LibGuides: Foreign and International Law Research Basics: International Law and International Organizations

Working with International Law and International Organizations

International law exists at the international, regional, and national levels, in both political forums and dispute resolution bodies. If you are new to international law, you should begin by understanding the concepts and the players before delving into your particular project area. Some great introductory resources are:

Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law This link opens in a new window
Online version of an often-cited authority on both the theory and practice of public international law. Terms are defined and placed in doctrinal context, with citation to leading treatises and international cases. Topics covered include peaceful change, internment, customary international law, implementation agreements, nullity in international law, international organizations or institutions, succession of states, international courts and tribunals, evidence, etc.

Brownlie's Principles of Public International Law by James Crawford
Call Number: KZ3225.B76 A37 2012
ISBN: 9780199654178
Publication Date: 2012-11-25
This is the eighth edition of Sir Ian Brownlie's classic distillation of public international law. Serving as a single volume introduction to the field as a whole, the book seeks to present international law as a system that is based on, and helps structure, relations among states and other entities at the international level. It aims to identify the constituent elements of that system in a clear and accessible fashion.
Public International Law by Thomas Buergenthal; Sean D. Murphy
Call Number: Reserve Reading Room KZ3410 .B84 2013
ISBN: 9780314279965
Publication Date: 2013-09-07
This Fifth Edition of Public International Law in a Nutshell is a concise yet accurate summary of the field of public international law, covering its basic sources, actors, and procedures, and key subject matter areas, such as human rights, the law of the sea, international environmental law, the law of war, and U.S. foreign relations law. This edition is fully updated to include recent treaties, institutions, and Supreme Court decisions.
Principles of International Law, Second Edition by John Balouziyeh
Call Number: KZ3410 .B35 2012
ISBN: 9781600421761
Publication Date: 2012-09-01
This book offers law students and practitioners alike a clear and concise overview of public international law. It introduces the reader to the sources and history of international law while examining the institutions that create, interpret, and enforce the law, with special attention given to the International Court of Justice and its jurisprudence. The main branches of international law, along with the major treaties and customs governing them, are explained.

Useful General Databases for International Law

Westlaw and Lexis may be useful for a given area of international law research, so it is worth looking in the International Law sections to see what is available in each database. However, they are not always the most user-friendly tool for the job (e.g. treaty research in these databases can be confusing, and PDF copies from official sources are rarely available), so consult a good research guide or a librarian to identify the best tool for your particular search.

Frequently-Cited Treaties - University of Minnesota Law Library
As an aid to law review citation-checking, this guide provides a list of treaties frequently cited in law review articles, along with links to these treaties in PDF format, when available electronically.

World Treaty Library - HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
Search major treaties from around the world from 1648 to the present. Includes the Historical Treaty Index (1648-1919), Hein's U.S. Treaty Index (1776-present), the United Nations Treaty Series (1946-present), and Rohn's World Treaty Index (1900-2000) among others.

HeinOnline Treaties and Agreements Library
- This link opens in a new window
Includes all U.S. treaties, whether currently in-force, expired, or not-yet officially published. This is the world's largest and most complete online collection of U.S. treaties and agreements and includes such prominent collections as the United States Treaties and Other International Agreements set (commonly referred to as the "Blue set"), as well as famous sets from Bevans, Miller, Malloy and others.
HeinOnline United Nations Law Collection
Contains exact reproductions of major United Nations legal publications, including the complete collection of the United Nations Treaty Series, the League of Nations Treaty Series, the Monthly Statement of Treaties & International Agreements, UNCITRAL Publications, UNIDIR Publications, the United Nations Legislative Series and much more. Finding Aids and additional features make it easy to locate a UN Treaty by entering a UNTS Citation, search for a UN Treaty, and link to law review articles that cite a UN Treaty.
Oxford Historical Treaties
Resource for historical treaty research and home to the full text of The Consolidated Treaty Series, the only comprehensive collection of treaties of all nations concluded from 1648 through 1919.
ICRC Customary International Humanitarian Law Database
Customary international law consists of rules that come from "a general practice accepted as law" and exist independent of treaty law. The International Committee of the Red Cross has developed this unique, extremely useful database to aggregate both rules of customary international humanitarian law and evidence of state practice in this area.

Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law This link opens in a new window
Online version of an often-cited authority on both the theory and practice of public international law. Terms are defined and placed in doctrinal context, with citation to leading treatises and international cases. Topics covered include peaceful change, internment, customary international law, implementation agreements, nullity in international law, international organizations or institutions, succession of states, international courts and tribunals, evidence, etc.

International and Regional Organizations

While the United Nations springs most immediately to mind when discussing international legal regimes, in fact a variety of international and regional organizations may have jurisdiction over, or at least influence, any given dispute, territory or subject matter.

A few of the most frequently-researched are linked and described below. In order to determine which international law institutions may touch upon your area of interest, it is best to start with a good secondary source describing the legal frameworks.

United Nations
The United Nations is the most expansive international organization, composed of 193 members. Due to the powers vested in its Charter and its unique international character, the United Nations can take action on the issues confronting humanity in the 21st century, such as peace and security, climate change, sustainable development, human rights, disarmament, terrorism, humanitarian and health emergencies, gender equality, governance, food production, and more.
African Union
The African Union was established with a view to accelerating the process of integration in the continent, to enable it play its rightful role in the global economy while addressing multifaceted social, economic and political problems compounded as they are by certain negative aspects of globalisation.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Its ten current member states cooperate to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development; promote regional peace and stability; and maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organisations, among other objectives.
European Union
The EU is a unique economic and political partnership between 28 European countries that together cover much of the continent. What began as a purely economic union has evolved into an organisation spanning policy areas, from development aid to environment.
Council of Europe
Select the "human rights" tab for comprehensive information on the Council of Europe's human rights activities.
Organization of American States
Gives an overview of the Inter-American system of human rights, including links to the bodies engaged in monitoring, reporting and decisionmaking.
World Trade Organization (WTO)
The WTO provides a forum for negotiating agreements aimed at reducing obstacles to international trade and ensuring a level playing field for all, thus contributing to economic growth and development. The WTO also provides a legal and institutional framework for the implementation and monitoring of these agreements, as well as for settling disputes arising from their interpretation and application.