Sources of Public and Private International Law
Public international law governs the behavior of nation states and international organizations. It also applies to some conduct by individuals. Private international law governs the international interactions of private individuals (natural and legally recognized persons). Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) contains the most widely recognized account of sources of international law. It lists the sources of public international law as: conventions, customary international law, general principles of law, judicial decisions, and scholarly opinions. The aim of this guide is to assist you in locating resources for international legal research both in our library collection and online. Use the links in the sidebar to jump to the desired sections of the guide.
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, 4rd ed. by Thomas Buergenthal,
Sean D. Murphy
KZ3110 B84 A36 2007 (Circ. Desk, Earlier editions available in 6th stacks) (a straightforward
introduction for beginners)
Principles
of Public International Law, 6th ed. by Ian Brownlie
KZ3225 B76 A37 2003 (6th stacks) (includes a
good discussion of international organizations).
Akehurst's
Modern Introduction to International Law, 7th rev. ed. by Peter
Malanczuk
KZ3205 A38 M35 1997 (6th stacks) (a good survey
arranged by substantive subject, i.e. "int'l environmental law".)
Research Guides
Germain's
Transnational Law Research : a guide for attorneys (2004), by Claire Germain
K85 G47 (One copy is at the reference desk, a second copy is in the 5th stacks).
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 (6th stacks) (treats both
rules and process, emphasizes U.S. practice)
Miscellaneous
On the Foundations and Sources of International Law (2003), by Ige F. Dekker and Harry H.G. Post KZ3410 .05 2003 (6th Stacks) (discrete essays, less of an overview)
Sources
of International Law (2000), by Martti Koskenniemi
KZ3410 .S67 2000 (6th Stacks) (more specific
insights, less overview)
The
United Nations Handbook, the United Nations (through 2000)
JZ4970 .A2 (Reference Desk and 5th Stacks) (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 (6th stacks, recent updates at circ. desk) also available online through HeinOnline.
A
Guide to the United States Treaties in Force (2004), by Igor Kavass
and Adolf Sprudzs
KZ235 T742 ( 6th 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 ( 6th Stacks )
Multilateral
Treaties Deposited With The Secretary-General (2003), United Nations
KZ171 M861 ( 6th Stacks )
Multilateral
Treaties: Index and Current Status (1995), by M.J. Bowman and
D. J. Harris KZ118 B68 (6th stacks - Lib use only, Reference Desk - Lib use only).
United
States Treaty Index: 1776-2000 Consolidation (2004), by Igor Kavass
KZ235 U54 (6th stacks)
World
Treaty Index, 2nd ed.
KZ173 R63 1983 (6th stacks - Lib use only)
Links to Fundamental Treaties
The Statute of the International Court of Justice
The Charter of the United Nations
The
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
(this treaty establishes the rules of treaty interpretation)
Online Sources for Major Treaties
The American Society of International
Law's Electronic Information System for International Law (an
excellent resource for treaties and other international legal research)
Lexis
has collections of major treaties
(Area of Law - By Topic > International Law > Treaties &
International Agreements)
Westlaw
has collections of major treaties
(All Databases > International/Worldwide Materials >
Multi-National Materials > Legislation)
Treaties
and International Agreements Online
(only accessible from campus computers)
Hein-On-line
(available to Hastings students, faculty, and staff)
Environmental
Treaties and Resource Indicators' Treaty Locator
(a good search engine for environmental law treaties)
The U.S. Department of State's Annual List (lists treaties in force for the U.S.)
The websites of major international bodies often display their founding treaties:
The International Labour Organization
The Organization of American States
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 Desk - 2002-03 (vol. 1-vol. 5)-, 5th Stacks - 1989/90 (vol. 1-vol. 3))
Martindale
Hubbell Law Digest
KF190 M3 ( 4th Stacks )
Foreign
Law Guide by Thomas H. Reynolds
K38 .R49 (5th stacks and available online)
The
Europa World Year Book
JN1 .E9 (5th stacks, research alcove - library use only)
Digest
of International Law by Marjorie M. Whiteman
KZ231 .W47 (6th stacks - [1963-73]-library use only - available online through HeinOnline)
Annual
Digest and Reports of Public International Law Cases
KZ199.A82 I581 (6th stacks - library use only)
Max
Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law
KZ21 .M39 (6th stacks and available online through HeinOnline)
Yearbook
of the International Law Commission, by the United Nations International
Law Commission
KZ4949.I56 (6th stacks - library use only, and available online)
Yearbook:
Commercial Arbitration
K2400.A53 Y4 (5th stacks)
Online Sources
Foreign Law Guide (allows you to search for legislation and regulation in different jurisdictions around the world)
Law Library of Congress' Nations Guide (provides sources for national constitutions and information about branches of national governments)
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.
