HICLR Library Webpage - International and Comparative Law Research
This page
includes information for the Hastings International and Comparative Law
Review (HICLR) about how to research foreign, international & comparative
law. It includes print resources available in the Hastings Law Library,
Lexis & Westlaw online resources, and key Internet links.
• International law research guide handout from Vincent Moyer's 9/18/07 HICLR library presentation
• Library Team Edit Procedures
• HICLR webpage
(Last Updated September 20, 2007.)
Finding A Good Topic
What are you looking for?
- Something that interests you....
- A recently decided controversial case....
- A recently enacted statute or regulation you like or dislike....
- A legal solution to a problem....
- Some aspect of something that hasn't already been written about....
- Laws that are different in various countries in a way that you can compare
and analyze....
- An area of law that you can do a comprehensive analysis of....
- A group of cases or laws you can analyze....
- Laws that lend themselves to historical analysis....
Read about current legal issues that may be of interest to you:
There are several good publications and websites that provide current awareness information about evolving international legal issues.
• The Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) publishes a number of international law reporters that contain good current awareness information. The library has print subscriptions to many of these publications. Probably the most useful for finding topics is the International Trade Reporter.
BNA
-ITR (in print) |
BNA
-ITR (online) |
Available in the library at the call# KF 1975 A5 I5 (4th floor Research Alcove). |
The
Library also has an online subscription to the BNA
International Trade Reporter. (Access is limited to Hastings
students and faculty.) |
Look
at the two "Current Reports" volumes to find current
topics of interest. |
Two
good ways to search for topics using ITR online are: 1) Using the navigation tools on the left side of the page, select the "current index" or "archive index" and browse the topics listed. -or- 2) Select "Search All Issues" at the top of the page and do and "Index Search". |
• American Journal of International Law (AJIL)
K1 M55 (First Floor Library)
Read the "Current Developments" & "International Decisions"
sections.
• American Society of
International Law Insights
Full-text available online.
These 2-3 page articles on topics of current interest are written
by international law experts.
• Bulletin of Legal Developments
KZ B75 (First Floor Library)
Published by the British Institute of International and Comparative
Law, this "fortnightly survey of legal events worldwide and internationally"
is a great place to find interesting Note topics. Each issue is divided
into country, region, or organization, and includes easy to read summaries
(with citations) of important worldwide legal issues.
• International Legal Materials
KZ64 I58 (First Floor Library)
Available on Lexis since 1962 (INTLAW;ILM)
Available on Westlaw since 1980 (ILM)
• U.S. Law Week
KF105 .U33 (First Floor Library)
Read either the "Summary and Analysis of Significant Court Opinions"
or the "Legal News" section.
•
Newspapers
Both Lexis and Westlaw have a good selection of US and foreign newspapers,
where you can read about new legal issues. FindLaw also has a good section called International
Law News.
•
Various international organizations, government agencies, and other
interested parties have created websites tracking current international
law issues. Such websites can be good places to find interesting topics.
For example, take a look at these:
- Amnesty International
- Human Rights Watch
- International
Bar Association
- Iraq
Legal News
- National
Security Archive
- Project
on Government Secrecy
- U.N. News Centre
- US Department of
State
- World
Trade Organization: News
Contact an NGO:
Think about what you're really interested in, figure out which NGOs work in the area (if any), and contact the NGO to ask what would be useful to them. It's always more fun to write on a real-world problem. There are lots of NGO directories to find out who does what, or you can check with one of the professors.
One good NGO directory is the book World Affairs Organizations in Northern California: A Guide to the Field published by the World Without War Council. It is in the Reference area of the First Floor Library at JX27 .W67 1995. It has a directory of organizations, profiles of 90 selected organizations, and a subject index.
The Perkins Library at Duke University has compiled useful Non-Governmental Organization Research Guide with a list of NGOs by subject.
The Internet has provided a opportunity for smaller NGOs to spread their message around the globe. There are an amazing number of specialized NGOs. For example, the International Directory of Coral Reef Organizations includes a list of over 600 NGOs & IGOs dealing specifically with the protection of coral reefs. (Such as the International Coral Reef Action Network and the UNEP Coral Reef Unit).
