High Court of Australia
- Link: http://www.hcourt.gov.au/
- Description: The High Court is Australia’s highest appellate court in the judicial hierarchy and has original jurisdiction to deal with constitutional matters.
- Language: English
- Full-text? Yes, available at http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/
Supreme Court of the United States
- Link: http://www.supremecourt.gov/
- Description: The Supreme Court is the highest court in the judicial hierarchy of the United States.
- Language: English
- Full-text? Yes, available at http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/opinions.aspx (2007-present).
Supreme Court of Canada
- Link: http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/home-accueil/index-eng.asp
- Description: The Supreme Court is Canada’s final court of appeal. Constitutional questions can be raised by parties in ordinary litigation, and in addition, the Governor in Council can request the Court to give its opinion on the constitutionality of federal or provincial legislation.
- Language: English and French
- Full-text? Yes, available at http://scc.lexum.org/decisia-scc-csc/scc-csc/en/nav.do (1907-present).
Supreme Court of New Zealand
- Link: http://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/about/supreme
- Description: The Supreme Court is New Zealand’s final court of appeal, and hears constitutional matters, such as those relating to the Treaty of Waitangi.
- Language: English
- Full-text? Yes, but only for decisions ‘of public interest’: http://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/about/supreme/supreme//from/decisions/judgments; otherwise, only case summaries are available: http://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/about/supreme/case-summaries. But all Supreme Court decisions can be found at Judicial Decisions Online: http://jdo.justice.govt.nz/jdo/Search.jsp.
United Kingdom Supreme Court
- Link: http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/
- Description: The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United Kingdom, and concentrates on cases of public and constitutional importance.
- Language: English
- Full-text? Yes, available at: http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/decided-cases/index.html
France: Conseil Constitutionnel
- Link: http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr
- Description: The Conseil Constiutionnel (‘Constitutional Council’) adjudicates on the conformity of laws with the Constitution of France, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, and treaties that France has signed.
- Language: French (though a selection of decisions are available in English)
- Full-text? Yes, available at: http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/conseil-constitutionnel/francais/les-decisions/les-decisions.95486.html.
Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
- Link: http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/en/
- Description: This is the highest constitutional court in Germany, and is tasked with ensuring that all state institutions obey the German Constitution.
- Language: German versions of judgments only.
- Full-text? Yes, available here: http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/en/decisions.html
Italian Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale della Repubblica Italiana)
- Link: http://www.cortecostituzionale.it/default.do
- Description: The role of the Constitutional Court includes, inter alia, to examine the constitutionality of laws enacted by the national and regional governments and to resolve jurisdictional disputes between the national government and the regions and between the regions.
- Language: Italian (though a selection of recent judgments are available in English)
- Full-text? Yes, available at: http://www.cortecostituzionale.it/actionGiurisprudenza.do.
Constitutional Court of Spain (Tribunal Constitucional de España)
- Link: http://www.tribunalconstitucional.es/en/Pages/Home.aspx
- Description: The Constitutional Court is empowered, inter alia, to examine the constitutionality of Spanish laws and treaties entered into by Spain, and to resolve conflicts between constitutional organs and between the national and regional governments.
- Language: Spanish
- Full-text? Yes, available at: http://www.tribunalconstitucional.es/en/jurisprudencia/Pages/Sentencias.aspx.
Supreme Court of Israel
- Link: http://elyon1.court.gov.il/eng/system/index.html
- Description: The Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Israel, and has original jurisdiction to deal with issues of the legality of government decisions, such as by reference to Israel’s Basic Laws.
- Language: Hebrew, but many decisions are available in English
- Full-text? Yes, available at: http://elyon1.court.gov.il/verdictssearch/englishverdictssearch.aspx (English decisions); http://elyon1.court.gov.il/verdictssearch/HebrewVerdictsSearch.aspx (Hebrew decisions).
