, although some scholars put them in their own category, distinct from civil law, common law and other types of legal system. Roman law has had less influence in the region than in Continental Europe, and the Nordic states do not have systematic codes comparable to those of jurisdictions such as France and Germany.
There has been a tradition of legislative unification or cooperation in the Nordic region since the latter part of the nineteenth century. Norway, Denmark and Sweden began the process and Finland became involved later; Iceland has participated to a lesser extent in the drafting of uniform laws, but has often enacted the laws agreed on by the other four states. The work continues under the aegis of the Nordic Council, which was established in 1952.
Three of the Nordic countries, Denmark, Finland and Sweden, are members of the European Union. Both Norway and Iceland apply a large proportion of EU laws, since they are members of the European Economic Area (EEA).
The Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Library collects both primary and secondary legal material for Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. A few books on Icelandic law are held, but almost no Icelandic primary material.
HeinOnline's World Constitutions Illustrated provides English translations of the current and past constitutions of all the Nordic countries, together with associated laws, scholarly commentary and other documents.
Denmark's constitution, the Constitutional Act, was adopted in 1953 (law number 169 of 05/06/1953). There is an annotated English version on the website of the Danish Parliament and the Danish text is on the Retsinformation site. At IALS Library, the Danish text can be found in Karnovs Lovsamling.
Finland enacted a new constitution in 1999 (act number 731/1999); previously, it had several constitutional laws. Translations of the constitution into English, French, German, Russian and Spanish are available on FinLex, as are the official Swedish and Finnish versions. The Finnish text is included in Suomen Laki, which is held at IALS.
Iceland's constitution dates from 1944 (act number 33, 17 June 1944). An English translation is available on the Icelandic government website. A draft reformed constitution was presented to the Icelandic Parliament by the Constitutional Council in 2011, but never adopted. In January 2018, a new constitutional review was launched, which is expected to take until 2025.
Norway's constitution was adopted in 1814. An English version is available on the website of the Norwegian Parliament; and the Norwegian text is on the same site. The Norwegian text can also be found in Norges Lover, a collection of Norwegian laws held at IALS.
Sweden's constitution is made up of four fundamental laws: the Instrument of Government (1974), the Act of Succession (1810), the Freedom of the Press Act (1949) and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (1991). These are accompanied by the Parliament Act (2014), which is not classed as a fundamental law but has superior status to ordinary laws. All are available in English on the website of the Swedish Parliament, the Riksdag, under 'Laws'. The Swedish versions are also on the Riksdag site; at IALS they can be found in Sveriges Rikes Lag, a collection of Swedish laws.
Danish statutes (love) are usually called 'acts' in English. Delegated legislation takes the form of government orders (bekendtgoerelse), also known in English as 'executive orders' or 'regulations'.
Acts and orders are cited by number, date and title, for example:
Lov nr. 1003 af 8.10.2008 om finansiel stabilitet
Bekendtgoerelse nr. 232 af 23.11. 1933 om udledning af kulbrinte
Bkg. nr. 980 af 27.08.2015 om forretningsorden for Konkurrencerådet ('bkg' stands for 'bekendtgoerelse')
Abbreviations are often used for major acts: 'Kbl' for Koebeloven (Sale of Goods Act), 'Aftl' for Aftaleloven (Contracts Act) and so on. The Synopsis website has a glossary of Danish legal abbreviations (forkortelser).
Denmark has a criminal code (Straffeloven), and a procedural code (Retsplejeloven) covering both civil and criminal matters. These codes and their annual consolidations are published in the legal gazette, Lovtidende. IALS has an English translation of the criminal code and other criminal legislation: Malene Frese Jensen's The Principal Danish Criminal Acts (3rd edn, DJØF 2006).
Online sources
The official Retsinformation website provides Danish legislation free of charge. It includes acts, orders and other instruments, in current and historical versions (see FAQs, in Danish, and N-Lex overview, in English). Users can search for legislation by number and/or keyword.