Here is a list of some local NGOs that you may be interested in contacting:
• Artists
Embassy International – dedicated to the universal language
of the Arts for peace...to support understanding, international friendship,
inter-cultural appreciation and encouragement of artists. (SF/Richmond)
• Asian
Law Caucus – promotes, advances and represents the legal
and civil rights of the Asian and Pacific Islander communities. (San
Francisco)
• Center for Justice
& Accountability – works to stop torture and other serious
human rights abuses around the world by helping the survivors of such
abuses hold their perpetrators accountable, especially those perpetrators
who live in or visit the United States. (SF)
• Crabgrass – a small non-governmental organization based in San Francisco
working globally and locally, on environmental, social justice and
human rights issues. (SF)
• Earthjustice – a non-profit public interest law firm dedicated to protecting
the magnificent places, natural resources, and wildlife of this earth
and to defending the right of all people to a healthy environment.
Initially founded in 1971 as the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund. (Oakland)
• Electronic Frontier
Foundation – a donor-supported membership organization working
to protect fundamental rights regardless of technology; to educate
the press, policymakers and the general public about civil liberties
issues related to technology; and to act as a defender of those liberties.
(SF)
• Global
Action Network – an online community designed to connect,
educate, and empower young people working in the global population
and reproductive health field. (SF)
• Global
Exchange – a human rights organization dedicated to promoting
environmental, political, and social justice around the world. (SF)
• Human Rights
Watch – dedicated to protecting the human rights of people
around the world. Their aim is to prevent discrimination, to uphold
political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime,
to bring offenders to justice, to investigate and expose human rights
violations and hold abusers accountable, and to challenge governments
and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international
human rights law. (SF)
• Natural Heritage
Institute – a non-governmental, nonprofit organization founded
in 1989 by a group of experienced conservation lawyers and scientists
who foresaw the need for a toolkit for the next era of environmental
problem solving: where the technical dimensions are more complex,
the social calculus less obvious, the economics more central, the
ramifications more global, and the conventional pathways less efficacious.
(Berkeley)
• Peaceworkers – a San Francisco-based international nonviolent peace organization,
is the original sponsor of the proposal for a Global Nonviolent Peace
Force. (SF)
• Redefining
Progress – a nonprofit public policy organization that creates
policies and tools to encourage accurate market prices, to protect
our common social and natural assets, and to foster social an economic
sustainability. (Oakland)
• Sweatshop
Watch – a coalition of labor, community, civil rights, immigrant
rights, women's, religious & student organizations, and individuals
committed to eliminating sweatshop conditions in the global garment
industry. (Oakland)
• Tibet
Justice Center – committed to solving the situation in Tibet
peacefully, through the rule of law. (Berkeley)
• Women's
Institute for Leadership Development – to promote human rights
through the conscious leadership and action of women and girls...WILD
provides human rights education, engages in public advocacy, and collaborates
on the adoption and implementation of international human rights standards
in the United States. (SF)
Doing A Preemption Check
What is a Preemption Check?
It is simply a way to check to make sure that no one else has already published an article (or book) on the topic you have selected for your Note.
How do I Complete a Preemption Check?
The easiest thing to do is to follow the Library's 7-step Preemption Check Guide.
Researching International & Comparative Law
RESEARCH GUIDES:
The library has published a series of legal research guides covering topics that might be relevant when you are doing your research. Topics include:
• International Human Rights Research
• European Union
• International Court of Justice
• International Environmental Law
• Finding Treaties
• UN Resolutions
ASIL Guides to Electronic Resources for International Law
United Nations Documentation: Research Guide on Human Rights Research
Germain's
Transnational Law Research: A Guide for Attorneys, by Claire M.
Germain
[K85 .G47, First Floor Library]
This widely-used guide is a great starting place for international
and comparative law research. There are chapters covering The European
Convention on Human Rights, The European Court of Human Rights, European
Union, International Environmental Law, International Criminal Law,
Human Rights, International Court of Justice, and International Labor
Law.
