Researching
International Human
Rights Law & Policy
Effective Tools & Techniques
Lyonette Louis-Jacques
Foreign and International Law Librarian & Lecturer in
Law, D’Angelo Law Library, The University of
Chicago Law School, Keystone, November 5, 2014
Welcome!
Lyonette “Lyo” Louis-Jacques
Research Techniques



Plan your research strategy – what is the deliverable, desired outcome?
Time, Cost, and Access
Get background on human rights (including asking people)




Consider search terms (synonyms, languages, connectors)
The language/vocabulary of human rights
Think in different dimensions (3D)







Research challenges – locating foreign case-law, translation issues, myriad UN documents
and determining level of authority, etc.
U.S. (“Bringing Human Rights Home”)
Country, region
Race, ethnicity, gender identity, class/status
Data visualization
Numbers
Stories
Google? Google!
Domestic Violence
Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) at the IACHR
Seeking Justice for Jessica
 “[W]hat can we do about the injustice of intimate partner
abuse? More than 10 years ago [in 1999], Jessica
Lenahan faced just that question when the police failed
to respond to her pleas for help, resulting in the deaths
of her three children. Following that tragedy, she took the
issue of police response to domestic violence to the
United States Supreme Court, which ruled that she had
no constitutional right to enforcement of her restraining
order, and then to the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights (IACHR).” – ACLU, Oct. 24, 2011
Right to Education
Child Migrants
Maria Woltjen
http://theyoungcenter.org/
Omar Khadr
“Child in Armed Conflict”
Witches & Sorcerers
Key Tools
 Background Sources
 Research guides
 Treaties & other
international
instruments
 Case-law
(international and
national)
 Other documents
 Books
 Journal articles
 News & current
awareness
 Data, images, stories
 “People” resources
Quick Background on Human Rights
Guide to International Human Rights Practice
Study Supps.
International Human Rights in a Nutshell
Oxford
Bibliographies
Encyclopedias (Max Planck PIL, Human Rights)
Wikipedia***
Research Guides
General
Topical
 UN Office of the High
Commissioner for Human
RightsHuman Rights
IssuesHealth, Women,
Violence, Police…
 EISIL (American Society
of International Law,
Electronic Information
System for International
Law)
Guides to Regional Systems
 Inter-American System of Human Rights (Ellen Schaffer,
American University, LibGuide, 2014)
 The Inter-American System of Human Rights: A
Research Guide (Cecilia Cristina Naddeo, GlobaLex,
2010)
 The European Human Rights System (James W. Hart,
GlobaLex, 2011)
Human Rights System/Regimes
UN
Europe/Council
of Europe
Americas
EU*
Africa
Asia/Pacific
Cases
General
 IGO’s website
 ECHR HUDOC Database
 IACtHR / IACHR
 UN OHCHR
 ORIL: Oxford Reports on
International Human Rights
Law Module
 ORIL: Oxford Reports on
International Law in
Domestic Courts (ILDC)
 Justis’ International Law
Reports (ILR)
 UMN Human Rights Library
Topical/Keyword
 Global Health & Human
Rights Database
 Inter-American Court of
Human Rights (IACHR
Project)
 Database on HRC
Decisions (Centre for Civil
and Political Rights)
 Case-Law Database
(ESCR-Net)
 WorldLII (International
Decisions – e.g. IACtHR)
SIM Case-Law Research System****
Treaties & Other HR Instruments
Bayefsky.com
OHCHR
EISIL
University of
Minnesota Human
Rights Library
Women’s Human
Rights Resources
Database (2011)
http://www.law-lib.utoronto.ca/diana/
Other Documents
ODS
RefWorld
HeinOnline
Google***
Books
Library
Catalog
Google
Books
WorldCat
Peace Palace
Library
Lawyering & Advocacy
Human Rights Advocacy Stories (2009)
International Human Rights Litigation in U.S. Courts (Beth Stephens, 2008)
Court manuals, rules, guides, statistics, factsheets..
Books and other IHR lawyering resources
Journal Articles
WestlawNext
LexisAdvance/
HeinOnline
LexisNexisAcademic
Google Scholar
Articles Plus
(one-stop shop)
http://scholar.google.com/
News & Current Awareness
Factiva
Google News
New York
Times
Blogs,
Listservs,
Social Media
Twitter
Data, Images, Stories
From ericposner.com
“People” Resources
Who You
Know
HuriSearch
National
Local
International
Ask A Librarian!
Law Reference Librarians
Area Studies
Subject Bibliographer
http://guides.lib.uchicago.edu/subjectguide
IHR Research & Advocacy Opportunities
Research Courses
• Law School classes
• Cross-Listed Human Rights Courses
• Advanced Legal Research: Foreign & International Law
• Public International Law Research Lab
Clinics & Centers
• International Human Rights Clinic
• The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights
• Housing, Mass Incarceration, Domestic Violence (projects, policy initiatives)
University, Chicago, and Beyond
• Conferences, symposia, workshops, lunch talks!
• Law School International Immersion Program (IIP), Summer J.D. Fellowships
• Pozen Family Center for Human Rights Essay Prize, Internships, Vienna Study Abroad
• Student groups, Midwest Coalition for Human Rights, Heartland Alliance, NALACC
http://humanrights.uchicago.edu/page/curriculum
The End!
Questions or Comments?
Lyonette Louis-Jacques
llou@uchicago.edu
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/law/index.html