New acts and government orders are published in Lovtidende (Danish Law Gazette). Print publication of this series ceased in 2008 and it is available free online from this point onwards. The online version can be searched by title, popular name, number and/or year; to browse by year, click on Argange. Most legislation appears in Afdeling A (part A); fiscal and some other instruments are published in Afdeling B (there is also an Afdeling C, containing treaties). Frequent official consolidations of legislation, called lovbekendtgørelser, appear in Lovtidende, as well as the original texts.
Ministerialtidende, which publishes administrative circulars and guidance, is also free online from 2008 (when it too ceased print publication) onwards.
Printed sources
IALS Library's main source of Danish legislation is Karnovs lovsamling, an exhaustive compilation of acts and orders in force, with annotations.
The Danish legal gazette, Lovtidende, publishes both acts and orders. IALS has it from 1939 to 1959 only; since 2008 it has only been published online (see above).
Administrative circulars and official guidance are published in the series Ministerialtidende, which IALS holds from 1965 to 1974. Ministerialtidende, like Lovtidende, is no longer published in hard copy, but can be found online (see above).
Finnish acts and decrees are cited by number and year, for example:
503/2008 Laki rahanpesun ja terrorismin rahoittamisen estämisestä ja selvittämisestä
(Act on Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism Prevention and Investigation)
Online sources
FINLEX, a free service provided by the Ministry of Justice and Edita Publishing, provides Finnish acts and decrees both in their original form and as amended, as well as secondary legislation and treaties. It includes Electronic Statutes of Finland (Elektronisk författningssamling in Swedish, Sähköinen säädöskokoelma in Finnish), the official source of legislation since January 2011 (see Sami Sarvilinna, 'Finnish Law on the Internet', Globalex research guide).
Translations of many acts and decrees, into English and other languages, are also available on FINLEX.
Edilex, a subscription service produced by Edita Publishing, includes legislation as amended. IALS does not subscribe.
Suomen laki, a compilation of legislation as amended, is available online (IALS has the printed version only).
Printed sources
IALS Library holds Suomen laki, a collection of Finnish legislation as amended, published annually by Talentum. Though not an official publication, it is widely used by Finnish lawyers. Suomen laki started in 1955 and is held at IALS from 1995 onwards (with some gaps); we also have two old copies of the Swedish-language version, Finlands lag.
Finnish primary and secondary legislation is published by the Ministry of Justice in the legal gazette, Suomen säädöskokoelma / Finlands författningssamling (Statutes of Finland), not held at IALS. Statutes of Finland was the official source of Finnish legislation until the end of 2010, when the online version, Electronic Statutes of Finland (on FINLEX - see above) was given official status.
Notices, circulars and similar documents are published in the official gazette, Virallinen lehti / Officiella tidningen (not held at IALS).
Icelandic acts are cited by number and year, for example: Lög nr. 44/2005 (Act no. 44/2005).
Iceland has a criminal code, the General Penal Code, Lög nr.19/1940.
Online sources
Acts are available on the website of the Icelandic Parliament, Althingi.
Legislation is published in the Icelandic Official Gazette, Stjórnartídindi, which is on the internet from 2001 onwards. Acts of parliament appear in Part A and delegated legislation (regulations and decrees) in Part B. (There is also a Part C, for treaties, which is online from 1995 onwards). Since 2005 the Gazette has been an online-only publication.
English translations of many Icelandic acts can be found on the websites of government departments: see the Government of Iceland portal.
Printed sources
IALS Library does not hold Icelandic legislation; for details of print holdings in other UK libraries, see the FLAG Foreign Law Guide.
New legislation is published in the Icelandic official gazette, Stjórnartídindi. It has three sections: A for acts of parliament, B for delegated legislation (regulations and decrees) and C for treaties. Since 2005 the Gazette has been an online publication (see above).
A consolidated set of legislation used to be published every few years under the title Lagasafn: íslensk lög [date], by the Ministry of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs (Dóms- og kirkjumálaráduneytid).
Norway produces both national and local statutes and regulations. Norwegian acts may be referred to using abbreviations, such as 'al' for arveloven (Inheritance Act). The meanings of legal abbreviations can be looked up in Knophs oversikt over Norges rett, or in Norges lover, both held at IALS; some Norwegian abbreviations are also included in the online list provided by Scandinavian Studies in Law.
