International and Foreign Research Basics

1. International and Foreign Research Basics CWRU School of Law Theofrastous Dorchak

2. Part I: Areas of International Law • What is International Law? • Article 38 – ICJ Statute • . a. international conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states; • b. international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law; • c. the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations; • d. subject to the provisions of Article 59, judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law.

3. Domains • Public International Law • Private International / Commercial Law • Foreign Law • Comparative Law • “Soft Law” • International Relations • Realpolitik: politics based on practical and material factors rather than on theoretical or ethical objectives

4. Public International Law • Laws of War and Peace (armed forces, arms control, conflict resolution) • Laws of International Organizations (UN, EU, International Tribunals, Economic Development) • Laws of International Relations (treaties, national security, state-state relations. • Laws of the Commons (law of the sea, space, air, environment). • Laws of Human Rights (covenants, accords, conventions). • Laws Concerning Individuals (immigration, naturalization, labor laws, extradition).

5. Private International / Commercial Law • Conflict Resolution (conflict of laws, remedies, arbitration). • Business Law (transactions, taxes, antitrust, banking, insurance, intellectual property, finance). • Trade law (trade barriers, import-export controls). • Development Law (foreign aid, distribution, investments). • Personal Relations (trusts and estates, child custody, matrimony, taxes). • Admiralty Law • Aviation Law

6. Foreign Law • By Country • By Region (Africa, Latin America, European Union). • By Type ( civil, common, canon, Islamic) • JuriGlobe • http://www.juriglobe.ca/eng/index.php

7. Comparative Law • Substantive comparisons • Procedural comparisons • Historical / Jurisprudential comparisons • Methodologies of Reform / Improvement

8. Resources • Primary • Codified Law • Constitutions • Treaties • Statutes • Legislative Materials • Administrative and Regulatory Materials • Case Law • Decisions of International Tribunals • Decisions of National Courts • Arbitral Decisions • U.S. Case Law

9. Secondary Sources • Analytical Tools (Textbooks, Restatements, Encyclopedias, Dictionaries). • Periodicals and Commentary (and indexes) • Mass Media, Bulletins , Newsletters • Annuals (Annual collections, proceedings, yearbooks) • Loose-leaf services (general, topical, regional). • Digests (U.S., UK, European Countries).

10. Tools • Practice and Research Aids • Handbooks, manuals, guides, nutshells • Bibliographies • Reference Sources • Government Agencies • Private Organizations, NGO’s • Libraries • Document Systems • UN, EU, Others (e.g., OAS) • Online Research (subscription, Internet).

11. Shortcuts • People (practitioners, professors, scholars, reference librarians, government and diplomatic staff). • Organizations (public affairs, libraries, information centers, organizations, publishers). • Networks (email lists, professional associations, NGOs). • Events (conventions, symposia, conferences).

12. Major Internet Web Sites • General Legal Sites • International Sites • Foreign Sites • Domestic US Sites • Special Topics and Interest

13. Organizations • American Society of International Law: http://www.asil.org • American Bar Association List: http://www.abanet.org/lawlink/home.html

14. International Links - ASIL • Human RightsInternational Commercial ArbitrationInternational Criminal LawInternational Economic LawInternational Environmental LawInternational Intellectual Property LawInternational OrganizationsPrivate International LawTreatiesUnited Nations

15. United Nations • Official Web Site Locator for the United Nations System of Organizations (http://www.unsystem.org/)  The Official Web Site Locator is a good starting point for determining if a particular UN program or a specialized agency of the UN system has a Web site. The "Frequently Requested Information" section provides conference schedules, library and documentation services, publication catalogs, press releases, and other information.  • United Nations Home Page (http://www.un.org/)  This site, maintained by the UN Department of Public Information, is a good starting point if one has not already identified a more specific relevant information resource. Much of the information is designed for the general public (e.g., stamp sales), but note particularly the link to UN Documentation Centre (http://www.un.org/documents/). This page provides access to the documents of the major bodies, including the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, and the Secretariat. Texts of resolutions for many years are available via this route. There are also links to other resources such as the United Nations Documentation: Research Guide (http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/index.html), the Documents Alert page and documents in German. This guide provides information on the types of documents issued by the UN as well as how to locate the documents in paper or electronic form.

