Researching International Law
by Annette Demers BA LLB MLIS
International Law
All resources mentioned today are available from the law library
website: http://www.uwindsor.ca/law/library
International Law
Public International Law – law between nations.
Sources
Article 38
“1. The Court, whose function is to decide in accordance
with International Law such disputes as are submitted to it,
shall apply:
a. international conventions (Treaty Law)
b. international custom (Not Discussed Today)
c. general principles of law (Not Discussed Today)
d. judicial decisions and the teachings of the most
highly qualified publicists;
Statute of the ICJ, 26 June 1945, Can TS 1945 no 7, Article 38, BTS 1946 no 67 (entered
into force 24 October 1945. Ratification by Canada 09 November 1945).
Secondary Sources “Teachings of the Most Highly Qualified Publicists”
BOOKS
Library
Catalogue
WorldCat
Harvard
Secondary Sources “Teachings of the Most Highly Qualified Publicists”
REFERENCE MATERIALS
Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Law
Oxford International Law Dictionary
Oxford Encyclopedia of Human Rights
Oxford Guide to Latin in International Law
Secondary Sources “Teachings of the Most Highly Qualified Publicists”
JOURNAL ARTICLES
Westlaw Canada
-”WORLD-JLR”
Quicklaw
-”Law Reviews, CLE, Legal Journals & Periodicals Combined”
+ ”All Canadian Legal Journals”
+ ”Law Reviews with International Focus”
+ “International Law Review Articles, Combined”
HeinOnline
Working with Treaties
When doing research for International Treaties, you may need to know:
1. Where to find the full-text of the treaty.
2. What is the status of the treaty?
-is it in force?
-where was it signed and when?
-what countries signed it?
-what countries have ratified it?
Where to Find the Full-Text of a Treaty
Although a Google search may yield results, you always need to work from a copy that
can be cited! Best place to look for Canada is:
Canada Treaty Series (print only)
Step one: find the cite using Canada Treaty Information website
http://www.treaty-accord.gc.ca/index.aspx
Note: The full-text of a few treaties is now being made available here as well.
You Try It! Use the Treaty Information website to locate the citation for this treaty:
“Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry
Adoption”
Date and Place of
Signature.
Date Canada
ratified it.
Location in Treaty
Series.
Try it!
Use the Canada Treaty Information website to
find the citation to this treaty:
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International
Child Abduction
Finding Treaties – Using UN Treaty Series Website
1. Every treaty and every international agreement entered into by any
Member of the United Nations …shall as soon as possible be registered
with the Secretariat and published by it.
No party to any such treaty or international agreement which has not
been registered in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of this
Article may invoke that treaty or agreement before any organ of the
United Nations.
Charter of the United Nations, 26 June 1945, Can TS 1945 No 7, Art 102, BTS
1946 No 67 (entered into force 24 October 1945. Ratification by Canada 09
November 1945).
Finding Treaties
United Nations Treaty Series – Free online at:
https://treaties.un.org
Finding Treaties
This is the proper
volume number
to use in your
UNTS cite, see
slide 18.
This is a screenshot of the Table of Contents for the
PDF in the previous slide.
This is the proper
page number to
use in your UNTS
cite, see slide 18.
Citing Treaties
Title of Treaty
Date of
Signature
First Citation
Parallel Cite
Notation
Convention on Protection of
Children and Cooperation in
Respect of Intercountry
Adoption,
(29 May 2013)
Can TS 1997 No 12,
1870 UNTS 167
(entered into force
1 May 1995,
ratification by
Canada 19
December 1996).
Date when treaty
was first opened
for signature – see
Slide 16, line 6
(“Places/Dates of
Conclusion”)
To Canada Treaty
Series when discussing
Canadian obligations.
If available.
See McGill page E89.
YOU TRY IT!
Use the UN Treaty Series Popular Names
website to find out when this treaty was signed
by the United Kingdom:
Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary
and Artistic Works
What do I do if I Find a Citation to a Treaty – How Do I Locate it?
Example:
Treaty Between the United States of America and the Republic of Uruguay
Concerning Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investment, 25
October 2004, 44 ILM 268.
Step One – figure out what ILM stands for!
Step 1: Locating Abbreviations
-Cardiff Index Online
http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk
or
Mary Miles Prince, Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations, (Buffalo, N.Y.:
W.S. Hein, 2001).
and
Christian L. Wiktor, Multilateral Treaty Calendar 1648-1995, (The Hague: M.
Nijhoff Publishers, 1998).
