Background
Publications If you are just getting started in this area of research, here are some
background resources.
Nutshells(basic overviews)
Public
International Law in a Nutshell, 3rd ed. by Thomas Buergenthal,
Sean D. Murphy
KZ3110 B84 A36 2002 (United Nations Plaza-pageable) (a straightforward
introduction for beginners)
Principles
of Public International Law, 6th ed. by Ian Brownlie
KZ3225 B76 A37 2003 (United Nations Plaza-pageable) (includes a
good discussion of international organizations).
Akehurst's
Modern Introduction to International Law, 7th rev. ed. by Peter
Malanczuk
KZ3205 A38 M35 1997 (United Nations Plaza-pageable) (a good survey
arranged by substantive subject, i.e. "int'l environmental law".)
Research
Guides
Germain's
Transnational Law Research (2004), by Claire Germain K85 G47 (Reference Collection)
Treatises(accounts of international law with citations to primary sources)
An
Introduction to International Law, 4th ed. by Mark W. Janis
KZ3140 J36 A35 2003 (United Nations Plaza-pageable) (treats both
rules and process, emphasizes U.S. practice)
Miscellaneous
On
the Foundation and Sources of International Law (2003), by Ige
F. Dekker and Harry H.G. Post KZ3410 .05 2003 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
(discrete essays, less of an overview)
Sources
of International Law (2000), by Martti Koskenniemi
KZ3410 .S67 2000 (United Nations Plaza-pageable) (more specific
insights, less overview)
The
United Nations Handbook, the United Nations (through 2000)
JZ4970 .A2 (Reference Collection, First Floor Library Stacks, and
United Nations Plaza-pageable) (a current guide to the purposes
and structure of the primary and subsidiary UN organs)
Treaties
Treaties (also called covenants, protocols, acquis, conventions, pacts or
charters) are international agreements between states and/or international
organizations. Treaties are primary sources of international law. For a
guide to finding treaties, click here.
Conventional
international law is based on consent of state parties and as such the treaty
applies only between those parties. In determining treaty application, watch
for state party reservations, understandings and declarations which can
transform that state's obligations. Treaties only bind nonparties when they
form the basis for customary international law.
Paper
Sources for Major Treaties
International
Legal Materials (2004), American Society of International Law
KZ64 I58 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
A
Guide to the United States Treaties in Force (2004), by Igor Kavass
and Adolf Sprudzs
KZ235 T742 (First Floor Library Stacks)
The
Major International Treaties Of The Twentieth Century: A History And
Guide with Texts, ed. by J.A.S. Grenville And Bernard Wasserstein
KZ173 M35 2001 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Multilateral
Treaties Deposited With The Secretary-General (2003), United Nations
KZ171 M861 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Multilateral
Treaties: Index and Current Status (1995), by M.J. Bowman and
D. J. Harris KZ118 B68 (Reference Collection and United Nations Plaza-pageable)
United
States Treaty Index: 1776-2000 Consolidation (2004), by Igor Kavass
KZ235 U54 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Customary
International Law
This kind of law is formed when states consistently act in a certain way
(state practice) out of a sense of legal obligation (opinio juris).
State practice includes domestic legislation, regulations, treaties, judicial
decisions, diplomatic communications, NGO and IGO practice (for example
General Assembly Resolutions and state voting practice). Look at judicial
decisions and executive communications for evidence of opinio juris.
A state may escape the application of customary international law by being
a persistent objector.
Digests
(for state practice)and Yearbooks (for state and
IGO practice)
Paper
Sources
Yearbook
Of International Organizations
JZ4836 Y43 (Reference Collection or United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Martindale
Hubbell Law Digest
KF190 M3 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Foreign
Law Guide by Thomas H. Reynolds
K38 .R49 (Reference Collection)
The
Europa World Year Book
JN1 .E9 (Reference Collection or United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Digest
of International Law by Marjorie M. Whiteman
KZ231 .W47 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Annual
Digest and Reports of Public International Law Cases
KZ199.A82 I581 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Max
Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law
KZ21 .M39 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Yearbook
of the International Law Commission, by the United Nations International
Law Commission
KZ4949.I56 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
General
Principles of Law The "general principles of law recognized by civilized nations"
(Art. 38 Statute of the ICJ) are primarily used as gap-fillers.