16.   UN • International Law Page of the UN Home Page (http://www.un.org/law/)  • This page is part of the official UN Home Page provided by the Department of Public Information, but it is listed separately here to draw attention to this important section. It leads to materials specifically relevant to international law, such as UNCITRAL materials (http://www.un.or.at/uncitral/index.html), the International Law Commission (http://www.un.org/law/ilc/index.htm), or Oceans and Law of the Sea materials (http://www.un.org/Depts/los/). There is also a link to the International Court of Justice (http://www.icj-cij.org/) which contains basic documents (statute of the Court), decisions, the Court's docket, and other information about the Court. A recent addition to this site is the 54th Session of the Sixth Committee (Legal) of the General Assembly (http://www.un.org/law/cod/sixth/54/sixth54.htm). See also the United Nations Documentation: Research Guide on International Law (http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/specil.htm).

17. Human Rights • Bibliography on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, compiled by the Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt Institute  (http://www.udhr50.org/history/bibliography.htm).  Concise Guide to Human Rights on the Internet by Derechos Human Rights (September 1998) (http://www.derechos.org/human-rights/manual.htm).  • Women's Human Rights Resources Group, Women's Human Rights Resources, annotated resources (http://www.law-lib.utoronto.ca/Diana).  • Lyonette Louis Jacques and David Weissbrodt, Bibliography for Research on International Human Rights Law, 13 Hamline L. Rev. 673 (1990) (http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/demo/biblio.htm). 

18. International Criminal Law • United Nations Crime and Justice Information Network (UNCJIN) (http://www.uncjin.org/) • This electronic network was established in 1989 in response to a resolution of the UN Economic and Social Council and is the creation of the UN Centre for International Crime Prevention in Vienna. It encompasses all criminal law information generated by the United Nations and its related bodies, including texts of laws, treaties and conventions, UN documents, statistical sources, and gateways to affiliated organizations.

19. Countries of the World • The Countries of the World (http://www.uncjin.org/country/country.html) page includes general country information, maps of the world, U.S. Department of State Human Rights Reports, and a complete list of links to countries on which UNCJIN has compiled information. World Justice Information Network (WJIN) (http://www.wjin.net/) or (http://www.justinfo.net)  WJIN is designed to be an independent global research forum for information on crime, justice and the rule of law. The system, which is supported and administered by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/), builds upon its predecessor, the United Nations Online Crime and Justice Clearinghouse (UNOJUST), and works in close cooperation with the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme Network (UNCJIN). It serves as a central point of access to a global virtual library containing thousands of professional publications and is a worldwide criminal justice news monitoring tool. Features include a specialized criminal justice search engine and multilingual capabilities. Registration is required, however, any individual who is professionally involved in the area of international crime and justice may qualify for a free membership.

20. International Criminal Law • Justice Information Center (http://www.ncjrs.org)  This information clearinghouse, a service of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (http://www.ncjrs.org/ncjhome.htm), "is one of the most extensive sources of information on criminal and juvenile justice in the world." It is divided into sections covering corrections, courts, crime prevention, criminal justice statistics, drugs, international information, juvenile justice, law enforcement, research and evaluation, victims, and current highlights. Cecil Greek's Criminal Justice Links: International Criminal Justice Resources(http://www.fsu.edu/~crimdo/world.html)  Created and maintained by Dr. Cecil E. Greek at the School of Criminology & Criminal Justice, Florida State University. This well-known, comprehensive list links to Web sites for criminal law, law enforcement, crime prevention & peacemaking, and includes regional source lists for the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada, Australia, Africa, Asia, and South America. A list, focusing primarily on American resources, entitled Criminal Justice Links (http://www.criminology.fsu.edu/cj.html) is also maintained by Dr. Greek. Research Guide to International Law on the Internet, International Criminal Law (http://sun1.spfo.unibo.it/spolfo/CRIMLAW.htm)  The University of Bologna, Faculty of Political Science created a series of research guides on topics such as the United Nations, the European Union, International Organizations, Peace & Security, Human Rights, International Criminal Law, Environmental Law, Law of the Sea, Air & Space Law and International Trade Law (http://www.spfo.unibo.it/spolfo/ILMAIN.htm). 

