Legal Research

Scope
Research strategies
Resources
Instruments
Current events
Resources will be primarily
Introductory
English language
Freely available
Electronic
International (as opposed to
regional/domestic)
If you know the treaty:
Which countries are party to the treaty?
Are there any reservations, understandings or
declarations (RUDs)?
Which body monitors treaty compliance?
Which documents does the body produce?





If you dont know the treaty, start by
identifying the following:
Subject (e.g., torture, genocide)
Group (e.g., women, children, indigenous
peoples)
Date or time period
Country or region

Primary sources: the law as enacted by
relevant branches of government (e.g.,
codes, regulations)
Secondary sources: provide legal analysis
or commentary; used to locate or explain
the law
Law Library of Congress Guide to Secondary Legal Resources
PRIMARY SOURCE SECONDARY SOURCE
Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
The UN Genocide Convention: A
Commentary
(Book)

International Covenant on Economic
Social and Cultural Rights
Collective Management of Copyrights
and Human Rights: An Uneasy Alliance
Revisited
(Article)

International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination
Preparatory Documents
(Welcome > Historic Archives > Human
Rights > ICERD > Documents)
Finding relevant secondary sources
Legal research guides
Articles
Databases
NGO/IGO websites
Libraries


Search engine: human rights and research
guide
Georgetown, Harvard, Minnesota, Oxford
GlobaLex
UN Documentation: Human Rights Guide
ASIL International Human Rights Law Guide


bepress
Digital Commons Network > Law > Human Rights
SSRN
Max Planck Institute
Try Advanced Search or Search Contents
Google Scholar
Be sure to select the arrow to the right of the search box to use the Advanced
Search features


International Justice Resource Center
Select research tab > jurisprudence databases
Organized by UN/Regional Bodies, Courts, etc.
Examples
Universal Human Rights Index (searchable by
country, right or UN body)
Univ. of Minnesotas Human Rights Library (search
and browse numerous primary and secondary
sources)
HUDOC (search ECtHR cases)



HuriSearch (Search 5000+ human rights websites)

Duke NGO Database (Includes nearly 700 searchable
websites; filter by subject)

Northwestern List of IGOs
Separate tab for UN (and EU)
United Nations Treaty Collection - search or browse
UN Human Rights Council - reports to the General Assembly
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - reports to the
Secretary-General

Provide both print and electronic
resources
Search library catalogs
Keyword (broad); Advanced Search (more precise);
Filter results
UNBISnet
Catalog of UN publications and documents from 1979
on; also includes some non-UN publications
UN OHCHR Website
Human rights bodies > All human rights bodies
> Core international instruments
UN Audiovisual Library
Historic Archives > Human Rights > Select treaty
Includes documents, status, video, photos, and
procedural history
Electronic Info. System for International Law
International Human Rights > Select category




Research for these materials can be particularly
difficult
Yales Goldman Law Library maintains a collected list of
Travaux Prparatoires
GlobaLex Guide: la Recherche des Travaux
Prparatoires: an Approach to Researching the Drafting
History of International Agreements
UN Treaty Collection: Status of Treaties
Default list is organized roughly by subject (e.g., Chapter IV:
Human Rights)
Select the treaty of interest to find relevant information (e.g.,
entry into force, RUDs, parties)

UN OHCHR website: Core Instruments
Select the treaty of interest, and from the column on the right
select Status of ratification


News
Law Library of Congress: Global Legal Monitor
International News Archives on the Web
Onlinenewspapers.com

Blogs/Newsletters
Oxford Human Rights Hub: Blog, ASIL International Law in Brief,
Opinio Juris, EJIL: Talk!, ECHR Blog (for blogs focusing on
international law more generally, check the filters/categories
for human rights to view posts together)

Treaties
United Nations
Regional Organizations
Council of Europe
Organization of American States
African Union

Challenges

Rewards
In addition to the electronic sources
cited throughout, this presentation
relied heavily upon International and
Foreign Legal Research: A
Coursebook (2012) by Marci Hoffman
and Mary Rumseyhttp://www.brill.com/international-
and-foreign-legal-research