Questions? Ask a Librarian

International Law

Agencies & Organizations

• European Union
• Organization of American States
• Union of International Associations
• United Nations
  • International Law Commission
• U.S. Dept. of State
• World Intellectual Property Organization
• World Trade Organization

Conventions & Treaties

• Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy 
  Provides the full text of international agreements from the 18th century to the present.
• Hague Conventions (Hague Conference on Private International Law)
• Lex Mercatoria: Treaties
• Multilaterals Project: Treaties & Convention Sources (Tufts Univ. Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy)
• Reference Guide to the Geneva Conventions (Society of Professional Journalists)
• Treaties (Law Library of Congress)
• Treaties in Force (U.S. Dept. of State)
  Publication which details U.S. treaties and international agreements in force as of January 1 of each year.
• United Nations Treaty Collection ($)
  Includes: Status of Multilateral Treaties Deposited With the Secretary-General; United Nations Treaty Series (texts plus cumulative index); Texts of Recently Deposited Multilateral Treaties; Photographs of Signature Ceremonies; etc.
• Major Treaties
  • Charter of the United Nations
  • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  • North American Free Trade Agreement
  • Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

Courts

• Courts & Tribunals
  • Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (International Chamber of Commerce)
  • Inter-American Court of Human Rights
  • International Court of Justice
  • International Criminal Court
  • U.S. Court of International Trade
• i.lex (American Society of International Law)
  Select U.S. Court cases and related materials for understanding interpretation and application of international law in U.S. Courts.
• Judicial Assistance (U.S. Dept. of State)
  Information for those living or traveling abroad.
• World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems (U.S. Dept. of Justice. Bureau of Justice Statistics)
• U.S. Constitution: Article III "The Judiciary"

Countries

• Constitutions, Laws, etc.
  • A-Z List of Nations (Library of Congress)
    Each Nation link provides Constitutional, Executive, Legislative and other law sources and guides for each country.
  • Global Legal Information (Library of Congress)
• Profiles
  • Country Profiles (BBC News)
  • World Factbook (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency)
• Trade
  • International Trade (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
  • World Trade Organization Documents Online
    Access official documentation of the WTO including legal texts of agreements, decisions/declarations, schedules of commitments, and protocols.

Research Resources

• Articles & Tutorials
  • International Legal Research Tutorial (Duke University)
  • Researching U.S. Treaties and Agreements (LLRX article, 2005)
  • Researching Non-U.S. Treaties (LLRX article, 2001)
  • United Nations Documentation Research Guide: International Law
  • United Nations Documentation Research Guide: Treaties
• Congressional Research Service Reports
  • CRS Reports (Univ. of Texas)
  • CRS Reports & Issue Briefs (U.S. Dept. of State)
  • CRS Reports on Science & the Environment (Nat'l Council for Science & the Environment)
  • Open CRS
• Guides & Databases
  • ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law (American Society of International Law)
    Guides for research on human rights, commercial arbitration, criminal, economic, environmental, private international law, and treaties.
  • Comparative & Foreign Law (LLRX)
  • Foreign Law Guide (Reynolds & Flores)
  • Foreign Relations & International Law (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
  • Foreign & International Law on the Internet: Annotated (Cornell Law Library)
  • Global Legal Information Network
  • GlobalLex
    International law research
  • Guide to Foreign and International Legal Databases (NYU Law Library)
  • International Research Resources by Subject (University of Illinois Gov't Documents Library)
  • Lex Mercatoria
  • Portals to the World (Library of Congress)
    Links to resources on government, politics and law; embassies; business, commerce and economy; media and communications; and organizations
  • Primer on the Civil Law System (Federal Judicial Center)
  • Treaties: Legal Guides (Law Library of Congress)
  • United Nations System Pathfinder: International Law

Last Updated: April 8, 2013 | Up to Top