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guides > international
topics
Research
in international and foreign law usually involves researching a particular
topic. As one can imagine, these topics are varied: human rights, taxation,
environmental law, criminal law, litigation, trade, etc. While the materials
and sources may vary, there are some common ways to approach researching
an international law topic.
When researching an international law topic, the researcher is usually
looking for several bodies of law:
- public or private international
law (usually treaties and documents)
- foreign law (national
laws)
- uniform laws, guidelines
or principles (materials from IGOs).
General Approach
- Start with a research guide.
- Use secondary sources for
an overview or introduction to the subject and for citations to other
sources.
- Consider a variety of materials:
agreements, soft law, caselaw, national legislation, forms, commentary
on procedures, etc. Often times, the researcher is looking for a combination
of sources of law as well as a combination of materials. In
addition to law, the researcher is looking for commentaries and analysis.
These materials can be located in books, reports, journal articles,
and news sources.
Research
Guides and Bibliographies
Search GULLiver
using title words (for example, human rights and legal research) or use
relevant subject headings: [topic]--legal research, [topic]--bibliographies,
or [topic]--library resources. Research guides and bibliographies
will identify sources which contain both international law documents and
national law. Many research
guides and bibliographies on specific topics can be located in periodical
literature. Use legal periodical indexes to
locate these articles since they may not be on the full-text databases
on either LEXIS or Westlaw.
1. Accidental
Tourist on the New Frontier: An Introductory Guide to Global Legal Research
(Littleton, Colo.: F.B. Rothman, 1998) [Ref. and Int'l Ref. K85.A27].
2. Germain, Germain 's
Transnational Law Research (Ardsely-on-Hudson, N.Y.: Transnational
Juris Publications, 1991-) [Ref. and Int'l Ref. K85.G47 1991].
3. Goedan, International
Legal Bibliographies: A Worldwide Guide and Critique (Ardsley-on-Hudson,
NY: Transnational Pub., 1992) [K37.G63 1992].
4. Guide to International
Legal Research (3rd ed., Salem, NH: Butterworths, 1998, plus supplement)
[Int'l Ref. KZ1234 .G85].
5. Hajnal, International
Information (2nd ed., Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited,
Inc., 1997) [Int'l Ref. JZ4850.I58 1997].
6. The International
Lawyer's Deskbook (L. Law et al. eds, Washington, DC: Section of
International Law and Practice, ABA, 1996) [Int'l Ref. K48 .I57 1996].
7. Introduction to International
Business Law: Legal Transactions in a Global Economy (G. Seer and
M.Smolka-Day, eds., New York: Oceana Publications, 1996) [KF390 .B84
I57 1996].
8. Introduction to Transnational
Legal Transactions (M. Raisch and R. Shaffer, eds., New York: Oceana
Publications, 1995) [K7615.4.I58 1995].
9. Reynolds & Flores,
Foreign Law: Current Sources of Codes and Basic Legislation in Jurisdictions
of the World (Littleton, CO: Rothman, 1989- ) [Int'l Ref. K38.R49
1989]. Foreign
Law Guide <http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/lib/gulconly/databasesqc.html#F>
(GULC only) is also available online.
10. Smith, "Foreign Law
in Translation" (Chapter 14) in Introduction to Foreign Legal Systems
(Danner and Bernal, eds., New York: Oceana, 1994) [K583.I57 1994].
11. Szladits, A Bibliography
on Foreign and Comparative Law: Books and Articles in English (Dobbs
Ferry, NY: Oceana, 1955-) [Ref. and 1st Floor K520 .S9].
12. Web sites:
ASIL
Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law. Research
guides on various topics: UN, human rights, treaties, lists, international
criminal law, international environmental law, and private international
law. <http://www.asil.org/resource/home.htm>
Legal
Research on International Law Issues Using the Internet, Lyo Louis-Jacques,
University of Chicago Law Library <http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/forintlaw.html>.
See Lyo's compilation of research
guides on the Internet <http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/forintlaw.html#guides>
LLRX.com
<http://www.llrx.com/> and the International
and Foreign Law Resource Center <http://www.llrx.com/resources4.htm>
for guides on foreign law and international law topics.