Some Norwegian statutes are described as codes, for example lov om straff, the Penal Code (Act 2005-05-20-28).
Online sources
The Lovdata website provides acts (lover) and regulations (forskrifter) as amended; this version of Norwegian legislation has had official status since 2001 (see 'Om Lovdata' / 'About Lovdata'; and Kelly Buchanan, 'Researching Norwegian Law Online', In Custodia Legis, 30 September 2014). Lovdata is a private foundation which was established by the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Faculty of Law at the University of Oslo.
English translations of many Norwegian statutes and regulations are available on Lovdata.
Lovdata also provides the official gazette, Norsk lovtidende, from 2001 onwards.Norsk lovtidende publishes new acts and regulations.
Norsk lovkommentar, a collection of Norwegian legislation with commentary, is available online via Gyldendal's Rettsdata service, for a fee, but IALS does not subscribe.
Printed sources
IALS Library has the one-volume compilation of revised Norwegian statutes, Norges lover; it used to be published annually by Fagbokforlaget, then the Norwegian Parliament took over publication, issuing a new edition in April 2021 (see https://lovdata.no/artikkel/norges_lover__ny_utgave/3311). IALS Library currently holds it from 1963 to 2018 and is hoping to obtain the new editions from 2021 onwards.
IALS does not have current Norwegian regulations, but they are available on Lovdata.
Limited runs of two official statutory publications are available at IALS:
IALS also has a five-volume set of ancient Norwegian laws, Norges gamle love indtil 1387 (published by C. Gröndahl, 1846-95).
Swedish statutes and regulations are published in the series Svensk författningssamling (SFS), or Swedish Code of Statutes. They are cited by year and number, for example: Lag om Diskrimineringsombudsmannen SFS 2008: 568.
Online sources
Svensk författningssamling (Swedish Code of Statutes) is available free on the official Swedish law website, Lagrummet. Laws as originally published are under '... (SFS) i tryckt format' and laws as amended are under '... (SFS) i fulltext'.
Preparatory legislative material is available in the Swedish Parliament's Documents and Laws database. This includes the series Statens offentliga utredningar (SOU) and Departementsserien (Ds); to limit a search to one of these series, use the 'Dokumentyp' filters.
Lagar & Förordningar (formerly Karnov Open) is a free collection of Swedish laws and regulations provided by Norstedts Juridik.
English translations of some Swedish statutes can be found on official websites:
Riksdag (Parliament): the fundamental laws and the Riksdag Act
Ministry of Justice: laws on migration, democracy and criminal law and the judicial system
Ministry of Employment: labour legislation
Paid-for Swedish law databases include Infotorg Juridik and JUNO; IALS does not subscribe to either service.
Printed sources
IALS Library's main source of Swedish legislation is the one-volume compilation of laws in force, Sveriges Rikes Lag. It is published annually by Norstedts / Wolters Kluwer Scandinavia and IALS has it from 1948 onwards (with some gaps).
IALS also holds some translated Swedish legislation, in the looseleaf collection, Swedish Commercial Legislation (Norstedts / Wolters Kluwer).
The library has Svensk författningssamling (Swedish Code of Statutes) from 1955 to 1990 only, plus an index going up to 2004 (link to free online version above).
Revised legislation with commentary is found in the three-volume work Karnov - svensk lagsamling med kommentarer, published annually by Nordstedts (not held at IALS).
The concise way in which Swedish legislation is drafted means that the travaux préparatoires (preparatory documents) are an important tool for interpretation. They are published in one of two series: either Statens offentliga utredningar (SOU) or Departementsserien (Ds). IALS has a few issues of SOU but none of Ds, but they are available online as part of the Swedish Parliament's Documents and Laws database, as mentioned above. Summaries of the travaux for selected laws can be found in part II of the series Nytt juridiskt arkiv, which is in IALS Library up to 1990.
There are two series of law reports covering cases from all five Nordic countries, both published in Norway:-
English-language information about the judicial system can be found on the Danish Courts website.
Online sources
The Danish Supreme Court website has a databases of the court's decisions from September 2009 onwards.