National Constitutions (see Law Library of Congress' Nations Guide)
General Principles of Law as Applied by International Courts and Tribunals (1994), Bin Cheng (6th stacks) KZ6250 .C46
Judicial Decisions
The International Court of Justice
The website of the ICJ provides all ICJ opinions issued since 1946
Westlaw (All Databases > International/Worldwide Materials > Multi-National Materials > Court & Tribunal Cases > International Court of Justice)
Other International Courts and Tribunals
The International Criminal Court
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 Permanent Court of Arbitration
The WTO Dispute Settlement Body
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
The Court of Arbitration for Sport
Regional Courts and Tribunals
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights
Decisions of U.S. Courts applying International Law
American International Law Cases, Third Series KZ238.A2 A543 (6ht stacks).
Jus
Cogens
Peremptory norms of international law
The international community recognizes that some norms are so fundamental that states are not permitted to derogate from them. (Persistent objection is irrelevant here).
Look for discussion of these norms in judicial decisions.
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
Here
are some of our other Research Guides:
International Environmental Law Bibliography
International Court of Justice
International Human Rights Research
Searching for U.N. Resolutions
Dictionaries
Modern
dictionary of international legal terms, (1993), by E. Lindbergh,
K54 .L55 1993 (5th stacks - Lib use only)
Dictionary
of International Trade, by Edward G. Hinkelman,
HF1373 .H55 2005 (Ref Desk- Lib use only)
Research Guides on Paper
International Journal of Legal Information (through Winter 2004), the International Association of Law Libraries K9 .N8446 (5th stacks [recent updates at Circ. Desk] and available online at Heinonline)
Online Research Guides
ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law
UN Research Guide: International Law
Finding Books in our Collection
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. eg. arbitration international , embargo , Labor laws and legislation, International labor laws and legislation international
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 human
rights, 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
KD = Great Britain
KF = United States
KG = Mexico
KJE = European Union
KZ = treaties
Guides by Other Universities
Brooklyn Law School offers a guide for international moot court students
The Georgetown University E.B. Williams Library
Harvard University Law Library's NAFTA Research Guide
The University of California Berkeley Law Library
The University of Chicago D'Angelo Law Library
The University of Houston O'Quinn Law Library guides include int'l economic law guide and int'l intellectual property rights guide
The University of Utrecht Faculty of Law Library
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.
Links to Major Treaties
Inter-American Convention on General Rules of Private International Law
The Statute of the Hague Conference on Private International Law
Links to Important International 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.
Inter-American Specialized Conferences on Private International Law contributes to development of uniform private international law among the members of the Organization of American States.
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.
By Subject
Business
Convention on the Law Applicable to International Sale Of Goods
Convention on the Law Applicable to Contracts for the International Sale of Goods
Commercial Arbitration
International Chamber of Commerce
American Arbitration Association
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes Convention
Families
Convention on Celebration and Recognition of the Validity of Marriages
Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption
Property
Convention concerning the International Administration of the Estates of Deceased Persons
Online Resources
The Electronic Information System for International Law - Private International Law
ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law, Private International Law
U.S. Department of State's Private International Law Website
Miscellaneous Research Tips
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".
For international and foreign legal abbreviations, try the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations.
Update
to Evaluating Foreign and International Legal Databases on the Internet,
by Mirela Roznovschi, offers advice about judging quality of sources.
It is written by the Reference Librarian for International and Foreign
Law at New York University School of Law Library.
Note
different spellings of common words such as: labor/labour organization/organisation,
cancellation/cancelation.
For international news sites try:
ASIL's International Law in the News site
Lexis has international legal news (Lexis> Legal News> Legal News by Practice Area> International)
Last updated September 12, 2007 by
FCIL Librarian