Moody Classification system

Moody Classification System

History: Foreign and comparative law librarianship

Margaret M. Moody and her sister, Murtle, both started work as assistant librarians at Harvard Law School Library. The two sisters later created the famous Moody Classification system – a way of cataloging foreign law literature with country codes featuring the Moody’s own numbering system.

Margaret attended the University of Minnesota, where she majored in Foreign Languages and Library Science. She was proficient in 9 languages, and, apparent from the flyer, was thinking ahead of her time on the role of technology and law librarianship.

Harvard Law School Use

Harvard Law School’s International Legal Studies Library collects laws of all foreign jurisdictions, except for the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland and Australia, which are collected in the Langdell Anglo-American Collection.

At the ILS Library, foreign law is classified using Harvard’s own Moody classification system. This system arranges materials first by jurisdiction, then by form, subject, author, and in some instances, date.

This system uses a three-part call number: the first part indicates jurisdiction, the second part defines the book by form (first digit) and subject (last two digits); and the third part contains other identifying information, such as a very abbreviated form of the author’s name or the title.

A decimal extension of the number that makes up the second part is sometimes used to designate a further subdivision of the subject.

For example: FRA 962 ALE, where: FRA=France
900s=treatises 62=constitutional law ALE=author

Using the Moody classification system can make legal research in foreign jurisdictions easier. For instance, all judicial reports are classified in the 500s, all constitutions in the 100s, et cetera. In any jurisdiction, you can go to the call number you are interested in and browse the shelf for books on your area of interest.

Also, in HOLLIS, you can perform a Browse Search the “Other Call Number” option to find materials in your subject area.

For example, to find treatises on commercial law in the UAE, perform a Browse Search using the “Other Call Number” selection from the drop down menu. Enter UAE 929. (UAE=United Arab Emirates 900s=treatises 29=commercial law).

Form Categories

Following are the form categories indicated by the first digit of the second part of the call number:

Class 010-020 Reference and bibliography
Class 100 Constitutions
Class 200 Compilations of laws
Class 300 Laws & Commentaries
Class 400 Administrative regulations
Class 500 Judicial reports
Class 600 Legislative documents
Class 700 Administrative reports
Class 800 Periodicals
Class 900 Treatises

Subject List

Following is an alphabetical list of some of the subjects used in the Moody system:

Accounting 43
Administration of justice 97
Administrative law 67
Agency 37
Agriculture 48
Air law 54
Antitrust law 47
Banking & finance 33
Bankruptcy 42.1
Business planning 36
Civil procedure 91
Civil service 68
Collected essays 04
Commercial arbitration 41
Commercial law 29
Commercial paper 31
Communications 55
Computers & the law 55.6
Constitutional & political theory 63
Constitutional law 61-62
Contracts 25
Copyright 44
Corporations 39
Creditors’ rights 42
Crimes against persons & property 83
Crimes against public safety 82
Criminal law 80
Criminal procedure 93
Criminal responsibility 81
Criminology 86
Damages 24
Economic policy 71
Education 77
Equity 92
Evidence 94
Executive 66
Family law 13
General studies 03
Government contracts 27
Government corporations 40
Health 76
Insurance 35
Judicial assistance 95
Jurisprudence 06
Juvenile delinquency 87
Labor law 57
Land use & planning 75
Landlord & tenant 18
Legal education 07
Legal history 05
Legal liability 11
Legal profession 08
Legal research 07.3
Legislature 65
Local government 69
Maritime law 53
Medical jurisprudence 88
Military justice 89
Mortgages 17
National defense 70
Natural resources 50
Negligence 23
Notariat 98
Obligations 21
Parent & child 14
Patents & trademarks 45
Penology 85
Persons 12
Police 79
Politics & government 64
Practice & procedure 90
Private law 10
Probate 98
Property 15
Public finance 72
Public law 60
Public property 74
Quasi contracts 28
Real property 16
Reference works 01
Regulated utilities 51
Regulatory offenses 84
Religion 78
Sales 30
Secured transactions 32
Securities 34
Social legislation 56
Social security 58
Social welfare 59
Succession 19
Suretyship & guarantee 26
Taxation 73
Torts 22
Trades & crafts 49
Transportation 52
Trials 96
Trusts & trustees 20
Unfair competition 46
Unincorporated associations 38

