BAILII vs WorldLII
BAILII
bailii.orgWorldLII
worldlii.orgSide by side
| Figure | BAILII | WorldLII |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · Legal Research Software | 8.6 (#4) | 5.9 (#29) |
| Access | BAILII says its databases are free to access and do not require passwords or place cookies on users’ machines. | WorldLII is freely accessible to anyone with an internet connection. |
| Audience | BAILII describes use by legal practitioners and their library or knowledge management teams, and its OpenLaw project also addresses law educators, students and librarians. | WorldLII supports research into laws and legal materials from multiple jurisdictions. |
| Purpose | BAILII provides free online access to British and Irish primary legal materials. | WorldLII aims to provide free access to worldwide law and helps users locate primary and secondary legal materials. |
| Search | BAILII offers case law, legislation, other materials, advanced and multidatabase search options. | Users can search legal information resources hosted by multiple Legal Information Institutes and other organizations. |
Plans
In their own words
BAILII
BAILII is a free web service for finding British and Irish case law, legislation, European case law, and other legal materials. Readers can search databases by keyword or browse by date and A–Z title list. Search help covers basic, advanced, multidatabase, citation, date, and Boolean searches, including AND, OR, and NOT. LawCite supports searching by citation, parties, court, jurisdiction, article title, author, year, and cases or legislation considered. Collections include case law, legislation, European Union case law, Law Commission reports, and other law-related material. The help section explains printing and downloading documents. BAILII says access requires no password and places no cookies on users’ machines. Its stated beneficiaries include pro bono organisations, neighbourhood law centres, students, and users in developing countries; legal practitioners and educators are also among its audiences. OpenLaw makes selected leading judgments and reports available for legal education. BAILII does not offer an API or permit bulk downloads, and says large-scale downloading may lead to blocked access. It invites commercial users and educational institutions to make annual donations, without specifying an amount.