LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND LATIN / FRENCH TERMS
MENTIONED IN THE INTERNATIONAL LAW RESEARCH SESSION
November 20, 2007
AND THE OSCAR GOES TO….
IGO - inter-governmental organization
NGO – non-governmental organization
TREATIES
ICCPR – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
UNCLOS – United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
ICERD – International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
CBD – Convention on Biological Diversity
Kyoto – Kyoto Protocol, a protocol of the Framework Convention on Climate Change
ICESCR – International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
CISG – United National Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods
TRIPS – Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
INTERNATIONAL COURTS AND TRIBUNALS
ICJ – International Court of Justice
ICC – International Criminal Court
ECJ – European Court of Justice
ECHR – European Court of Human Rights
InterAM CHR – Inter-American Court of Human Rights
ICTR – International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
ICTY – International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
SCSL – Special Court for Sierra Leone
Cambodia – Special Tribunal for Cambodia
WTO Appellate Body – World Trade Organization Appellate Body
Iraqi Tribunal – Iraqi Special Tribunal
THERE’S SOME FRENCH & LATIN THROWN IN THERE, TOO
jus ad bellum – laws governing whether a state may resort to war
jus in bello – laws governing how a state must conduct itself after the war has begun
jus cogens – a mandatory or peremptory norm of general international law accepted and
recognized by the international community as a norm from which no derogation is permitted
ex aequo et bono – a decision (esp. in international law) who is authorized to decided ex aequo et
bono is not bound by legal rules and may instead follow equitable principles (in ICJ Statute Art.
38)
uti possidetis – the doctrine that colonial administrative boundaries will become international
boundaries when a political subdivision or colony achieves independence
erga omnes – obligations owed to the legal community as a whole (e.g. prohibitions on
aggression, genocide, slavery, racial discrimination and denial of self-determination)
compromis – an agreement between two or more countries to submit an existing dispute to the
jurisdiction of an arbitrator, an arbitral tribunal, or an international court
refoulement – expulsion or return of a refugee from one state to another
travaux (travaux préparatoires) – materials used in preparing the ultimate form of an agreement
or statute, esp. of an international treaty
rapporteur – an official who makes a report of committee proceedings for a larger body (e.g.
U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, Trafficking in Persons, Education, Human Rights &
Bioethics
TOP TEN RESEARCH TOOLS
EISIL – Electronic Information System for International Law (produced by ASIL – American
Society of International Law)
ODS – Official Document System of the United Nations
ILM – International Legal Materials (publication of ASIL)
AJIL – American Journal of International Law (publication of ASIL)