International Legal Research
International law is the law between nations, such as treaties. Foreign law involves the law of jurisdictions outside of the United States, such as British law. Comparative law studies the differences and similarities of the laws and legal traditions of different countries.
The Statute of the International Court of Justice sets out the four sources of international law in Art. 38.
- international conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states;
- international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law;
- the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations;
- 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
The library has guides for starting your research in the basic sources of law:
- Treaty Research and Treaty Resources by Topic
- Customary International Law and Other Source and Bibliography
It also has some subject specific guides:
- Researching the United Nations and Bibliography
- European Union Guide
- Human Rights Research Guide
- International Trade Law Guide and Portal
- Guide to Foreign and Comparative Law and Portal
There are also several Portals which provide quick links for experienced researchers.
If you are interested in keeping up with International Law developments see the Current Awareness page.
Finally, don't forget to check out Other International & Foreign Law Web Pages for a selection of excellent sites that can help jumpstart your international legal research project.
Guide maintained by Stefanie Weigmann