- N.B.Student opportunities – clerk positions: http://elyon1.court.gov.il/eng/Clerking_opportunities/index.html
Constitutional Court of South Africa
- Link: http://www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/site/home.htm
- Description: This court is the highest court in South Africa on constitutional matters and its jurisdiction is restricted to such matters.
- Language: English
- Full-text? Yes, available here: http://www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/uhtbin/cgisirsi/0/0/x/503/9; judgment summaries also available via this link: http://www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/site/judgments/judgments.htm
- N.B.Student opportunities – law clerk positions (http://www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/site/lawclerks/lawclerksmainpage.htm), with scholarships available (http://www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/site/lawclerks/scholarships.htm).
Supreme Court of Ghana
- Link: http://www.judicial.gov.gh/
- Description: The Supreme Court is Ghana’s final court of appeal, and possesses original jurisdiction in the interpretation of the Constitution and the constitutionality of laws.
- Language: English
- Full-text? Yes, available at http://www.judicial.gov.gh/ejudgment/summarysearch.php (2009-present).
Supreme Court of Kenya
- Link:http://www.judiciary.go.ke/portal/the-supreme-court.html
- Description: The Supreme Court is the highest court in Kenya’s judicial hierarchy, and has appellate jurisdiction to hear cases involving the interpretation and application of the Kenyan Constitution.
- Language: English
- Full-text? Yes, available at: http://kenyalaw.org/CaseSearch/ (choose ‘Specific Search’, then ‘Use Extra Search Criteria’, then select ‘Supreme Court of Kenya’ in the Court drop-down field). N.B. Only a small number of Supreme Court cases are available.
Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong
- Link: http://www.judiciary.gov.hk/en/crt_services/pphlt/html/cfa.htm
- Description: The Court of Final Appeal is the highest appellate court in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and has jurisdiction in, inter alia, the interpretation and application of the Basic Law.
- Language: English
- Full-text? Yes, available here: http://legalref.judiciary.gov.hk/lrs/common/ju/judgment.jsp?L1=FA#H1
Supreme Court of Japan
- Link:http://www.courts.go.jp/english/
- Description: The Supreme Court is the highest court in Japan’s judicial hierarchy and has appellate jurisdiction in, inter alia, constitutional matters.
- Language: Japanese (English translations available)
- Full-text? Yes, available at: http://www.courts.go.jp/english/judgments/index.html (English translations); http://www.courts.go.jp/search/jhsp0010?action_id=first&hanreiSrchKbn=01 (Japanese originals).
Judicial Yuan (Constitutional Court) of Taiwan
- Link: http://www.judicial.gov.tw/en/
- Description: The Judicial Yuan is the highest judicial organ in Taiwan and is charged with interpreting the Constitution of the Republic of China.
- Language: Chinese (English summary translations available)
- Full-text? Yes, available at: http://www.judicial.gov.tw/constitutionalcourt/en/p03.asp (full text Chinese decisions and English summary translations).
Constitutional Court of (South) Korea
- Link: http://english.ccourt.go.kr/
- Description: The Constitutional Court is a specialized court that is empowered, inter alia, to adjudge the constitutionality of laws and to otherwise interpret and apply the Constitution.
- Language: Korean (English summary translations available)
- Full-text? Only English summary translations, available at: http://english.ccourt.go.kr/ (choose ‘Decisions’, then ‘Search’). Decisions available from 1998. Full-text Korean decisions available via http://www.ccourt.go.kr/.
Supreme Court of India
- Link: http://supremecourtofindia.nic.in/
- Description: The Supreme Court is the highest court in India’s judicial hierarchy. It has original jurisdiction in disputes between the Government of India and one or more of its States, and in the enforcement of Fundamental Rights in India’s Constitution; it also has appellate jurisdiction in, inter alia, questions of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution.
- Language: English
- Full-text? Yes, available at: http://judis.nic.in/supremecourt/chejudis.asp