Jurisdictional Symbols

Following is a list of the jurisdictional symbols used in the ILS Library:

Aden AD
Afghanistan AFG
Albania ALB
Algeria ALG (FRA/AL; FRA/ALG)
ANCIENT LAW ANCIENT *
Andorra AND
Angola ANG (POR/AN)
Anguilla BWI/LI/A
Antigua ANT (BWI/LI/AN)
Argentina ARG
Armenia (Republic) ARM
Aruba NET/AR
Australia AU *
Austria AUS
Azerbaijan AZE
Bahamas BA
Bahrain BAH (PERS/B)
Bangladesh BAN (PAK/E)
Barbados BAR (BWI/B)
Basutoland BSA/BA
Bechuanaland BSA/BE
Belarus BE
Belgium BEL
Belize BRH
Benin BEN (DAH)
Bermuda Islands BER
Bolivia BOL
Borneo BOR
Bosnia & Hercegovina BOS
Botswana BOT (BSA/BE)
Brazil BRA
British Guiana BRG
British Honduras BRH
British Solomon Islands WEST/BS (SOL)
British Somaliland EA/SO (SOM)
British South Africa BSA
British Virgin Islands BWI/LI/V
British West Africa BWA
British West Indies BWI
Brunei BRU
Bulgaria BUL
Burkina Faso BURK (UPP)
Burma BUR
Burundi BURU
Cambodia CA
Cameroon CAM
Canada CAN *
CANON LAW CANON *
Cape Verde CAV (POR/CA)
Cayman Islands BWI/C
Central African Republic CEN
Ceylon CEY (SRI)
Chad CHA
Chile CHI
China (People’s Republic) CHIN-PR
China (Taiwan) CHIN
Colombia COL
COMPARATIVE LAW COMP *
Congo (Brazzaville) CON-R
Congo (Democratic Republic) CON (ZAI)
Congo, Belgian CON (ZAI)
Costa Rica COS
Cote d’Ivoire IVO (FREN)
Croatia CRO
Cuba CUB
Cyprus CYP
Czech Republic CZE
Dahomey DAH (BEN)
Denmark DEN
Djibouti DJI (FRA/SOM)
Dominica DO (BWI/W/D)
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
Egypt EGY (UAR) (UAR/E)
El Salvador SAL
Equatorial Guinea EQU
Eritrea ERI
Estonia EST (USSR/E)
Ethiopia ETH
Falkland Islands FAL
Fiji FIJ
Finland FIN
France FRA
French Equatorial Africa FRE
French Indochina IN-F
Gabon GAB
Gambia GAM
Georgia (Republic) GEO
Germany GER
Germany (Dem. Republic) GER-DR
Ghana GHA (GOL)
Gibraltar GIB
Gilbert & Ellice Islands WEST/G (WEST/K; TUV; WEST/TU)
Gold Coast GOL(GHA)
Greece GRE
Grenada GREN (BWI/W/G)
Guatemala GUA
Guinea-Bissau GUIB (POR/GU)
Guinea GUI
Guyana BRG
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Hong Kong HONG
Hungary HUN
Iceland ICE
India IN
Indonesia IND
Iran IR
Iraq IRA
Ireland (Eire) IRE *
Israel ISR
Italy ITA
Ivory Coast IVO (FREN)
Jamaica JAM (BWI/J)
Japan JAP
Jordan JOR
Kazakhstan KAZ
Kenya KNY (EA/K)
Kiribati KIR (WEST/K; WEST/G)
Korea, North KOR-DR
Korea, South KOR
Kuwait KUW
Kyrgyzstan KYR
Laos LAO
Latvia LAT (USSR/L)
Lebanon LEB
Leeward Islands BWI/LI
Lesotho LES (BSA/BA)
Liberia LI
Libya LIB
Liechtenstein LIE
Lithuania LIT (USSR/LI)
Luxemburg LUX
Macedonia MAC
Madagascar M
Malawi MAL (RHO)
Malaysia MALA (MA)
Maldives MALD
Mali MALI