The International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (available at Westlaw
> All Databases > International/Worldwide Materials > Multi-National
Materials > Court & Tribunal Cases > International Criminal
Tribunal for Rwanda)
International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (available at Westlaw
> All Databases > International/Worldwide Materials > Multi-National
Materials > Court & Tribunal Cases > International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia)
The international
community recognizes that some norms are so fundamental that states
are not permitted to derogate from them. (Persistent objection is irrelevant
here).
Soft
Law This growing area of international law can contribute to the formation
of customary international law. Soft law sources are not treaties but include:
declarations, resolutions, charters, voluntary codes of conduct and best
practice guides.
The U.N.
Documents of Charter-Based Bodies website indexes documents issued
by the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social
Council, the Commission on Human Rights, and the Sub-Commission on
the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
Useful subject
search terms in the library catalogue
For cooperation
between states, try: arbitration, international; embargo; sanctions (international law);
international cooperation; international organization; labor laws and
legislation, international; public health laws, international; treaties.
For diplomacy
laws, try: consular law; consuls; diplomatic and consular service; diplomatic
protection; diplomats; exterritoriality; extradition; indemnity; passports.
For international
dispute settlement, try: arbitration, international; civil procedure (international law);
claims; equity (international law); exhaustion of local remedies (international
law); government liability (international law); international courts;
judicial assistance; jurisdiction (international law).
For international
environmental law, try: environmental law, international; fishery law and legislation; ocean
bottom; radioactive waste disposal (international law); space law.
For international
law on the use of force, try: act of state; aggression (international law); airspace; civil wars;
customary law, international; equality of states; government liability
(international law); interventions (international law); military law;
naval law; neutrality; self defense (international law); space law;
war (international law); war, maritime (international law).
For humanrights, try: exhaustion of local remedies (international law); government liability
(international law); habeus corpus (international law); human rights;
natural law; slave trade; social security (international law).
For the
rights and duties of individuals under international law, try:
aliens; aliens property; exhaustion of local remedies (international
law); persons (international law); criminal liability (international
law); eminent domain (international law); international offenses; pirates;
political crimes and offenses; slave trade.
For maritime
law, try: fishery law and legislation; freedom of the seas; law of the seas;
maritime law; naval law; pirates; salvage.
For migration,
try: aliens; asylum, right of; citizenship (international law); naturalization;
passports; refugees, political.
For the
relationship between domestic and international law, try: international and municipal law; jurisdiction (international law).
For statehood,
try: autonomy; boundaries; recognition (international law); sovereignty;
state succession; territorial waters; territory, national.
For international
trade law, try: antitrust law (international law); arbitration international; design
protection (international law); industrial property (international law);
intellectual property (international law); trademarks (international
law).
Call number
areas for certain national legislation
Private
International Law Sources include domestic legislation and judicial decisions as well
as treaties and standards issued by international rule-making and dispute
settlement bodies.
The
Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) is an intergovernmental
organization that promotes the development of private international
law by developing conventions on topics such as taking of evidence
abroad, international child abduction, recognition of divorces, and
service of process. The HCCH is a source of information regarding
the conventions themselves and their implementation.
International
Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) is an
intergovernmental organization that contributes to the modernization
and harmonization of uniform private international law by developing
treaties, model laws, general principles and legal guides.
The
United Nations Commission for International Trade Law is dedicated
to modernizing and harmonizing international business rules. To this
end UNCITRAL develops conventions, model laws, indexes of case law,
seminars and technical assistance. The website offers a digest of
caselaw decisions involving UNICITRAL documents.
When
using the internet search engine "Google",
you can limit your search to the websites of organizations or governments
by selecting "advanced search" and limiting the domain to
".org" or ".gov".
FCIL Librarian