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International Legal Research
FSU College of Law Library
Margaret Clark
January 2006
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Review of Sources & Strategies
• United Nations Documents
• Multilateral Treaties
• Case law
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United Nations
Four types of documents• Periodicals -- U.N. Chronicle
• Sales Publications -- Yearbooks, annuals, reports or studies
• Masthead Documents -- Provisional records
• Official Records – meeting records, resolutions, reports
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Document Symbols
• Documents are identified by a symbol
• Identified by issuing body
• To locate document, important to know different parts of symbol
• Use handout as guide
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U.N. Databases
• Official Document System ODS 1993 +
• AccessUN 1948 +
• UNBISnet 1979 +
• UN-I-QUE 1946 +
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Official Document System (ODS)
• Official repository of UN documents• Full-text images in pdf format• Official documents from 1993• Resolutions from 1946• Does not contain:
– Press releases– Sales publications– Treaties
• ODS Training Guide
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On this screen, accessible at http://documents.un.org, you may choose a search interface from the six official languages. In this example we select “English.”
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This screen prompts you to choose between the “Simple,” “Advanced” and “Global” search screens. To begin, we choose “Simple Search.”
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Date Column
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Search for older resolution
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Access UN 1948 to date
• Comprehensive, easy to search• Unofficial; generally not full text• Use ODS for full-text after 1992• Use it to search your library’s (FSU) holdings• Provides access to ALL four types of UN
documents.• Individual articles are indexed.• Treaties are indexed • Documents from the six UN bodies are indexed
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What is UNBISnet ?
• 1979 to present• Online catalog of the UN Library in NY and Geneva.• Bibliographic database with links to recent full-text
documents• Includes all UN documents as well as non-UN holdings,
Allows for highly advanced searches– Subject searching – Title searching: Use title and notes keyword option, since many
titles are generic– Can limit by type of material– Speeches – Voting Records: by keyword or resolution symbol
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In order to access UNBISnet, type http://unbisnet.un.org into the address bar of any Internet browser and press “enter.”
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What type of information is included in UNBISnet?
• Bibliographic RecordsCatalogue of United Nations documents and publications indexed by the UN Library in New York and Geneva. Also included are commercial publications and other non-UN sources held in the collection of the Library in NY.
•Voting RecordsThe voting records for resolutions which were adopted - either without a vote or by roll-call or recorded vote - by the General Assembly and the Security Council.
•Index to SpeechesCitations to speeches made in the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council.
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UN-I-QUE
• Electronic tool for identifying the symbols of UN documents
• Good for locating certain human rights documents– Declarations adopted by the General Assembly
• Decl AND child– Periodic reports submitted by countries in compliance
with intl human rights treaties to which they are a party
• Name of country AND periodic AND keyword (e.g. child)– Rapporteurs’ Reports in the areas of human rights
and int’l law• rapporteur* AND report AND child*
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U.N. Internet Sites
• UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has a searchable database
• UN Human Rights Bodies links to all other UN entities involved in human rights promotion and protection
• UN Treaty Body Database includes documents by the committees set up to monitor treaty implementation
• UN Documentation Centre Includes documents primarily from major UN bodies & press releases
• UN Documentation Research Guide Quick Links
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UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
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U.N. Current Awareness
• U.N. News Center
• UN Press Briefings Archive
• Researching Press Releases
• UN Treaty Body Recommendations email service
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Treaties
Two elements to treaty research
1. Finding text• Authoritative?• Most recent?
2. Determining Status • who has signed and ratified?• entered into force?• changed by subsequent protocols or amendments?
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Finding Treaties and Text
• Treaty Collections– General online collections– Human Rights collections– Treaties of regional organizations– Non-governmental organizations
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General Collections
• UN Treaty Collection– Access via FSU Databases page– Use Treaty Handbook for overview of
depository practice– Use Treaty Reference Guide for definitions of
key terms– Status of Multilateral Treaties Deposited with t
he Secretary-General
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General Collections
• EISIL Electronic Information System for International Law– Extensive database of quality resources– Three types of resources
• Primary documents• Web sites• Research Guides
– Arranged by 13 categories of International Law
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Human Rights Collection
• International Human Rights Treaties from OHCHR– Text of treaties in subject listing– New instruments under consideration– Status of ratification
• Office of the UNHCR
• U. of Minn. Human Rights Library
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Regional Collections
• European Union – EUR-Lex database• Council of Europe• OAS treaties
– Basic documents pertaining to human rights• African States• Asia
• Collection of Web sites
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Non-governmental Sources
• Amnesty International (Treaty page)
• ICRC
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Recent Treaties
• International Legal Materials ILM– Lexis INTLAW lib; ILM file– Westlaw ILM
• Law Reviews• Newspaper sources• UN publications
“Statement of Treaties and International Agreements Registered or Filed and Recorded with the Secretariat during the Month of…”
Access through UN-I-QUE; then search UNBISNET
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Commentary and analysis
• ASIL – web site search engine– ASILEX database
• International Law Reports Westlaw & Lexis
• CIAO database
• Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals
• PAIS Public Affairs Information Service
• Lexis and Westlaw journals
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Current Awareness• ASIL
– International Law in Brief• Bi-monthly email service• Great analytical abstracts on int’l law documents
– ASIL Insights• Monthly email service
• International Law Update– LexisNexis INTLAW; ILAWUP file
• Group of IL newsletters– LexisNexis INTLAW; INTLTR– Area of law > by topic > Int’l law > news & info >
newsletters
• Keeping Current guide – excellent tool
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International Courts
• Databases
• Updating cases
• Locating Judicial Decisions handout
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International Courts - Databases
• World Legal Information Institute– Human Rights Courts & Tribunals Page– International Courts & Tribunals Project
• HUDOC– Portal for European Convention of Human Rights– Case-law collection
• Court > Judgments• Commission > Decisions (Admissablity)• Committee of Ministers > Resolutions
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International Courts - Databases
• European Union– Human Rights & Democratisation Policy– EUR-Lex database
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International Courts - Databases
• Inter-American Human Rights– Cases
– Inter-American Commission on Human Rights– Inter-American Court on Human Rights
– Databases• Official Web sites cases through Nov 2005
• U of Minnesota Human Rights through 2004
• Westlaw IACHR-OAS through 2005
• WorldLII selected cases through 2003
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Updating cases
Research in Secondary literature• Westlaw: JLR, TP-ALL, • Lexis: Secondary Legal>Law Reviews &
Journals>Law Reviews by Area of Law• Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals• Index to Legal periodicals
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The End