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Researching International Law:
Getting Started at Pierce Law ©

by Judith Gire, Library Director

Hierarchy of Sources of International Law

Article 38 of the International Court of Justice Statute

http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/ibasicdocuments/ibasictext/
ibasicstatute.htm#CHAPTER_II sets out the following sources of international law in order of their weight as authority:

1. International Conventions/Treaties
2. International Custom as evidence of a general practice accepted as law
3. General Principles of Law recognized by civilized nations
4. Judicial Decisions and teaching of the most highly qualified publicists

Starting Places

• Research Guides

Guide to International Legal Research (6th ed. LexisNexis, 2004).
A print text explaining basics of international research prepared by the editors and staff of the George Washington University International Law Review.

ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law (ERG)
Excellent textual discussion of how to do international legal research on the web, highlighting important primary and secondary sources. Prepared by Marci Hoffman and Jill Watson.
http://www.asil.org/resource/ergintr1.htm

• International Law Meta-pages

ASIL Electronic Information System for International Law (EISIL)
Comprehensive site with links to law instruments, web sites and online research guides for international law. Premier site.
http://www.asil.org/system/eisil.htm

Cornell Legal Information Institute, International and Foreign Sources of Law
An internet accessible collection of world legal materials including resources and documents of international law.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/world/

University of Chicago Law School, D’Angelo Law Library, Legal Research on International Law Issues Using the Internet
Includes links to legal research guides.
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/forintlaw.html

Harvard University Law School Library, ILS Foreign and International Law Resources: An Annotated Guide to Web Sites Around the World
Quick links to research guides for foreign and international law internet resources including international law news and IGOs.
http://www.law.harvard.edu/library/services/research/guides
/international/web_resources/index.php

Guide to Law Online (GLIN)
Prepared by Law Library of Congress this is an annotated guide to sources of government and law including international.
http://www.loc.gov/law/guide/index.html

New York University School of Law Library, Guide to Foreign & International Legal Databases
Includes international law databases, organizations, trade, and UN.
http://www.law.nyu.edu/library/foreign_intl/

Hieros Gamos, International Law
International practice oriented site.
http://www.hg.org/

Washburn University School of Law, WashLaw WEB, Foreign and International Law
Foreign and international law available by subject and country.
http://www.washlaw.edu/forint/forintmain.html

United Nations, International Law
Official United Nations page with links to U.N. treaties, Law of the Sea, UNCITRAL, documents research guide, the ICJ and other international courts.
http://www.un.org/law/

• Treatises

Check for international law treatises by leading authorities. Try an author, title, subject or keyword search in an online library catalog. Most international law treatises are classified into KZ.

1. MELcat
   Online catalog of all Pierce Law Library’s treatise holdings
   International Law subject search on MELcat
2. NELLCO Catalogs
   Provides access to online catalogs of member libraries of the New England Law Library Consortium including Harvard, Yale, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, and New York University
   Search individual member catalogs or search combinations simultaneously
   http://www.nellco.org/OnlineCatalogs.htm
3. See Barry Shanks to order Interlibrary Loan titles not held by Pierce Law.

• Periodical Articles

Many law reviews and journals include articles on international law topics which are sources for current information and citations to relevant materials.

1. Access articles on international law through:
   - LegalTrac
   - LRI database on LexisNexis and Westlaw
   - *Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals
2.  If you have a citation to a periodical article, go to the integrated holdings of print and online journals and periodicals to see if Pierce Law Library provides full-text access in print or electronically.
3. See Barry Shanks to Interlibrary Loan articles not available at Pierce Law.

• Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law

Encyclopedia of Public International Law

• Other Starting Places

United Nations Dag Hammarskjold Library

Good place to access U.N. information and documents including research guides and other links of interest.
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/

Web sites from other international organizations.

• Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition Compendium 1960-
  Compilation of arguments in hypothetical Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court competitions.

U.S. Treaty Research

• Print Sources of U.S. Treaties

United States Statutes at Large , 1789-1949
Includes text of all U.S. treaties during this period and from v.47 includes all executive agreements- Use for retrospective research

Bevans. Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America , 1776-1949
Includes text of all ratified U.S. treaties and executive agreements during this period - Use for retrospective research

Treaties and Other International Acts Series (T.I.A.S. #), 1945-
Individual slip treaties - ideally these are bound in the United States Treaties and Other International Agreements, but there is time lag.

Treaty Documents (Formerly Senate Executive Agreements)
Pamphlet form of treaty that is sent with President’s transmittal message to Senate

United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (U.S.T.), 1950-
Official source of text of all U.S. treaties. Huge time lag in publication.

Hein’s United States Treaties and Other International Agreements, 1990-
Full-text of treaties and executive agreements in microfiche with index.

Oceana’s Consolidated Treaties & International Agreements, Current Service, 1990- (Pierce Law Library does not own this publication.)
Full-text of treaties and executive agreements in print with index.

International Legal Materials, 1962-
ASIL journal including full text of some major treaties and some draft treaties - good source for very recent treaties

• Online sources of U.S. Treaties

Treaties and International Agreements Online , 1773-
Fee-based web-site that includes full-text of all U.S. treaties and international agreements since 1773 that are in force. Pierce Law Library licenses this product.

