International Law Resources

Vicenç Feliú
December 2005

Legal Research Guides

• Introduction:
  • Sources of International Law
  • Research strategies
    • Directories
    • Non legal sources
    • Secondary sources
• Resources
  • Guides
  • Links and Databases

International Law Resources

Selected Guide to Materials at or Available Through the LSU Law Library

Vicenç Feliú
Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Librarian
December, 2005

NOTICE: The purpose of this pathfinder is to assist in the identification and use of potentially relevant sources of legal information. Nothing in this document should be interpreted as legal advice. Items cited in this pathfinder can be located using the library’s catalog or can be obtained through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Also, many of the items cited can be used electronically through LEXIS, WESTLAW, and the Internet.

• Introduction:
  • Sources of International Law.
    • Article 38 of the International Court of Justice Statute sets out the sources of international law in order of their weight as authority:
      • International Conventions/Treaties
      • International Custom as evidence of a general practice accepted as law
      • General Principles of Law recognized by civilized nations
      • Judicial Decisions and teaching of the most highly qualified publicists
    • eResource:
      ICJ Statute
  • Research strategies
    • Directories - Directories can help identify agencies and organizations that are active in an area. They provide contact information as well as information about the organization's work.
      • Directory of International Organizations
      • http://www.uia.org/extlinks/pub.php
      • UNESCO Directory of Peace, Human Rights, and International Law Research Institutes (DARE)
      • http://www.unesco.org/most/dare.htm
      • Martindale-Hubbell International Law Directory
        http://www.martindale.com/
    • Non legal sources – news, economic developments, and scholarly journals can provide evidence of legal topics and develop the context of legal issues.
      • LexisNexis:
        News and Business Databases
      • Westlaw:
        All News
      • eResources:
        Academic Search Premier
        JSTOR: The Scholarly Journal Archive
        Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
    • Secondary Sources - Explore secondary sources thoroughly as they will provide a fountain of information leading to primary materials.
      • Germain’s Transnational Law Research: A Guide for Attorneys.
        • Print:
          Third Floor K85 .G47 1991
      • Guide to International Legal Research.
        • Print:
          Third Floor KZ1234 .G85 2004
      • International Lawyer's Deskbook.
        • Print:
          Third Floor K48.I57 2002
      • Loyola University Chicago International Law Review
        • Print:
          Second Floor K9 .N8524
        • Westlaw:
          LYUCHIILR
      • Oppenheim's International Law
        • Print:
          Third Floor KZ3264 .I6 1966
• Resources
  • Guides
    • ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law
      http://www.asil.org/resource/Home.htm
    • Cornell Law Library – Foreign and International Law Sources on the Internet
      http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/guides/foreign2/
    • EISIL- Electronic Information System for International Law
      http://www.eisil.org/
    • LLRX International Law Guides
      http://www.llrx.com/international_law.html
    • New York University Law Library Guide to Foreign and International Legal Databases
      http://www.law.nyu.edu/library/foreign_intl/
    • New York University Law Library GATT & WTO Research
      http://www.law.nyu.edu/library/wtoguide.html
    • Social Science Information Gateway
      http://www.sosig.ac.uk/roads/subject-listing/World-cat/intlaw.html
    • University of Washington Gallagher Law Library
      International & Foreign Legal Research Guides
    • World LII Public International Guide
      http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/169.html
• Links and Databases
  • Council of Europe
    http://www.coe.int
  • EurLex - The portal to European Union law
    http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/
  • Europa – Gateway to the European Union
    http://europa.eu.int/index_en.htm
  • European Court of Justice / Court of Justice of the European Communities
    http://curia.eu.int/en/index.htm
    • Case-law
      http://curia.eu.int/en/content/juris/index.htm
  • European Patent Office
    http://www.european-patent-office.org/index.en.php
  • European Court of Human Rights
    http://www.echr.coe.int/echr
  • International Court of Justice
    http://www.icj-cij.org/
  • OAS Office of the Legal Advisor to the Secretary General
    http://www.oas.org/legal/intro.htm
  • The Readex United Nations Index. Provides access to current and retrospective United Nations documents and publications
    Access UN
  • United Nations main site
    http://www.un.org/
  • UN Document Centre
    http://www.un.org/documents/
  • US State Department Digest of US Practice in International Law – List of Documents http://www.state.gov/s/l/2003/44332.htm
  • World Intellectual Property Organization
    http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en
  • World Trade Organization
    http://www.wto.org/

Prepared by Vicenç Feliú
Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Librarian
December, 2005