21. Private International Law • UNCITRALThe United Nations Commission for International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) (http://www.uncitral.org) , which was established by the General Assembly in 1966, is the active catalyst for some of the most significant work in the progressive harmonization of private international law. The UNCITRAL site, maintained in English, French, Spanish, and Chinese, contains primary documents and status information about established instruments such as the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) (http://www.uncitral.org/english/texts/sales/salescon.htm#TOP) along with its related Convention on the Limitation Period in the International Sale of Goods (http://www.uncitral.org/english/texts/sales/limitcon.htm#TOP ), and the 1958 "New York" Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (http://www.uncitral.org/english/texts/arbconc/58conv.htm). 

22. Private International Law • UNIDROITUNIDROIT (http://www.unidroit.org/), the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law, traces its origins to the League of Nations and is today an autonomous international organization active in the harmonization of private international law. English and French, the working languages of UNIDROIT, are both represented on its Internet site. The Internet site includes full text and status information concerning UNIDROIT Conventions such as the 1988 Ottawa Conventions on International Financial Leasing (http://www.unidroit.org/english/conventions/c-leas.htm) and International Factoring (http://www.unidroit.org/english/conventions/c-fact.htm), and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects (http://www.unidroit.org/english/conventions/c-cult.htm). 

23. Private International Law • Hague Conference on Private International LawThe Hague Conference on Private International Law (http://www.hcch.net/), which traces its origins to a 1893 conference convened by the Government of the Netherlands, is active in the development of conventions in various areas of private law, addressing topics ranging from traditional topics such as conflict of laws and judicial assistance to contemporary issues such as intercountry adoption and child abduction. Current work of the Hague Conference includes the protection of incapacitated adults and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters. 

24. International Organizations – more UN stuff • UN-I-QUE (United Nations Info Quest; "a database created by the Dag Hammarskjøld Library to provide quick access to document symbols/sales numbers for UN materials (1946 onwards); it does not give full bibliographic details nor does it replace existing bibliographic databases (UNBIS, UNBIS Plus on CD-ROM) produced by the Library; UN-I-QUE focuses upon documents and publications of a recurrent nature: annual/sessional reports of committees/commissions; monographic series; journals; annual publications; reports periodically/irregularly issued; reports of major conferences; statements in the General Debate; etc.") • AccessUN (Readex United Nations Index - of UN documents and publications from 1966 to 1998; subscription service) • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP Gopher provides full texts of General Assembly (GA) Resolutions from the 36th to 49th Sessions, Security Council (SC) Resolutions from 1974 to 1996, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Resolutions from 1982 to 1994 under "United Nations Documents", and many other useful documents and information on the United Nations generally)

25. International Organizations (2) • United Nations Global Statistics • Cour Internationale de Justice = International Court of Justice (ICJ official web site; includes Statute, judgments, advisory opinions, orders, press communiques/releases (on the "What's New" page)) • International Court of Justice 1946-1996 (50th Anniversary guide to the ICJ online - e-book) • International Court of Justice (ICJ at Cornell University Law School; official U.S. mirror web site; includes Statute, judgments, advisory opinions, orders; see also the World Court Project and the NGO Committee on Disarmament's World Court Excerpts - "Verbatim Excerpts of Oral Statements to the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons" (1995)) • Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA official web site; includes documents related to the Eritrea-Yemen Arbitration) • Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA at Cornell University Law School) • International Criminal Court (UN's ICC web site; see also resource page with links to Internet resources and print publications on the ICC) • International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; war crimes; was at http://www.ictr.org/) • International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY; war crimes)

26. International Organizations (3) • Final Report Commission Of Experts Established Pursuant To Security Council Resolution 780 (1992) (the UN Commission of Experts on Former Yugoslavia's Final Report is appended to the "Letter dated 24 may 1994 from the Secretary-General to the President of the Security Council", S/1994/674) • International Law Commission (ILC) • United Nations Crime and Justice Information Network (UNCJIN; includes documents related to the UN Draft Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime) • United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNCRI) • United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) • Treaty Bodies Database (United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; includes General Comments, Reports, etc.) • United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (includes links official documents of the UNHCR and national legal information via REFWORLD) • International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; includes database and CD-ROM with full texts of treaties, rules, commentaries on International Humanitarian Law (IHL); see also the People on War Project campaign page to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Geneva Conventions and Humanitarian Web Sites)