Secondary
Sources
Information
About the Topic Generally
Many sources may be used for
locating information about a specific topic. Consult other guides for
researching treaties
<http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/intl/guides/treaty/>,
foreign law <http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/intl/guides/foreign/>,
and international
organizations <http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/intl/guides/orgs/>
related to specific international law topics. Also, use some of the sources
mentioned in the Introduction
to International Legal Research <http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/intl/guides/intlaw/>
(yearbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries).
Searching GULLiver
is very important for determining what books are available on a particular
topic. You may want to start by doing some title word searching in order
to determine the correct subject heading. Some of the subject heading
will look like this:
[topic]--law and
legislation
[topic]--law and legislation--[country]
[topic]--treaties
[topic]--[geographic areas]
[topic]--international law
Document
Compilations
Many of the most important
documents on a topic can be located in document compilations. These compilations
come in a variety of formats: looseleafs, serials, and electronic form.
Some compilations will cover the major international law documents and
some may cover the national law of various countries on a particular topic
(full-text or abstract). A good way to locate relevant looseleafs is to
use Legal Looseleafs in Print [Ref. KF1 .S7]. Many of the guides
mentioned above highlight compilation of importance in particular areas.
Here is a sampling of a few topical compilations:
1. Basic Documents
of International Economic Law (Zamora and Brand, eds., Chicago, Ill.:
CCH, 1990) [K1252 .B37 1990]. Also available on LEXIS and Westlaw.
2. Basic Documents of
International Environmental Law (Hohmann. ed., London; Boston: Graham
& Trotman, 1992) [K3583 .B37 1992].
3. Basic Documents
on International Trade Law (Cheng ed., Dordrecht; Boston: M. Nijhoff,1986)
[K1003 .B37 1986].
4. Commercial Laws of
the World (Ormond Beach, FL: Foreign Tax Law Association, 1976-
) [K1004.15 1976].
5. Enforcement of Money
Judgments Abroad (Newman ed., Yonkers, NY: Juris Pub., 1997- ) [K7683
.E54 1997].
6. Epstein, International
Litigation: A Guide to Jurisdiction, Practice and Strategy (3rd
ed., Ardsley, NY: Transnational, 1998- ) [K7615.4 .E67 1998].
7. Human Rights: The
Inter-American System (Buergenthal and Norris, eds., Dobbs Ferry,
NY: Oceana, 1982-) [KDZ574 .H85].
8. International Encyclopaedia
of Laws (Kluwer Law International, dates vary). Covers many topics:
civil procedure, contracts, criminal law, insurance, intellectual property,
family, medical, etc. See GULLiver
for exact call numbers.
9. International Environmental
Soft Law: Collection of Relevant Instruments (W.E. Burhenne ed.,
The Hague; Boston: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1993- ) [K3583 .I58
1993].
10. International Judicial
Assistance: Civil and Commercial (Ristau ed., Washington: International
Law Institute, 1984- ) [K7624 .R58 1984].
11. Labour Law Documents
(Geneva: ILO, 1988-1995) (previous title was Legislative Series) [K1704.L4
I5].
12. Tax Laws of the World
(Ormond Beach, Fla.: Foreign Tax Law Association, 1964?- ) [K4504 .I5
1964].
Forms
and Practitioners' Guides
The researcher is often looking
for sources which explain procedures, provide sample forms, or analyze
areas of law. While these sources are abundant in American law, they are
not always available when researching an international topic. Some areas,
however, provide more sources than others. This is especially true in
the areas of business transactions, taxation, arbitration, trade, agency
etc. Keep in mind that while many sources exist in the areas of commercial
law, they may not cover every jurisdiction and every problem.
Many continuing legal education
materials and Practising Law Institute materials (PLI) are now focusing
on international topics. These sources contain practical information and
advice. They may also contain forms or standard language for contracts
and other business agreements. The researcher can locate these materials
by searching an online catalog using keywords and including the phrase
"legal education." PLI materials can be located by searching Westlaw
(PLI or TP-ALL) or use the annual index to PLI materials Index to Course
Handbooks [Ref. KF8 .I54]. PLI also has a web
site which contains information about its programs and publications
<http://www.pli.edu>.