The Maritime and Commercial Court website has cases from 2002 onwards.
The official legal information website Retsinformation includes a database of administrative decisions (select afgørelser before searching).
The leading law report, Ugeskrift for retsvæsen, and several other series are on Karnov Online, by subscription; IALS does not subscribe to this service.
Printed sources
The main source of Danish cases is the series Ugeskrift for retsvæsen, cited with the abbreviation 'UfR' (or 'U'), published by Karnov. It publishes decisions of the Supreme Court (Højesteret), the two high courts (Østre Landsret and Vestre Landsret) and the Maritime and Commercial Court (Sø- og Handelsretten). IALS Library has UfR from 1874 onwards (with some 1920s-1940s issues missing).
Specialist law reports include the tax series Tidsskrift for skatter og afgifter (TfS), and the employment series Arbejdsretligt tidsskrift. Neither title is held at IALS.
An English-language introduction to Finland's judicial system is available on the Finnish courts website.
Online sources
The free, official FINLEX website provides cases from the Finnish Supreme Court, Supreme Administrative Court, appeal courts, regional administrative courts, Market Court, Labour Court and Insurance Court, in Swedish and Finnish. FINLEX is owned by the Ministry of Justice and produced by Edita Publishing,
English-language summaries of selected cases are available on the websites of the Supreme Court and Supreme Administrative Court.
FINLEX provides a database of references to cases in secondary legal literature, Rättspraxis i litteraturen (English version available here).
Edita Publishing's law database, Edilex, includes case law (IALS does not subscribe).
Printed sources
IALS Library's sources of cases are the journals Defensor legis (held from 1920 onwards) and Lakimies (held 1962 onwards).
The Supreme Court (Korkein oikeus in Finnish, Högsta domstolen in Swedish) publishes selected decisions in its yearbook, Korkeimman Oikeuden ratkaisuja / Avgöranden av Högsta domstolen. The yearbook is not held at IALS, but cases from it are available on FINLEX (see above). Supreme Court cases are cited by the yearbook's abbreviation, KKO (or HD), the year and the case number, for example:
KKO:2007:211
KKO:1977-II-76. (citation style used till the mid-1980s, including the part number of the yearbook)
The Supreme Administrative Court has its own yearbook: Korkeimman hallinto-oikeuden vuosikirja (KHO) (Högsta förvaltningsdomstolens årsbok). This is not held at IALS, but cases from it are on FINLEX (see above). Supreme Administrative Court cases are cited by date and case number, for example, 29.12.2006/3616, or by yearbook citation, for example, KHO: 2005:87.
Information in English about the Supreme Court of Iceland (Hæstiréttur Íslands), including its composition and procedures, can be found on the Court's website.
Online sources
Supreme Court decisions from January 1999 onwards can be found on the Court's website.
District court decisions are available on the district court website.
Printed sources
All decisions of the Supreme Court are published in the series Hœstaréttardómar, together with the first instance cases. IALS does not hold this title.
There is a brief description of the Norwegian court system in Rebecca J. Five Bergstrøm's 'Guide to Legal Research in Norway' (Globalex website).
Online sources
The website of the Norwegian Supreme Court (Norges Høyesterett) provides case summaries and full decisions from 2008 onwards and summaries only from 2000 to 2007 (in Norwegian). The English-language pages of the website provide short case summaries in English from 2000 onwards and full translations of selected cases.
Lovdata's free content includes the decisions of the Supreme Court and appeal courts (lagmannsrettane) from the last 12 months, in Norwegian. Lovdata's subscription service covers cases from 1945 onwards (in Norwegian), including the Supreme Court report, Norsk Retstidende. IALS does not subscribe to Lovdata, but holds Norsk Retstidende in hard copy (incomplete - see below).
Gyldendal Rettsdata, another commercial database, also has Norwegian cases (IALS does not subscribe).
