LibGuides: Experiential Learning Research Guide: International Law

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Overview: Foreign & International Law

Researching foreign law (the laws of other nations) and international law (laws governing the relations between nations) can be challenging. Use the resources on this page to discover the resources available through the LRC and online for researching foreign and international law.

International Law Resources

HeinOnline: U.S. Treaties and Agreements Library
This library includes all U.S. treaties, whether currently in-force, expired, or not-yet officially published. It includes prominent collections such as the United States Treaties and Other International Agreements set (commonly referred to as the "Blue Set").
For search tips, see Tip of the Week: Locating Treaties in HeinOnline.
United Nations: Official Document System
The Official Document System (ODS) is an online database of UN documents that was first launched in 1993 and updated in 2016. ODS has full-text, born-digital UN documents published from 1993 onward, including documents of the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and their subsidiaries, as well as administrative issuances and other documents. Some older documents have been scanned and added.
United Nations: Treaty Series Online
UN database of international treaties.

International Legal Research in a Nutshell by Marci Hoffman
ISBN: 9781684675845
Publication Date: 2021
This Nutshell provides a basic introduction to international and foreign legal research for the non-specialist. It offers guidance through the unfamiliar pathways of research using international and non-US legal materials and demystifies the world of treaties and international case law. Since it's aimed at the non-specialist, it provides straight-forward background information on the United Nations and the European Union and includes guidance using the documents and legal materials of these institutions. There are extensive links to the rich world of Web resources, but it also describes print research tools that remain important in this field. It also sets out a road map for approaching a research problem involving international, foreign and comparative law.

Foreign Law Resources

HeinOnline: Canada Supreme Court Reports
HeinOnline's Canada Supreme Court Reports contains the official bilingual series published under authority of the Supreme Court Act. This collection includes nearly 10,000 cases which include background information, statutes and regulations, authors cited, analysis and the decision.
HeinOnline: English Reports
The English Reports database, covering case law from 1220-1867, delivers exact page images of the original bound reprint edition, containing more than 120,000 cases, together with the Indexes and Book of Charts. In addition, multiple navigation tools, such as a Case Locator, Chart Tool, and an Advanced Search feature enhance the ease of access to specific cases.
Lexis: International Materials
Lexis's international collection includes news and primary legal materials from many foreign nations.
Westlaw: International Materials
Westlaw's international collection includes cases and other primary materials from Australia, Canada, the European Union, Hong Kong, Korea, and the United Kingdom.

Related LRC Guides

Public International Law
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Other Guides

Georgetown Law Library: Foreign & International Law Research Guides
An extensive collection of research guides covering various topics in foreign and international law.
Globalex
Globalex is a compilation of free legal research guides on numerous topics in international, foreign, and comparative law. Guides are written and maintained by law professors and librarians and cover most foreign countries as well as many topics in international law.
Boston College Law Library: Foreign and International Legal Materials: A Practical Guide
A "practical guide" written with common foreign and international legal research tasks in mind.
Tips for Researching International Human Rights Case Law
A guide by foreign and international law librarian Jonathan Pratter on how to search for international human rights case law, courtesy of the DipLawMatic Dialogues blog.