Sample forms can be found
in books or articles on the particular topic. Don't forget to check the
relevant research guide and bibliographies.
Periodical
Indexes
Many periodicals (both legal
and non-legal) contain articles on a variety of international legal topics.
Many of these indexes can be accessed remotely, see the Law Library's
remote access page
for more information <http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/lib/remote/>.
The help screen available from this page contains instructions on remote
access.
1. Index to Foreign Legal
Periodicals (London: Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Chicago:
American Association of Law Libraries, 1960- ) [Int'l. Ref. KF8
.I35]. Web version
also available <http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/os/journals/journqc.html>.
(GULC only)
2. Index to Legal Periodicals
and Books (New York: H.W. Wilson Co.) [Reading Room Index KF8 .I4].
Web version
also available <http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/Os/journals/journqc.html>.
Also available on LEXIS (LAWREV library, ILP file) and WESTLAW (ILP).
(GULC only)
3. Legal Journals Index
(Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire: Legal Information Resources Ltd., 1986-).
[Int'l. Ref. KD59 .L43]. Web version
also available <http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/Os/journals/journqc.html>.
Also available on WESTLAW (LJI-INDX). (GULC only)
4. Legal Resource Index,
LEXIS (LAWREV library, LGLIND file), and WESTLAW (LRI). Web version
also available <http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/Os/journals/journqc.html>.
The print equivalent is called Current Law Index (Los Altos,
CA: Information Access Corp.,1980- ) [Reading Room KF8 .C8]. (GULC
only)
5. PAIS International
(New York: Public Affairs Information Service, 1991- ) [Reading
Room Index and International Reference Z7136 .P92]. Web
version also available <http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/Os/journals/journqc.html>.
(GULC only)
6. Public International
Law (Berlin; New York: Springer-Verlag, 1975- ) [Int'l. Ref. KZ3
.P38]. See also the Max Planck Institute's web
site <http://www.Virtual-institute.de/en/hp/e-pil.cfm>.
7. Szladits, A Bibliography
on Foreign and Comparative Law: Books and Articles in English (Dobbs
Ferry, NY: Oceana, 1995-) [K520 .S9].
8. RAVE (Research
of articles and decisions in Public International Law and European Law)
<http://www.jura.uni-duesseldorf.de/rave/e/englhome.htm>
9. There are several other
more general periodical indexes available in both print, CD-ROM and
on the Law Library web site
<http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/os/journals/journqc.html>. (GULC
only) To locate other relevant indexes, use the following subject
headings on GULLiver: law--periodicals--indexes
or social sciences--periodicals--indexes.
Electronic
Sources
LEXIS
and WESTLAW
Both LEXIS and Westlaw contain
compilations of documents related to specific topics. Some of the topics
that can be found in LEXIS include international economic law, trade,
taxation, and some environmental law. Some of the topics that can be found
in Westlaw include trade, international economic law, and environmental
law.
General
Internet Sites for International Law Topics
The sites listed below are
generally good places to start looking for information on an international
law topic or the site may have a good collection of links to other relevant
sites.
For more links by topic, see
the International
Law Links <http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/intl/intl.html> and
Foreign Law Links
<http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/intl/for.html>, compiled by the International
Law department staff.
Internet
Resources - Current Awareness
In order to keep up on new
web sites devoted to international law, see What's
Online In International Law <http://www.asil.org/wonindx.htm>.
Another service offered by ASIL is International
Law in Brief -- a collection of developments in international law
<http://www.asil.org/ilibindx.htm>. Other
useful sites include:
- InSite
-- Law Site Reviews <http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/Finding_the_Law/insite.htm>
A current awareness service of Cornell Law Library.
- The
Scout Report <http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/index.html>
Announcements of valuable web sites in general.
This guide was prepared by
the International & Foreign Law Departmentat the Georgetown University Law Library. If you need additional assistance,
stop by our office on the first floor of the library or contact us by phone or email.
Revised August 2002.
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