Finding Treaties by Citation
Sample abbreviations:
ILM – International Legal Materials
UNTS – United Nations Treaty Series
Can TS – Canadian Treaty Series
BFSP – British Foreign and State Papers
Comm – UK Command Papers
+ many others.
Locating Treaties
Canada Treaty Series – Print Only
United Nations Treaty Series – Online
International Legal Materials – Hein
US Treaties – QL, West, Hein
Locating Treaties
ILM and other Treaty Sources
on Hein Online
Try it!
Use International Legal Materials on HeinOnline
to locate this treaty:
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade –
Multilateral Trade Negotiations (The Uruguay
Round): Agreement Establishing the World
Trade Organization, with annexes (1 to 4). 15
April 1994, 33 ILM 15.
How a Treaty is Made
1. Countries come together to negotiate; or a body
such as the UNGA prepares a template.
2. Countries come together to sign the treaty. (The
date and place of signature are both important
pieces of information about the treaty.
3. If a country was not at the table at the date and
place of signature, they may accede to the treaty
at a later date.
4. The treaty must enter into force. The treaty
itself will indicate how it enters into force.
Definitions
Accession: A country, who was not a party to the treaty
at the date and place of original signing, may later accede
to the treaty. The treaty itself will usually indicate by
what means accession can be demonstrated.
The Statute of Rome which set up the International
Criminal Court has an example for us:
Article 120, section 3: "This statute shall be open to
accession by all States. Instruments of accession shall be
deposited with the Secretary General of the United
Nations."
Sample EIF Provision
“This Statute shall enter into force on the first day of the
month after the 60th day following the date of the
deposit of the 60th instrument of ratification,
acceptance, approval or accession with the Secretary –
General of the United Nations.”
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 18 December 1998, Can TS
2002 No 13, Art 126, 2187 UNTS 3 (entered into force 01 July 2002, ratification
by Canada 07 July 2000).
How a Treaty is Made
5.
Countries must then ratify the treaty.
“Instrument of ratification = a country’s formal confirmation, in writing, of its intention to be
bound to a treaty.”
6.
(For multilateral treaties) – The instrument of ratification is filed with the “Depository” or
the “Registrar” for the treaty. Example, the US is the depository for the UN Charter.
7.
(For bilateral treaties) – The instrument is signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and is
delivered to the other party.
8.
A party may also file reservations to the treaty. Other countries may choose whether or not
to observe the reservations vis a vis their relationship with that country.
9.
In Canada, ratification is exercised by the Executive, who prepare an Order in Council, issued
by the Governor General.
10.
In Canada, a treaty does not take effect until a statute has been passed by
Parliament to implement, but see:
Definitions
Reservations: A unilateral statement, made by a
State when signing, ratifying or acceding to a
treaty, whereby it purports to exclude or modify
the legal effect of certain provisions of the treaty
with respect to its own obligations. In the
course of their dealing under the treaty, other
states may choose whether or not to recognize
the reservations made by another nation.
Status of Treaties
Baker v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration,
[1999] 2 SCR 817 ¶ 7-11, 69-72, 76-77, 174 DLR (4th) 193.
69 “Another indicator of the importance of considering the interests of children
when making a compassionate and humanitarian decision is the ratification by
Canada of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the recognition of the
importance of children’s rights and the best interests of children in other
international instruments ratified by Canada. International treaties and
conventions are not part of Canadian law unless they have been implemented
by statute… I agree with the respondent and the Court of Appeal that the
Convention has not been implemented by Parliament. Its provisions therefore
have no direct application within Canadian law.
70 Nevertheless, the values reflected in international human rights law may
help inform the contextual approach to statutory interpretation and judicial
review…”
To make arguments on the basis of a treaty, and to cite it properly, you
may need:
Status Information
Canada (Treaty
Information
website)
UNTS website
“Status of Treaties”
Date and Place of
Signature
yes
yes
Date of Canada’s
consent to be
bound and how
yes
yes
Date of ratification,
if applicable
yes
yes
Date of entry into
force
yes
yes
Canada’s
implementation
statute.
no
no
Reservations filed
no
yes
International Judicial Decisions
Visit:
http://www.uwindsor.ca/law/library/267/researchi
ng-international-law#Judicial
Examples:
International Court of Justice
European Court of Human Rights
International Criminal Court
ICTR and ICTY
and many others.
THANK YOU!
Annette Demers
ademers@uwindsor.ca
http://www.uwindsor.ca/law/library