European Union: where to read the law
EUR-Lex is the reference standard for open legal publishing: every instrument, every official language, consolidated versions showing a text as amended, and the CJEU's judgments in full. The consolidated view is the one that matters and the one researchers most often skip. Member-state implementation is a separate problem EUR-Lex does not solve; the e-Justice portal is the official starting point for that.
This is a directory, not a summary of the law. Nothing here tells you what a rule says - it tells you where the authoritative text lives so you can read it yourself. Links last checked .
The sources
- EUR-LexPrimary lawAll EU law, every official language, with consolidated versions and the full CJEU case law.
- Court of Justice of the European UnionCourtsThe court's own site: judgments, opinions, and the case-law search behind them.
- European e-Justice PortalPrimary lawThe official route into each member state's own system — registers, procedures, and which national body owns what.
- HUDOC — European Court of Human RightsCourtsThe ECHR's full case law, free and searchable. Council of Europe, not EU — a distinction worth keeping straight.