Guide
to Human Rights Research, (published by Harvard Law School)
K3236 T63 1994 (First Floor Library)
This research guide is also available on the web at
http://www.law.harvard.edu/library/services/research/guides/international/human_rights.php
FINDING BOOKS:
You can search Hastings Online Catalog for print titles at the Hastings Law Library. You can search other Library Catalogs (including MELVYL®) for additional print resources at local libraries. Or you can search "WorldCat" on FirstSearch to find out if any books exist on your topic at any library worldwide. (Note: FirstSearch is only available from computers on campus.) If you do find a book on your topic that we don't have at Hastings, you can submit a request to have the book borrowed by Hastings through inter-library loan (ILL). It can take up to two weeks to get books from ILL, so plan ahead.
FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES:
Finding a journal article discussing the area of law you are planning to write about, can be a great way to start your research or to solidify an important point in your paper. Granted the articles you find will have a different focus than your paper, but they can help you find the major primary sources you will need. The library has created a useful guide to finding journal articles that should answer most of your questions about how to find articles in law reviews and other publications.
FINDING PRIMARY SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL & COMPARATIVE LAW:
International & Comparative legal research is VERY DIFFERENT from typical US legal research where you are simply finding a statute, regulation, or case. There is a lot of documentation located in a lot of different places. You will most likely need to search in books and online. The Internet is becoming a rich source of international law. Lexis and Westlaw can be useful, but are often not the best places to look for international law.
Remember that the information you are searching for may be published by the US government, foreign governments, Inter-Governmental Organizations, Regional Organizations, or other international organizations. This can be confusing, so be patient and diligent! The library maintains a listing of some of the main sources of online international and comparative law. A few of the best sources of international law are also listed below: A few of the best sources of international law are also listed below:
TREATIES
• Hastings
Law Library Legal Research Guide: Finding Treaties
• Treaties
and International Agreements Online - This Internet database may
be the best place to search for the full-text of treaties. (It is
available only on campus.)
• United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS) - This Internet database
includes a full-text
search of treaties and includes other
UNTS databases as well. (Available only from computers on campus.)
• Council
of Europe Treaties
• Multilaterals
Project - Human rights treaties and conventions
• Some treaty databases available on Lexis:
- Treaties
and Agreements from ILM - treaties and international agreements
from International Legal Materials, January 1975 through current.
- US
Treaties on LEXIS - contains over 14,000 documents from 1776 through
current.
- Native
American People Treaties - Archival material from 1787 through
1883.
• Some treaty databases available on Westlaw:
- US
Treaties and Other International Agreements - Complete full-text
coverage of international and Native American treaties to which the
United States is a party from 1778 to present.
- United
Kingdom Human Rights International Treaties - Treaties from 1950
to current.
UNITED NATIONS
• Hastings
Law Library Legal Research Guide: UN Resolutions
• AccessUN - This index to the UN documents in the Hastings micrographics collection
covers 1966-present. For older UN documents use the CD-ROM index listed
below. (Available on campus only.)
• Index to United Nations Documents and Publications -
This CD-ROM contains an index to UN documents from 1946 to present.
Once you find the UN document number using this index, you can locate
the full-text online, in print, or on microfiche. The CD is kept at
the circulation desk and must be used on the computers across from
the reference desk. Most UN documents from 1981-present are available
in the Readex UN Law Library Microfiche Collection filed at JZ5010
.U57 (ask a Reference Librarian for assistance, items must be paged
for you). The CD also includes selected full-text resolutions from
the General Assembly.
• United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS) - This Internet database
includes a full-text
search of treaties and includes other
UNTS databases as well. (Available only from computers on campus.)
• United Nations
World Wide Web Homepage - While many of the UN documents you need
will be available online, for those hard-to-locate documents you may
need to use the Hastings UN micrographics collection. (Ask a Reference
Librarian for assistance, micrographic items must be paged for you.)
