1. Researching
Public International Law
Charlotte Gill
Research Librarian, Law
Jan 2014

2. Overview
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Introduction
Books and Journal Articles
Key concepts
Research Guides
Key documents
Researching Treaties
Travaux Préparatoires
Case Law

3. No single source

4. Books and Journal Articles
The Library offers access to a selection of books and
journals on international law.
Search for journal articles using the following databases.
 PYXIS +
 Westlaw International
 Lexis
 HeinOnline

5. SILS

6. Singapore and International Law

7. Key concepts
Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (MP
A useful resource for introductions to essential concepts
and recent developments in public international law.

8. Research Guides
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Electronic Resources for International Law The
American Society for International Law
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An Introduction to Public International Law Research
By Vicenç Feliú (May/June 2010) NYU Globalex
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Hoffman, M. & Rumsey, M.
International and Foreign Legal Research: a Courseboo
(Leiden : Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2008.)

10. Research Guides on Specific Topics
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European Union
Provides an overview of the instruments, documents, and other
resources for researching the European Union, a legal system
based on a "supranational" legal framework.
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International Human Rights
The focus of this chapter is on the main organizations which
promulgate human rights instruments: the United Nations, the
Council of Europe, the International Labour Organization, the
Organization of American States, and many others. The
chapter points to Web sites for locating primary documents,
including international instruments, case law, and other relevant
information. It also provides links and tips for locating
secondary sources, such as country reports, NGO
documentation, and periodical literature.

11. Globalex

12. Globalex- International Law

14. Key documents
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Charter of the United Nations (1945)
Statute of the International Court of Justice (1945)
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
A useful resource for locating citations to many
important treaties and agreements is
Frequently-Cited Treaties and Other International Agree

15. Researching Treaties
An Introduction to Sources for Treaty Research
By Mark Engsberg and Mary Beth Chappell (2011)
Available on Globalex
Table of Contents
A. Introduction
B. Treaties and International Agreements
C. A Brief Treaty Lexicon
D. Locating Treaty Texts
E. Multilateral Treaties
F. Bilateral Treaties: US not a Party
G. Electronic Sources for Treaty Research
1. Free Internet Resources
2. Subscription Databases

16. Researching Treaties
Some important questions to ask before starting your
research:
 Is it a bilateral or multilateral treaty?
 Who are the parties to the treaty?
 Is the treaty in force?
 Has the treaty been signed, ratified, repudiated, or
modified?
 Are there reservations to the treaty?
 Is there an international organization that oversees or
administers international law in the subject area of the
treaty?
(Introduction to Public International Law Research By Vicenç Feliú , 2010
http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/Public_International_Law_Research1.htm#_Researching_Treaties )

17. Singapore Treaties and Agreements
“The Singapore Treaties Database, maintained by the
Attorney-General´s Chambers, contains records of
treaties to which Singapore is a party, including
exchanges of letters, memoranda of understanding,
and other agreements regarded as treaties under
international law. Key treaties are available in full-text
format.”
This database is accessible via LawNet

22. Multilateral Treaties
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UN Treaty Collection

23. NUS–Centre for International Law (CIL)
For ASEAN Treaties

25. Researching Treaties
Additional sources
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Council for Europe, Treaty Office
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ECOLEX Web-site on the environmental law information and legislation. www.ecolex.org
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Environmental treaties and Resource Indicators - online service for accessing multilateral
environmental treaty data.
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FAO Conventions and Agreements –
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Geneva Conventions
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Hague Conventions
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International Criminal Court
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International Labour Organization
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International Maritime Organization
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International Monetary Fund
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UNESCO
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United Nations Environment Programme
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World Health Organization
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World Intellectual Property Organization
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World Trade Organization
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
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List of Inter-Governmental Organisations (IGOs)

26. Travaux Préparatoires
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Pratter’s guide provides a very useful framework for
researching Travaux Préparatoires.
À la Recherche des Travaux Préparatoires: An
Approach to Researching the Drafting History of
International Agreements By Jonathan Pratter
(May/June 2012) .

27. Case Law
International Court of Justice (ICJ)
 List of Contentious Cases by date of introduction
 List of Advisory Proceedings referred to the Court since 1946 by
 Pending Cases (Case(s) currently being heard or under
deliberation)
ICJ judgments are also available on
 Westlaw International
 Oxford Reports on International Law
 Lexis
 Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > International Law

28. Case Law
Also available on Oxford Reports on International Law:
decisions of other UN Bodies such as:
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UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC)
UN Committee Against Torture (CAT)
UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)

29. Case law
European Court of Justice (ECJ)
 Associated with dealing with commercial and social issues
within the EU http://europa.eu/index_en.htm
Case law available on the
 ECJ website http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/j_6/home
 Eur-lex http://eur-lex.europa.eu/JURISIndex.do?ihmlang=en
 Westlaw International
 Lexis
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Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > International Law

30. Case Law
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
 Associated with the Council of Europe and dealing principally
with human rights issues.
 Some ECHR decisions are appeals from domestic courts of EU
Member countries, which are available on Justis
ECHR Case law is available via the:
 HUDOC Portal
 provides free online access to the case-law of the European
Court of Human Rights, the European Commission of Human
Rights and the Committee of Ministers.
 The judgments, decisions, resolutions and reports of these
bodies are held in a database and are searchable.

31. Case law
International Criminal Court (ICC)
 “The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an independent,
permanent court that tries persons accused of the most serious
crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes
against humanity and war crimes. The ICC is based on a treaty,
joined by 110 countries.
 The jurisdiction and functioning of the ICC are governed by the
Rome Statute.” (Source: ICC)
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Official Journal of the International Criminal Court
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Westlaw International (All documents released by the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Coverage begins
with 1995.)

32. Case law
Investor-State Arbitration
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICS
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The ICSID is an autonomous institution established under the
Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between
States and Nationals of Other States
The mandate, organization and core functions of the ICSID are
governed by the ICSID Convention (Source: ICSID)

33. Investment Claims
The
database contains a number of different types of
content: Arbitral awards, Arbitral decisions, OPIC
decisions, Court decisions, Books, Journal and yearbook
articles, Investment treaty overviews, National
legislation, Multilateral and bilateral investment treaties,
Arbitral rules, relevant Guidelines and Conventions.

34. Digital Archive Collections
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Center for Human Rights Documentation and
Research(Columbia University Libraries)
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/humanrights/archive_coll
ections/hrw.html
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The Nuremberg Trials Project: A Digital Document Collection
(Harvard Law School)
http://nuremberg.law.harvard.edu/php/docs_swi.php?
DI=1&text=overview A searchable collection of the document
analyses and full texts of the trial transcripts.

35. Research Guide
http://researchguides.smu.edu.sg/PIL

36. Q &A