Malta MALT
Marshall Islands MAR
Mauritania MAU
Mauritius MAUR (EA/M)
Mexico MEX
Micronesia (Federated States) MICR
Moldova MOL
Monaco MO
Mongolia MON
Montserrat BWI/LI/M
Morocco MOR
MOSLEM LAW MOSLEM *
Mozambique MOZ (POR/MO)
Namibia NAM
Nauru NAU
Nepal N
Netherlands NET
New Hebrides WEST/NH; (VAN)
New Zealand NEZ *
Nicaragua NIC
Niger NIG
Nigeria NIGE
Norway NOR
Nyasaland RHO/NY (RHO)
Oman OMA (PERS)
Pakistan PAK
Palau PAL
Palestinian National Authority PALE
Panama PAN
Papua New Guinea PAP (AU/NEG; AU/P; AU/PNG)
Paraguay PAR
Persian Gulf States PERS (OMA: KUW)
Peru PERU
Philippines PHI
Poland POL
Portugal POR
Qatar QAT (PERS/Q)
ROMAN LAW ROMAN *
Romania RUM
Russia (Federation) RUSS
Russia (pre-Soviet) RUS (USSR)
Rwanda RWA
Saint Kitts and Nevis STK (BWI/LI/S; BWI/LI/A)
Saint Lucia STL (BWI/W/SL)
Saint Vincent & the Grenadines STV (BWI/W/SV)
Salvador SAL
Samoa SAM (NEZ/W)
San Marino SAN
Sao Tome and Principe SAO (POR/S)
Saudi Arabia SAU
Senegal SEN (FREN)
Serbia and Montenegro SER
Seychelles SEY (EA/SE)
Sierra Leone SIE (BWA/SI)
Singapore SIN
Slovenia SLON
Slovakia SLOK
Solomon Islands SOL (WEST/BS.)
Somalia SOM
South-West Africa SOUW
South Africa SOU
South Georgia & Sandwich Islands SOUG
Soviet Union USSR
Spain SPA
Sri Lanka SRI (CEY)
Straits Settlement MA/ST
Sudan SUD
Surinam SUR (NET/SUR)
Swaziland SWA (BSA/S)
Sweden SWE
Switzerland SWI
Syria SYR
Taiwan CHIN
Tajikistan TAJ
Tanganyika EA/TA
Tanzania TAN (EA/TAN)
Thailand THA
Togo TOGO
Tonga TON
Trinidad & Tobago TRI (BWI/T)
Tunisia TUN
Turkey TUR
Turkmenistan TURK
Turks & Caicos BWI/TU
Tuvalu TUV (WEST/TU; WEST/G)
Uganda UGA (EA/U)
Ukraine UKR
Union of Soviet Socialist Repub. USSR (RUSS;RUS)
United Arab Emirates UAE
United Arab Republic UAR (UAR/E)
United Kingdom UK *
United States US *
Upper Volta UPP (BURK)
Uruguay URU
Uzbekistan UZB
Vanuatu VAN (WEST/NH)
Vatican City VA
Venezuela VEN
Vietnam VIE
Vietnam, North VIE-DR
West Africa WES
West Indies (BWI)
Western Pacific High Commission WEST
Yemen YEM
Yugoslavia YUG
Zaire ZAI (CON)
Zambia ZAM (RHO/N)
Zanzibar EA/Z
Zimbabwe ZIM (RHO/S)

Jurisdictional abbreviations in parentheses indicate additional locations for materials related to the country. Please note that some of the jurisdictional symbols still in use are anachronistic, but the Library does not always have the time nor funding to correct records for such a large collection when political changes take place.

* = Denotes juristictional abbreviations no longer in use for current materials. Older Materials still bear this abbreviation.


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