Law Guide

How Dewey links legal topics to jurisdictions

In the 342–349 range of the Dewey Decimal Classification, legal materials are organized by:

• Type of law (e.g. constitutional, labour, criminal),
• Jurisdiction (country or region)

This dual structure allows researchers to locate legal materials by topic and by country, making it easier to:

• Compare how different countries approach the same legal issue 
• Study national laws in relation to EU or international frameworks

How it works

Dewey numbers for legal materials in the 342s-349s follow this basic structure:

[Main Law Class] + [Country or Region Code] [+ Optional Topic Subdivision]

Each book has a base Dewey number for the type of law, followed by a decimal extension for the country or region and any additional topic subdivision.

For example:

• 342.73: Constitutional law of the United States (342 Constitutional law + .73 U.S.)
• 345.41: Criminal law of England (345 Criminal law + .41 for England)
• 346.94: Civil law in France (346 Civil law + .94 for France) 
• 343.240721: EU competition law (343 Law of trade, antitrust, and industrial regulation + .24 for European Union + .721 for Antitrust (competition) law)
• 342.45085: Human rights law in Italy (342 Constitutional Law + .45 for Italy + .085 for Human rights)

This structure allows for precise classification that reflects both jurisdiction and subject matter, which is essential for legal research across different legal systems.

You’ll notice this pattern throughout the 342–349 section in the EUI Library.

Country and region codes

In the Dewey Decimal Classification system, country and continent codes are used to organize materials by geographic location or jurisdiction. The main codes used in the Law print collection include:

The full list of country codes in the DDC can be consulted online.