FAOLEX is a comprehensive and up-to-date legislative and policy database, one of the world's largest online repositories of national laws, regulations and policies on food, agriculture and natural resources management. Users of FAOLEX have direct access to the abstracts and indexing information about each text, as well as to the full text of the legislation and policies contained in the database.
FAOLEX is a database of national legislation, policies and bilateral agreements on food, agriculture and natural resources management. It is constantly being updated, with an average of 8,000 new entries per year. It currently contains legal and policy documents drawn from more than 200 countries, territories and regional economic integration organizations and originating in over 40 languages.
Administered by the Development Law Service (LEGN) of the FAO Legal Office, FAOLEX complements FAO’s core function of advising its Members on legal and institutional means to promote and regulate national development and international cooperation in the food and agriculture sector.
FAO has been committed to the collection and dissemination of legal, governance and policy information for more than 70 years. Its core mandate has always included the collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of information relating to nutrition, food and agriculture. While FAO was established in 1945, it draws on the legacy of the International Institute of Agriculture (IIA), which was founded in 1905 to collect and publish statistical information on farming and agricultural products. In 1948, the functions and assets of the IIA were transferred to FAO. From 1952 to 1995, the FAO Legal Office published “Food and Agricultural Legislation”, an annual compilation of significant, innovative and illustrative legislation. In 1995, the Office overhauled this information service by replacing it with FAOLEX, becoming a forerunner in the world of online legal databases.
In FAOLEX, the key elements of each legal or policy document are summarized in English, French or Spanish, and indexed to facilitate search and retrieval. While FAOLEX makes every effort to serve as a high quality, reliable source of information, no guarantee is given that the information provided in FAOLEX is correct, complete, and up-to-date. The summary records are provided for information purposes only. Many translations contained in FAOLEX are unofficial and are intended solely to provide a broad understanding of policies, laws and regulations. Neither the summary records nor the unofficial translations are intended to replace consultation of the authentic texts. Links to other non-FAO web sites are provided for the user's convenience. The terms and conditions applicable to the use of the FAO website apply to use of the FAOLEX database.