27. International Organizations (4) • The War-Torn Societies Project (WSP; includes searchable bibliographic database of policy documents and evaluation reports as well as research reports and articles from various multilateral and bilateral agencies, research institutes and academics; "A specialized, annotated listing of literature from around the world", including materials on women's rights) • Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict = Instituts für Friedenssicherungsrecht und Humanitäres Völkerrecht (IFHV, Ruhr-University Bochuml; includes European Master's Degree Programme in Human Rights and Democratization and list of the Bochumer Schriften zur Friedenssicherung und zum Humanitären Völkerrecht publication series) • ReliefWeb (information service for the Humanitarian Relief Community; ReliefWeb is a project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)) • World Trade Organization (WTO; includes dispute settlement news and reports; see also the WTO and U.S. Official websites for the Third Ministerial Conference, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A., 30 November-3 December 1999) • World Trade Organization: Panel Decisions • World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO treaties are at http://www.wipo.org/eng/iplex/index.htm; includes link to CLEA database (Collection of Laws for Electronic Access)

28. International Organizations (5) • International Labor Organization (ILO; see also official U.S. mirror web site at Cornell; includes links to ILO's NATLEX database of national labor legislation abstracts and bibliographies (also at http://natlex.ilo.org/), Legislative Information (monthly bulletin summarizing labor and employment laws worldwide), ILOLEX (database of international labor standards, conventions, etc.), and other labor databases; see also Washington Branch Office and ILO Watch) • FAO Legal Office (Food and Agriculture Organization; includes links to legal texts, FAO Legal Papers Online, legislative studies publications, and FAOLEX (database indexing worldwide legislation on food, agriculture, land tenure, etc.), and FISHLEX (database of coastal requirements for foreign fishing or national fisheries law) • United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP; see also the IUCN-World Conservation Union Environmental Law Programme joint project, the ECOLEX database of national environmental legislation) • European Patent Office (EPO) • European Union (EU EUROPA page including full texts of EU Treaties, Green Papers and links to bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, policy instruments, and other documents) • Task Force for Accession Negotiations (European Commission) • Justice and Home Affairs (includes Cooperation in electronic commerce, asylum, organized crime, policing, preventing in trafficking in drugs, human beings, etc.) • European Parliament Home Page • Research Newsletter (DG4 papers; European Parliament)

29. International Organizations (6) • Legislative Observatory (OEIL, European Parliament) • European Union Law Page (EUR-Lex; EU treaties, legislation, ECJ case-law) • Court of Justice of the European Communities (ECJ cases in EU all languages; formerly at http://europa.eu.int/cj/index.htm) • Library, Research, and Documentation (Court of Justice of the European Communities (ECJ) page with full text of the Brussels Convention and the Lugano Convention and related case-law, Digest of Community Case-Law, Index A-Z (numerical and alphabetical index of cases before the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance since 1953), alphabetical index of subject matter of legal issues, ECJ case annotations) • CELEX (EU treaties, legislation (regulations, directives, decisions), preparatory acts, COM documents, parliamentary questions, case-law, etc. database; need password to access) • Official Journal of the European Communities (OJ Legislation (L) and Information and Notices (C) series) • Bulletin of the European Union (Bull EC; European Commission) • Directory of Community Preparatory Acts (analytical index, but includes some full texts of COM Documents, e.g., Commision Proposal - COM(97)0093 final) • COM Documents (list and full text from the OJ C Series) • EUR-OP (Office for Official Publications; includes EUR-OP News) • European Union Policies (citations to national implementing measures - via SCAD Plus) • Fundamental Rights (Council of the European Union)

30. International Organizations (6) • Directorates-General (DGsEuropean Union) • Treaty of Amsterdam (done at Amsterdam on 16-17 June 1997, signed on 2 October 1997, European Commission Doc. CONF/4001/97, O.J. Eur. Comm. C 340/1 (1997), 37 I.L.M. 56 (1998)(International Legal Materials), 1997 BDIEL AD LEXIS 15 (Basic Documents of International Economic Law), pending ratification by all EU member states, not yet in force as of 13 May 1998) • Amsterdam Treaty `98 (Irish Government, Referendum Commission) • Irish Presidency's Draft Treaty Document (The European Union Today and Tomorrow) • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