• United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Homepage
• Commission on Human Rights: Country and Thematic Mechanisms, Resolutions,
and Decisions
• United Nations
High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR) Homepage - Includes a great research
page with a collection of full-text databases representing the
most comprehensive and reliable refugee information available on the
Internet.
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION
• International
Labour Organisation
• NATLEX is a continuously-updated database containing references to over 55,000
national laws on labour, social security, and related human rights,
with over 300 laws in full text. Records and texts in NATLEX are in
either English, French, or Spanish. Search by country or subject.
• Judgments of the Administrative Tribunal of the International
Labour Organisation
K1704.23 .J83 (pageable)
INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
• International
Court of Justice (ICJ website)
• International
Court of Justice (ICJ research guide)
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT & SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNALS
• The International
Criminal Court (ICC) is the first permanent court capable of trying
individuals accused of the most serious violations of international
humanitarian and human rights law, namely genocide, crimes against
humanity and war crimes. The treaty that established the ICC, the
Rome Statute, entered into force on July 1, 2002, and provisional
headquarters for the Court were opened shortly thereafter. The ICC
is expected to begin investigating cases by 2004 or 2005. Visit the Coalition for the International Criminal
Court webpage to read recent documents, press releases, and fact
sheets.
• International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
• International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
• Global War Crimes Tribunal Collection
KZ1190 .G56 1997 (pageable)
[Includes background information, documents, and cases from the Yugoslav
& Rwanda tribunals.]
• International Courts and Tribunals: selected documents and
materials
KZ6250 .I57 1999 (pageable)
• The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
KZ1201.A12 M67 1998 (pageable)
• The International Tribunal for Rwanda: facts, cases, documents
KZ1201.A12 I59 1999 (pageable)
INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
• Research
Guide - International Environmental Law Bibliography
• ECOLEX: A
Gateway to Environmental Law
• United Nations Environment
Programme - With information on the UNEP
Coral Reef Unit, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),
the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS),
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES),
and using
CITES to protect animals.
HUMAN RIGHTS
• Hastings
Law Library Legal Research Guide: Human Rights
• European
Court of Human Rights
• European
Court of Justice and European Court of Human Rights Cases (on Lexis)
• European
Human Rights Reports (on Westlaw)
• European Union Annual Report on Human Rights
• Cases and Materials on the European Convention on Human
Rights
KJE5132 .M68 2001 (pageable)
• European Human Rights Case Locator 1960-2000
KJE5132.A36 M46 2000 (First Floor Library)
• European Human Rights Case Summaries 1960-2000
KJE5132.A7 M46 2002 (pageable)
• Leading cases of the European Court of Human Rights
KJC5132.A52 L42 1997 (pageable)
• The
Inter-American Human Rights Database contains documents in English
and Spanish adopted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
since its first session in 1960.
• Inter-American
Court of Human Rights
• Inter-American Yearbook of Human Rights
KDZ574.A85 I68 (pageable)
[Includes documents and cases from the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights & the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (in English
& Spanish).]
WTO / GATT
• WorldTradeLaw.net provides access to primary source documents related to international
trade law, including a full-text search engine for GATT/WTO decisions.
It also provides analyses of certain trade law issues through the
"Dispute Settlement Commentary" subscription service. This Commentary
includes summary and analysis of all new WTO Panel and Appellate Body
reports within 1-3 weeks after they are circulated to the WTO Members.
(Restricted to users on campus.)
• World Trade Organization - Official WTO website
• NYU
Law Library WTO and GATT Research
Getting Help With Your Research
Reference Desk Hours:
Fall Semester 2007
Monday-Friday: 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Getting Research Help:
The Reference Librarians are available to help you plan your research
strategy and to help you find the resources that might be useful in
researching your Note topic. Either stop by when the reference
desk is open, or if you have a more complicated question, e-mail (or
call)
(565-4752), and make an appointment to discuss your research.
Updated September
20, 2007
Prepared by
Foreign Comparative & International Law Librarian