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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)
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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)
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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