Printed sources
Almost all decisions of the Norwegian Supreme Court are published in the series Norsk Retstidende. This title is held at IALS from vol.115 (1950) to vol.130 (1965), with some gaps, and from 1999 to 2015; it ceased print publication at the end of 2015. Cases published in the print edition are cited by the abbreviation 'Rt' plus the year of publication and page number: for example, Rt 2007 s. 4145. Cases in the online-only edition are cited by the case number, for example 'HR-2016-106-A'.
Selected decisions of the lower courts were published in Rettens Gang (RG) from 1933 until the end of 2013, when the series ceased publication. RG is not held at IALS Library.
There are also Norwegian reports focusing on particular areas of law, for example Dommer, uttalelser m.v. i skattesaker og skattespørsmål ('Decisions and Rulings etc. on Tax Matters'; not in IALS).
An English-language introduction to the Swedish judicial system is available on the old version of the Swedish courts website.
Online sources
The Swedish Courts (Sveriges Domstolar) website provides links to judgments and decisions from the Supreme Court, Supreme Administrative Court and other courts and tribunals.
The official Lagrummet portal includes a database of guiding cases (vägledande avgöranden) by the Supreme Court, appeal courts, Supreme Administrative Court, special courts, other higher courts and official boards. Guiding cases from these courts are also available on the Swedish Courts (Sveriges Domstolar) website.
The Swedish Arbitration Portal has arbitral decisions by Swedish courts, in English as well as Swedish.
Printed sources
Decisions of the Supreme Court (Högsta domstolen) are published in Nytt juridiskt arkiv (NJA), part I. The whole series is held at IALS Library (1874 onwards).
Selected decisions of the courts of appeal (Hovrätterna) from 1981 onwards appear in Rättsfall från hovrätterna (RH); this series is not held at IALS. Until 1980, court of appeal cases were published in the journal Svensk juristtidning (SvJT), which IALS holds from volume 3 (1918) onwards.
Cases from the Supreme Administrative Court (Högsta förvaltningsdomstolen, formerly Regeringsrätten) appear in its yearbook, Högsta förvaltningsdomstolens årsbok (previous title Regeringsrättens årsbok). This series is not held at IALS.
Cases of general interest from the Labour Court (Arbetsdomstolen) are published in Arbetsdomstolens domar (not held at IALS).
Cases from the Market Court were published in Marknadsdomstolens avgöranden (not held at IALS) until 2016. The court ceased to exist on 1 September 2016, replaced by the new Patent and Market Court and Patent and Market Court of Appeal.
IALS Library holds books about the law of the Nordic region and its component jurisdictions, in English and other languages. A selection of English-language titles are listed below; for details of the full collection, in all languages, see the Library Catalogue.
Nordic region
Scandinavian Studies in Law (Stockholm Institute for Scandinavian Law, 1957 - ): an English-language book series held at IALS Library in hard copy; also on HeinOnline (with 2-year embargo), and all but the most recent volumes are free to access on the Sc.St.L. Database.
Raimo Lahti, Towards an efficient, just and humane criminal justice : Nordic essays on criminal law, criminology and criminal policy 1972-2020 (Finnish Lawyers' Association, 2021)
Marianne Holdgaard (ed.), Nordic inheritance law through the ages: spaces of action and legal strategies (Brill Nijhoff, 2020)
Trude Haugli, Children's constitutional rights in the Nordic countries (Brill, 2019)
Pia Letto-Vanamo, Ditlev Tamm and Bent Ole Gram Mortensen (ed.s), Nordic law in European context (Springer, 2019)
