Resources for Researching International Law: Web Sites, Casebooks and Reference Works, and Readings

Web Sites

www.asil.org
This is the homepage of the American Society of International Law, which contains a wide variety of links to all aspects of international law.

www.eisil.org
This is the Electronic Information System for International Law (EISIL) maintained by the American Society of International Law. It provides access to online sources of information about states, international organizations, and basic documents in various issue-areas, including international economic law, environmental law, human rights law, laws governing the use of armed force, and air, space, and ocean law.

www.un.org
This is the homepage of the United Nations, which contains links to the entire UN system, not only the main organs such as the UN Security Council and the General Assembly but also to the specialized agencies such as the World Bank, IMF, the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, and other IGOs.

www.un.org./law/
This can be accessed through the UN homepage or accessed directly on the Internet. It is the UN Web site that focuses on international law, and contains links to the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the law of the sea, treaties, and research guides.

www.icj-cij.org
This is the homepage of the International Court of Justice (the ICJ, or World Court). The ICJ was created in 1945 in conjunction with the UN. You can access all ICJ cases (click "Decisions," and you will see a list of the cases heard by the Court since 1946, including the full text of judgments and opinions issued).

www.worldcourts.com/pcij/eng/
This is the homepage of the Permanent Court of International Justice (the PCIJ). The PCIJ was created in 1921 in conjunction with the League of Nations, and is the predecessor to the ICJ. You can access all PCIJ cases (click "Decisions" and you will see a list of the cases heard by the Court between 1921 and 1939, including the full text of judgments and opinions issued).

www.echr.coe.int/echr
This is the homepage of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). You can access all ECHR cases (click "Case Law" and then click "Lists of Judgments" to review the full text of the judgments and opinions issued).

www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/dispu_e.htm
This is the homepage of the World Trade Organization (WTO) "Dispute Settlement" Locator. It provides access to summaries of trade disputes heard by WTO panels. You can search for cases by name, country (litigants), subject matter (e.g., bananas), or chronology.

www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/opinions.html
This is the homepage of the U.S. Supreme Court that provides access to all cases heard by the Court, including the full text of the Court's opinions.

www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html
This is the Findlaw service that quickly enables you to find U.S. Supreme Court decisions in cases you are researching. Simply type in one of the party's names (e.g., Sabbatino) in the "Party Name Search" box, and you can then access the full text opinion. Findlaw only has cases since 1893. For earlier cases, use http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe , which is available on almost all university computers.

www.people.virginia.edu/~rjb3v/rjb.html
This is Foreign Affairs Online, perhaps the best comprehensive Web site on international affairs--international politics, law, and organization. It enables you to access the CIA World Factbook and other sources of information on every country in the world, plus has a link on international organizations that provides information on both IGOs (the UN, the European Union, and other intergovernmental organizations) and NGOs, and has an international law link that connects you to the ICJ, regional courts, major international law journals, and other resources.

fletcher.tufts.edu/multilaterals.html
This is the site of the Multilaterals Project maintained by the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. It is a comprehensive survey of multilateral treaties in various issue-areas, including trade and commercial relations, atmosphere and space, marine and coastal, biodiversity, diplomatic relations, and rules of warfare. It also contains links relating to "treaty research resources" and is a good place to begin locating the text of any multilateral treaty.

www.law.ecel.uwa.edu.au/intlaw
This is an excellent Web site on international law maintained by the University of Western Australia. It has a collection of international law links.

www.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/intlaw.html
This is the "Key Resources on the Internet for International Law Research" site maintained by the University of Chicago (Lyonette Louis-Jacques). It provides access to international organization links (including the UN, the WTO, EU, Organization of American States, and other IGOs) as well as various databases on international law.

www.ppl.nl
This is the Web site for the Peace Palace Library in The Hague and provides access to their large online catalog as well as current reference information.

www.jstor.org/journals/00029300.html
This is the homepage of the American Journal of International Law (AJIL) published by the American Society of International Law. The AJIL contains a wealth of articles that include commentaries on important court cases as well as general discussion of contemporary international legal issues.

www.state.gov/www/publications/dispatch/index.html
This is the homepage of the U.S. Department of State Dispatch magazine, which is the successor publication to the U.S. Department of State Bulletin. These publications contain a record of U.S. official diplomatic practice and views of customary international law, in the form of speeches and other evidences.

home.att.net/~slomansonb/txtcsesite.html
This is the Web site maintained by William Slomanson in connection with his book Fundamental Perspectives on International Law, 3rd ed. It contains useful tips on researching international law along with links to various sources of information.

