Legal bibliography is the bibliography of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

. The term has been applied to "the kinds and functions of legal materials" and to "lists of

law book A law book is a book about law. It is possible to make a distinction between "law books" on the one hand, and "books about law" on the other. This distinction is "useful". A law book is "a work of legal doctrine". It consists of "law talk", that i ...

s and related materials". Percy Winfield said that a "perfect legal bibliography" would be "a critical and historical account of every known

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

of the law of the state with which it assumes to deal".

History

In 1835, David Hoffman said that the legal bibliography of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, especially in the separate treatises on various branches of the law, was, by that date, "extensive, exact and learned". He also said that in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

"in jurisprudence (beyond a naked catalogue) we have scarce another name than Bridgman". Marvin's Legal Bibliography was the first publication of its kind to originate from the United States of America. In 1988, Bookman's Yearbook said that legal bibliography was in a "sorry state".Bookman's Yearbook. Bookman's Weekly. 1988. Page 10.

References

*Friend, William Lawrence. Anglo-American Legal Bibliographies: An Annotated Guide. United States Government Printing Office. Washington DC. 1944. * George Watson and I. Willison. The New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature. Cambridge University Press. Column
2277
to 2280.

External links

{{Authority control Bibliography Law