Helle Krunke and Björg Thorarensen (ed.s), The Nordic constitutions : a comparative and contextual study (Hart, 2018)
Ole Lando et al (ed.s), Restatement of Nordic contract law (DJØF Publishing, 2016)
Konrad Zweigert and Hein Kötz, Introduction to comparative law (3rd edn, OUP, 1998), Part IV, 'The Nordic Legal Family'
Denmark
Hans Viggo Godsk Pedersen and Ingrid Lund-Andersen, Family and succession law in Denmark (3rd edn., Wolters Kluwer, 2021)
Ellen Margrethe Basse, Environmental law in Denmark (3rd edn., Kluwer Law International 2020)
Michael Wejp-Olsen et al, Corporate acquisitions and mergers in Denmark (Kluwer Law International, 2019)
Lars Bo Langsted et al, Criminal law in Denmark (Kluwer Law International, 2019)
Ulla Rosenkjoer and Ane Lind Gleerup, An introduction to Danish law (Forlaget Drammelstrupgaard, 2008)
Kenneth Robert Redden (ed.), Modern legal systems cyclopedia (W.S. Hein, 1984 - ) vol. 3, ch. 2(A), section 2
Finland
Anette Alén-Savikko and Päivi Korpisaari, Media law in Finland (2nd edn., Wolters Kluwer, 2021)
Erkki J. Hollo, Property and trust law in Finland (2nd edn., Wolters Kluwer, 2019)
Petra Sund-Norrgård, Contract law in Finland (Kluwer Law International, 2017)
Kimmo Nuotio, Sakari Melander and Merita Huomo-Kettunen (eds.), Introduction to Finnish law and legal culture (University of Helsinki, 2012)
Jaakko Husa, The constitution of Finland: a contextual analysis (Hart, 2010)
Kenneth Robert Redden (ed.), Modern legal systems cyclopedia (W.S. Hein, 1984 - ), vol. 4, ch.4
Iceland
Ágúst Þór Árnason and Catherine Dupré (ed.s), Icelandic constitutional reform: people, processes, politics (Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2021)
Elín Blöndal, Labour law in Iceland (3rd edn., Kluwer Law International, 2019)
Evelyn Ellis and Kristín Benediktsdóttir (ed.s), Equality into reality: action for diversity and non-discrimination in Iceland (University of Iceland Press, 2011).
Stefan Mar Stefansson, The EEA agreement and its adoption into Icelandic law (Universitetsforlaget, c.1997)
Albin Eser et al (ed.s), Old ways and new needs in criminal legislation: documentation of a German-Icelandic Colloquium on the Development of Penal Law in General and Economic Crime in Particular (Max-Planck-Institut für Ausländisches und Internationales Strafrecht, 1989)
Kenneth Robert Redden (ed.), Modern legal systems cyclopedia (W.S. Hein, 1984 - ) vol. 4, ch.4(A)
Norway
Anna Nylund, Civil procedure in Norway (Kluwer Law International, 2020)
Anine Kierulf, Judicial review in Norway: a bicentennial debate (Cambridge University Press, 2019)
Henning Jakhelln, Kristine Fremstad Moen and Maarten Brandsnes Faret, Labour law in Norway (5th edn., Kluwer Law International, 2019)
Hans Christian Bugge, Environmental law in Norway (Wolters Kluwer, 2018)
Giuseppe Franco Ferrari (ed.), Two centuries of Norwegian constitution: between tradition and innovation (Eleven International Publishing, 2015)
Kenneth Robert Redden (ed.), Modern legal systems cyclopedia (W.S. Hein, 1984 - ), vol. 4, ch.6
Sweden
Christine Kirchberger and Christine Storr, Cyber law in Sweden (3rd edn., Wolters Kluwer, 2021)
Axel Adlercreutz and Birgitta Nyström, Labour law in Sweden (3rd edn., Wolters Kluwer, 2021)
Finn Madsen, Commercial arbitration in Sweden: a commentary on the Arbitration Act (1999:116) and the arbitration rules of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (5th edn., Jure Förlag AB, 2020)
Laura Carlson, The fundamentals of Swedish law: a guide for foreign lawyers and students (3rd edn., Studentlitteratur, 2019)
Nyström, Göran, et al, The Swedish takeover code: an annotated commentary (Routledge, 2017).