31. International Organizations (7) • Council of Europe (CoE news, texts adopted, conventions, and other info, including a list of ratifications of treaties by state at http://www.coe.fr/eng/legaltxt/treaties.htm; was at http://www.coe.fr/ which still works; see also Guide to Researching the Council of Europe). • Committee of Ministers (Council of Europe; includes steering and ad hoc committees) • Human Rights Web (Council of Europe, Directorate of Human Rights, including the Human Rights Information Bulletin) • Human Rights Web (Council of Europe's Human Rights Web Site at http://www.humanrights.coe.int/ - replaces http://www.dhdirhr.coe.fr/?) • Minority Issues (Council of Europe, Directorate General of Human Rights, Secretariat of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and of the DH-MIN) • European Commission of Human Rights (ECommHR; includes reports) • European Court of Human Rights (ECHR/CEDH judgments, press releases, basic texts, etc., including the HUDOC database containing the full text of judgments of the Court, decisions and reports of the Commission and resolutions of the Council of Ministers from 1959 to last month; was at http://www.dhcour.coe.fr/; see also EchrNet: The Human Rights Directory) • European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) • European Free Trade Association (EFTA; including EFTA Court) • Central European Free Trade Association (CEFTA) • North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

32. International Organizations (8) • Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE; see also OSCE Prague Office, High Commissioner for National Minorities (HCNM); Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)) • Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (OHR; includes the full text of their Human Rights Reports; see also Patterns of Human Rights Violations in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina of the Ombudsmen of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina) • Organization of African Unity (OAU) • Organization of American States (OAS Charter, information about treaties, resolutions, and other OAS Documents; also Andean Community, NAFTA, GATT, and WTO decisions via SICE Dispute Settlement page, and Latin American Intellectual Property Laws and Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITS) of the Western Hemisphere) • Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) • NAFTA Secretariat (North American Free Trade Agreement) • International Monetary Fund • World Bank (includes links to Policy Research Working Papers and the Economic Development Institute (EDI) now World Bank Institute (WBI) Working Papers; see also their Law Library)

33. International Organizations (9) • G7 Information Centre (now G8; University of Toronto) • International Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs links via Northwestern University Library) • Yahoo "International Organizations" links

34. Domestic US Sites • Agencies • Congress • State Law

35. Government Agencies • U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC; including full text of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States) Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) U.S. Department of CommerceU.S. International Trade Administration (ITA, U.S. Department of Commerce)

36. Government Agencies (2) • Private International Law Data Base (PILDB, U.S. Department of State; Hague Conventions, UNCITRAL, UNIDROIT, OAS) • U.S. Department of State (includes Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Treaties in ForceThe National Security Archive (includes full texts of declassified documents via Electronic Briefing Books on Chile, China, Guatemala, Cuba, Japan, NATO, India, etc.) • United States Information Agency

37. Government Agencies (3) • U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC; including full text of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States) • Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) • U.S. Department of Commerce • U.S. International Trade Administration (ITA, U.S. Department of Commerce)

38. Government Agencies (4) • U.S. Customs Service (Department of the Treasury) • Private International Law Data Base (PILDB, U.S. Department of State; Hague Conventions, UNCITRAL, UNIDROIT, OAS, etc.; was at http://www.his.com/~pildb/) • U.S. Department of State (includes Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999, Treaties in Force, Current Treaty Actions, the full text of Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) volumes (see, for instance, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) "Electronic Reading Room")

39. Government Agencies (5) • The National Security Archive (includes full texts of declassified documents via Electronic Briefing Books on Chile, China, Guatemala, Cuba, Japan, NATO, India, etc.)

40. Government Agencies (6) • Committee on Foreign Relations (United States Senate) • Committee on International Relations (United States House) • Congressional Human Rights Caucus • United States Statutes At Large • Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE, or U.S. Helsinki Commission; includes the full text of their CSCE Digest, a newsletter including reports on human rights in European countries)

41. Government Agencies (7) • STAT-USA (U.S. Department of Commerce databases - includes the National Trade Data Bank and the Economic Bulletin Board) • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) • The Bureau of Export Administration (U.S. Department of Commerce) • Export-Import Bank of the United States • Bureau of Census (international trade statistics) • Committee on Foreign Relations (United States Senate) Committee on International Relations (United States House)

42. Clips • http://blog.case.edu/andy