Locating International Decisions

Margaret ClarkReference LibrarianFSU College of Law Research CenterOctober 2007

Sources of International Law

Article 38, Statute Establishing the ICJPrimary Sources

International conventions International customGeneral principles

Secondary Sources Judicial decisions Teachings of publicists

Judicial Decisions

Defined by Article 59, ICJ Statute as:Decisions of international tribunalsDecisions of national courts addressing

international lawKeep in mind:

Binding only on the partiesNot precedential

Decisions of International Courts

Tools for finding cases:Secondary SourcesDigestsReporters & Internet sites of specific courtsMultinational sourcesSubject-specific compilations

International Courts: Digests

World Court DigestHUDOC – European Court on Human

Rights PortalInternational Law Reports (ILR)

International Courts: Digests

International Law ReportsAvailable only in printBest source for full text opinions in EnglishBest source for finding recent decisions

ICJ International courts and tribunalsAdministrative Tribunal ILONational Courts

From 1919 to presentKZ 199.I58 (1st floor of Library)

International Courts: Internet sites

International Court of JusticeEuropean Court of JusticeInter-American Court of Human RightsSpecial Court for Sierra Leone

Many more listed in handout!

International Courts: Compiled Sources

International Legal MaterialsAvailable in print and electronicHein Online (use for browsing)Lexis, Westlaw (use for searching) Internet – Table of Contents

International Legal Materials (ILM)

In print / Westlaw / Lexis / Internet / HeinOnline

International Courts: Compiled Sources

Journals summarizing decisionsAmerican Journal of International LawEuropean Journal of International LawHuman Rights Law Journal

Human Rights Cases (Westlaw, Lexis)International Trade Law ReportsInternational Environmental Law ReportsGlobal War Crimes Tribunal Collection

International Courts: Subject-specific compilations

Decisions of national courts

Free Internet source Coverage varies among all courtsFew courts go back to 1940’sMost have cases from 1990’s

Decisions of national courts

International Law in Domestic Courts (ILDC) DatabaseAvailable from Law Library List of Databasescontains English translations from over 65

jurisdictions Also contains scholarly commentary on

important points of international law. Cases date back to 2000 can be searched by country, keyword or full text

search.

Decisions of national courts

Foreign Law GuideNot freeGuide to foreign law sources

International Legal MaterialsLibrary of Congress Nations of the World

Free, InternetBrowse by country

Decisions of National Courts

National yearbooks summarize casesAfrican Yearbook on International LawBritish Yearbook on International LawChinese Yearbook on International Law and

AffairsYearbook on United Nations Law

Search online catalog under subject headings:

1. “international law” + yearbooks

2. “international law” + yearbooks + [country]

Decisions of national courts

Collections of court reportsAmerican International Law CasesBritish International Law Cases

International decisions in U.S. American Law Reports, FederalWest digest

International Law 221Treaties 385

Research Guides

ASIL Research Guides - GeneralGuide to Researching the ICJ – SpecificCornell Legal Research Engine

Cornell Legal Search Engine

Project on International Courts and Tribunals

Questions?