Casebooks and Reference Works

Bishop, William. International Law: Cases and Materials, 3rd ed. Boston: Little, Brown, 1971.
Blakseley, Christopher L., Edwin B. Firmage, Richard F. Scott, and Sharon A. Williams. The International Legal System: Cases and Materials, 5th ed. New York: Foundation Press, 2001. Also see earlier editions by Noyes E. Leech, Covey T. Oliver, and Joseph Sweeney (1973 and 1988).
Bledsoe, Robert L. and Boleslaw A. Boczek. The International Law Dictionary. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-Clio, 1987.
Brownlie, Ian, ed., Basic Documents in International Law, 5th ed.. Oxford, Eng.: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Buergenthal, Thomas, Sean D. Murphy, and Harold G. Maier. Public International Law in a Nutshell, 3rd ed. St. Paul: West, 2002.
Carter, Barry E., Phillip R. Trimble, and Curtis A. Bradley. International Law, 4th ed. New York: Aspen Publishers, 2003.
Damrosch, Lori F., Louis Henkin, Richard C. Pugh, Oscar Schachter, and Hans Smit. International Law: Cases and Materials, 4th ed. St. Paul: West, 2001.
Damrosch, Lori F., Louis Henkin, Richard C. Pugh, Oscar Schachter, and Hans Smit. Basic Documents Supplement to International Law: Cases and Materials, 4th ed. St.Paul: West, 2001.
Dunoff, Jeffrey L., Steven R. Ratner, and David Wippman. International Law: Norms, Actors, Process. New York: Aspen Publishers, 2002.
Janis, Mark W. and John E. Noyes. Cases and Commentary on International Law, 2nd ed. St.Paul: West, 2001.

Readings

Arend, Anthony Clark and Robert J. Beck, International Law and the Use of Armed Force. London: Routledge, 1993.
Bederman, David J. International Law Frameworks. New York: Foundation Press, 2001.
Benedick, Richard. Ozone Diplomacy. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1998.
Boyle, Francis. World Politics and International Law. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1985.
Brown, Edith Weiss. In Fairness to Future Generations: International Law, Common Patrimony, and Intergenerational Equity. New York: Transnational Publishers, 1989.
Brown, Edith Weiss and Harold K. Jacobson, eds., Engaging Countries: Strengthening Compliance with International Environmental Accords. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1998.
Chayes, Abram. The Cuban Missile Crisis: International Crises and the Role of Law. New York: Oxford University Press, 1974.
Chayes, Abram and Antonia H. Chayes. The New Sovereignty: Compliance With International Regulatory Agreements. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1995.
Christol, Carl Q. Space Law: Past, Present, and Future. Neth.: Kluwer, 1991.
D'Amato, Anthony A. The Concept of Custom in International Law. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1971.
Damrosch, Lori F. and David J. Scheffer, eds., Law and Force in the New International Order. Boulder, Colo.: Westview, 1991.
Dinstein, Yoram. War, Aggression, and Self-Defense, 3rd ed. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Donnelly, Jack. International Human Rights. Boulder, Colo.: Westview, 1993.
Forsythe, David P. The Politics of International Law: U.S. Foreign Policy Reconsidered,. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1990.
Franck, Thomas M. The Power of Legitimacy Among Nations. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
Glennon, Michael J. Limits of Law, Prerogatives of Power: Interventionism After Kosovo. New York: Palgrave, 2001.
Goldsmith, Jack L. and Eric A. Posner. The Limits of International Law. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Haas, Peter M. Saving the Mediterranean: The Politics of International Environmental Cooperation. New York: Columbia University Press, 1990.
Haas, Peter M., Robert O. Keohane, and Marc A. Levy, eds., Institutions for the Earth. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1995.
Henkin, Louis. How Nations Behave, 2nd ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 1979.
Henkin, Louis et al. Right v. Might: International Law and the Use of Force, 2nd ed. New York: Council on Foreign Relations Press, 1991.
Higgins, Rosalyn. Problems and Process: International Law and How We Use It. Oxford, Eng.: Clarendon Press, 1994.
Ignatieff, Michael. Human Rights as Politics and Idolatry. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001.
Joyner, Christopher C. International Law in the 21st Century. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, 2005.
Joyner, Christopher C., ed., The United Nations and International Law. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Karns, Margaret P. and Karen A. Mingst. International Organizations: The Politics and Processes of Global Governance. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner, 2004.
Krasner, Stephen D. Sovereignty: Organized Hypocrisy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999.
Ku, Charlotte and Paul F. Diehl, eds., International Law: Classic and Contemporary Readings, 2nd ed. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner, 2003.
Murphy, Sean D. Humanitarian Intervention: The United Nations in an Evolving World Order. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996.
Porter, Tony. States, Markets, and Regimes in Global Finance. New York: St. Martins Press, 1993.
Reisman, W. Michael and Andrew R. Willard, eds., International Incidents: The Law That Counts in World Politics. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988.
Sands, Phillippe. Principles of International Environmental Law, 2nd ed. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Sanger, Clyde. Ordering the Oceans: The Making of the Law of the Sea. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987.
Sassen, Saskia. Losing Control? Sovereignty in an Age of Globalization. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996.
Slaughter, Anne-Marie. A New World Order. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004.
Slomanson, William R. Fundamental Perspectives on International Law, 3rd ed. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 2000.
Von Glahn, Gerhard. Law Among Nations, 7th ed.. New York: Longman, 1996.
Wallach, Lori and Patrick Woodall. Whose World Trade Organization? New York: The New Press, 2004.
Zacher, Mark W. and Brent A. Sutton. Governing Global Networks: International Regimes for Transportation and Communications. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1996.