Redden, Kenneth Robert (ed.), Modern legal systems cyclopedia (W.S. Hein,1984 - ), vol. 4, ch.10
These are the law journals available at IALS for Nordic jurisdictions (excluding some old series - see Catalogue for full holdings):-
Nordic / Scandinavian region
Bergen journal of criminal law and criminal justice, 2013 onwards (open access e-journal)
NIR: Nordiskt immateriellt rättsskydd, held at IALS 1965 onwards (also available as an open access e-journal, 1932 - )
Nordic journal of commercial law, 2003 onwards (via HeinOnline and open access)
Nordic journal of human rights, 1983 onwards with 5-year embargo (via HeinOnline)
Nordisk administrativt tidsskrift, 1960-2011 held in hard copy, 2011 onwards open access
Nordisk tidsskrift for kriminalvidenskab, 1967-68, 1975-2020 hard copy, 1949 onwards open access
Scandinavian studies in law, 1957 onwards held in hard copy, also on HeinOnline (with 2-year embargo)
Tidsskrift for rettsvitenskap (TFR), 1888 onwards
Norway
Lov og rett: norsk jurdisk tidssdrift (LoR), 1962 onwards
Oslo law review, 2014 onwards (open access e-journal, also on HeinOnline)
Sweden
Juridisk tidskrift vid Stockholms universitet, hard copy held 1991/92 and 1997/98 onwards (open access 1989/90 onwards)
Advokaten (formerly Tidskrift för sveriges advokatsamfund), hard copy held 936 onwards (open access 2002 onwards)
Svensk juristtidning, hard copy held 1918 onwards (open access 1916 onwards)
Förvaltningsrättslig tidskrift, 1938 onwards, hard copy and open access
Defensor Legis, 1920 onwards
Tidskrift utgiven av Juridiska Föreningen i Finland (JFT), 1951 onwards
Denmark
Juristen: udgivet af Danmarks jurist-og okonomforbund, 1938 onwards (see library catalogue for title variations)
Iceland
The library does not subscribe to any Icelandic law journals.
New York University's Globalex website has research guides for each Nordic jurisdiction.
The University of Copenhagen has Danish and Nordic legal research guides on its website (mainly in Danish, with sections in English).
The University of Bergen Law Library has compiled a bibliography of Norwegian law in foreign languages. See also Strømø and Kongshavn, Nordic legal festschriften: a bibliography of the essays written in English, German and French until 1999 (Det Juridske Fakultetsbibliotek, 1999), held at IALS.
Winterton and Moys, Information sources in law (2nd ed. (Bowker-Saur, 1997), has a chapter on each Nordic jurisdiction. Held at IALS.
Subscription databases
IALS has some multi-jurisdictional databases that include coverage of the Nordic countries:
IALS Library does not subscribe to any databases focusing solely on the law of Nordic jurisdictions.
Free web resources
Denmark
Retsinformation (official law site): legislation, including consolidated laws; administrative decisions (afgørelser).
Lovtidende (2008 onwards): Danish legal gazette; publishes laws and regulations.
Ministerialtidende (2008 onwards): administrative gazette; publishes circulars and guidance (2008 onwards)
Danish Law in English (University of Copenhagen): selected translations of Danish legislation
Supreme Court website: cases from September 2009 onwards.
Finland
FINLEX: legislation in its original form and as amended; some translated legislation; treaties; cases from the Finnish Supreme Court, Supreme Administrative Court, appeal courts, regional administrative courts, Market Court, Labour Court and Insurance Court; a database of references to cases in secondary legal literature, Rättspraxis i litteraturen (English version available here). FINLEX is owned by the Ministry of Justice and run by Edita Publishing,
Supreme Court website: English-language summaries of selected cases.
Supreme Administrative Court website: English-language summaries of selected cases.
Norway
Lovdata: legislation as amended; translated legislation; Norsk lovtidende (the Norwegian official gazette); recent cases. Lovdata is a private foundation which was established by the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the University of Oslo.
Supreme Court: cases from 2008 onwards and case summaries from 2000 to 2007; some cases are available in English.
Sweden
Lagrummet (official Swedish law site): Svensk författningssamling (Swedish Code of Statutes), including legislation as amended and as originally passed; important cases from the Supreme Court and lower courts.
Lagar & Förordningar (formerly Karnov Open) is a collection of Swedish laws and regulations.
Swedish Parliament website: some translated legislation; preparatory legislative material, in the Documents and Laws database.
The Swedish Courts (Sveriges Domstolar) website gives links to judgments and decisions from the Supreme Court, Supreme Administrative Court and other courts and tribunals.
(See Legislation and Law Reports, above, for further details of these free sites.)