Introduction to International Law Research

Comparative & International Law SurveyMay 2014

Overview• Definitions• Sources of law• Resources and other materials• How to get help

What Is International Law?

Public Int’l Law• Governs interactions

between states (nations), between states and intergovernmental bodies (IGOs), and between international bodies themselves

Private Int’l Law• Governs the choice of

law to apply when there are conflicts in the domestic/national law of different countries that relate to private transactions

Sources of International Law• The sources are set forth in Article 38 of the

Statute of the International Court of Justice (annex to UN Charter)

• Note: ICJ also may decide “according to what is equitable and good” (ex aequo et bono). See How the Court Works

Sources of International Law, cont’d.• International conventions – Treaties, pacts, protocols, agreements, accords– Bilateral (2 parties)–Multilateral (3 or more parties)

• Customary law (country-specific practices and general principles)

• Judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations

Research Guides

• Gallagher guides on FCIL• American Society of Int’l Law’s

Guide to Electronic Resources in International Law• GlobaLex (NYU) guides on FCIL• International Law Tutorial (Duke Law & Berkeley Law)

United Nations

• United Nations– Charter– UN Structure and Organization (links on left) – Organizational chart– Library

• GlobaLex research guide on Researching the United Nations

More on IGOs

• African Union; NATO• Gallagher guide on

Intergovernmental Organizations• Yearbook of International Organizations,

Reference Office JZ4836 .Y43• List of IGOs (Northwestern University Library)• ASIL guide on International Organizations

Review: Treaties

• A treaty is an agreement among states• Number of different names: – International agreements – Conventions– Protocols

• Bilateral vs. Multilateral– Bilateral: between two parties– Multilateral: among several parties

Finding Treaties

• Full-text vs. Indexes• Parties and Status• Reservations• Gallagher guide on

Treaties & Other International Agreements

U.S. Treaties

• U.S. State Dept. Treaty Affairs– Treaties in Force and Treaty Actions

• HeinOnline Treaties and Agreements Library–On the Gallagher Law Library homepage,

locate “HeinOnline” under “Selected Databases”

UN Treaties

• FLARE Index to Treaties• United Nations Treaty Collection, Multilateral

Treaties Deposited with the Secretary General (“MTDSG”) and United Nations Treaty Series (“UNTS”)

Exercise

• Locate the International Convention on Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR) in the UNTS

Reservations

• A state may wish to become a party to a treaty but disagree with one or more terms

• State may decide to become party to a treaty but issue a reservation

• Usually comes up in the context of multilateral treaties with many parties

Researching Reservations

• Locate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights again

• Where are reservations located?• Find one country’s reservation and read what

it says

Customary Law

• International yearbooks published by countries– Hint: HeinOnline catalog search for [international

law yearbook]• Duke legal research tutorial on

Customary International Law

Judicial Decisions

• Gallagher guide on International Cases– Ex. International Court of Justice

• The Project on International Courts & Tribunals: A Synoptic Chart

• ASIL research guide on International Criminal Law

Research Strategy Review

• Preliminary analysis (what do I already know?)

• Secondary sources (books, articles, non-legal materials – news, etc.)

• Primary materials (e.g. treaty)

• Update & refine

Secondary Source Research• Research Guides• Books: library catalog• Articles: LegalTrac (navigate from Law Library home

page)• Scholarly opinion: Restatement of Foreign Relations,

Third: Westlaw [REST-FOREL]• Commentary / Reports: ASIL • U.S. government web sites & publications State Dept.

Exercise• Start at the United Nations Treaty Collection and

navigate to the UNTS database to locate the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)– Is the U.S. listed as a participant to this

agreement?• Use the FLARE Index to search for UNCLOS, and

locate a full-text version of this treaty. In which Article is “piracy” defined?

• Search LegalTrac and locate one article citation that discusses the U.S. and the Law of the Sea Convention

Wrap-Up

• Sources of international law: treaties, custom, general principles, cases, teachings

• Treaties: can find text in different places• IGOs: established by treaties; websites include

pubs, press releases, official docs• Secondary sources: books, scholarly articles,

news. Remember to consider non-US perspectives.

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