Hein-on-Line Treaties and Agreements Library is a full-text site of many U.S. treaties and treaty collections.

LexisNexis US Treaties on Lexis 1776-

Westlaw USTREATIES database, 1778-

LexisNexis ILMTY file
Includes text of International Legal Materials.

Westlaw ILM database, 1980-
Includes text of International Legal Materials.

• U.S. Treaties Indexing and Updating

United States Treaty Index: 1776-1990 Consolidation
Comprehensive index to U.S. Treaties that is keep current through the Current Treaty Index service with updating to within the last 6 months.

Treaties in Force
Annual index prepared by Department of State and available in print and on the U.S. Department of State's web site . Lists every bilateral and multilateral treaty U.S. is a party to and indicates topic, parties, whether treaty is still in force, and where you can find the text. Also available in Hein-on-line Treaties and Agreements Library, USTIF on Westlaw as well as US Treaties in Force on Lexis.
http://www.state.gov/s/l/treaty/treaties/

Guide to the United States Treaties in Force by Igor Kavass
Annual commercially prepared index to current U.S. treaties similar to Treaties in Force, above. Also available in Hein-on-line Treaties and Agreements Library.

Treaty Actions 1997-
Formerly a monthly section of Department of State newsletter that provided update on status of U.S. treaties. More current than Treaties in Force or Guide to United States Treaties in Force. Now available on the U.S. State Department web site as annual compilations of new treaty actions.
http://www.state.gov/s/l/c3428.htm

• Judicial Interpretation of U.S. Treaties

Deak. American International Law Cases, 1783-
Specialized reporter collecting federal and state cases relating to international law.

West Digest System “Treaties” Topic / LexisNexis and Westlaw searches

• Legislative history of U.S. Treaties

Senate Treaty Documents

Includes hearings and debates of Senate Foreign Relations Committee as well as transmittal messages from the President and Secretary of State to the Committee

Access documents through CIS Indexes and Abstracts in print or LexisNexis Congressional database on the web.

Treaty Research for Other Countries

• Sources of Treaties in Print

Consolidated Treaty Series (C.T.S.), 1648-1919 (Pierce Law Library does not own this publication.)
Includes the text of historically important international agreements.

League of Nations Treaty Series (L.N.T.S.), 1920-1946
Includes text of treaties registered with the Secretary of the League

United Nations Treaty Series (U.N.T.S.), 1946-
Text of all treaties registered with the Secretariat. Most comprehensive treaty series but there is time lag in publication and indcxing.

• On-Line Sources of Treaties

United Nations Web Site - United Nations Treaty Collection
Access to all treaties published in U.N.T.S. including summaries and full-text in image format. Fee-based but Pierce Law Library has an account.

Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary General
Available in print and on UN Web Site. Tracks status of 290 treaties drafted under U.N. and League of Nations.

Use available international law electronic research guides and Internet browsers which can lead to sites with text and information on international agreements. Prefer official sites such as NGO sites.

• Indexes to Treaties

Rohn. World Treaty Index, 1900-1980
Index to bilateral and multilateral treaties from 1900-1980.

Kavass. United Nations Cumulative Treaty Index, 1946-
Provides numerical, chronological, country, and subject indexing to all treaties published in the U.N.T.S. Kept current through Current United NationsTreaty Index Supplement. [Also United Nations Treaty Series Cumulative Index covering 21 Jan 1987 - 31 May 2001 are available online at http://untreaty.un.org/English/]

• Customary International Law
  • Look for custom of involved states as evidence of general practice that is accepted as law.
  • Usually need to find documentation of foreign policy practices of the involved states.
  • Evidence of United States "Custom".
    • Check Digests of Practice covering time period.

      Series of digests first published in 1877 act as encyclopedias of U.S. international law practice.

      Most recent digest is Whiteman's Digest of International Law covering 1940s-1960s.

      Digest of U.S. Practice in International Law , 1973-1980, 1981-1988, supplements Whiteman. Most recent is 2000.

      "Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law," 1959- updates the Digest of U.S. Practice . This is a quarterly section in American Journal of International Law.

  • Foreign Relations of the United States
    Department of State's official record of U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy by country or region. See also MELcat Foreign Relations of the United States.
  • Restatement (Third) of Foreign Relations Law of the United States,1987
    Unofficial, but highly respected summary of U.S. law and practice in international law and foreign relations. Can also access through LexisNexis and Westlaw restatement databases.
• Judicial Decisions
  • Includes decisions of courts as well as international arbitration tribunals
  • Check web sites for international organizations with adjudicatory bodies for text of decisions.
  • International Court of Justice (ICJ) Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders, 1947-
    • Most significant adjudication in international law and available on Westlaw in INT-ICJ; the International Court of Justice Decisions, Combined on Lexis; and on ICJ Web site.
• International Law in Domestic Courts
  Features domestic law cases in international law from over 80 jurisdictions. Includes full text of judgments in original language and translations of key passages into English.

©2004-8 Franklin Pierce Law Center Library, Judith Gire. All rights reserved.