INTERNATIONAL & FOREIGN LEGAL RESEARCH : AN OVERVIEW Peggy McDermott, M.L.S., J.D.

International Law Public International Law Treaties and International Agreements (Law Among Nations) Private International Law Conflict of Laws when the laws of more than one state are involved. Foreign Law Laws of individual States

I need to find a Tax Treaty between the United States and Germany. Where Do I Start ? PAPER Guides and Pathfinders: Guide to International Legal Research (George Washington University Journal of Law and Economics.) Ref. KZ 1234 / G 85 INTERNET American Society of International Law (ASIL) Electronic Resource Guide g/erghome.cfm

American Society of International Law

ASIL ELECTRONIC RESOURCE GUIDE Subjects

GENERAL INTERNATIONAL LAW

TREATY COLLECTIONS

Sources of International Law Primary Sources Constitutions Treaties Statutes Decisions of International Tribunals Secondary Sources Legal Treatises Yearbooks and Digests (many available on HeinOnline) Periodicals – International Legal Materials

Constitutions Constitutions of the Countries of the World Available electronically from the Law Library’s Homepage. Government Publications – Check with the staff of your Law Library Internet Official Sites – European Union, UN, Government Non-governmental Sites (NGOs)

Treaties and International Agreements Official Government Publications (UST) Treaty Actions International Organizations United Nations Treaties Secondary Sources

Department of State – Treaty Actions

UNITED NATIONS TREATY COLLECTION STATUS UNTS

Statutes / Legislation Official Compilations Commercial Publications – Full-text or Digests (Martindale-Hubbell International Law Digest - Lexis.) Electronic Compilations Internet Lexis/Westlaw

Decisions of International Tribunals Official Compilations Official Web Sites – For example International Court of Justice Secondary Sources Periodicals – ILM (International Legal Materials) Associations/Organizations

How Do I Evaluate a Web Site ? Accuracy and Quality of the Site Full- text or summaries ? How frequently is the site updated ? How reliable is the Web site ? What is the language ? English ?

General Research Guides and Collections of International Sites ASIL Site Georgetown Law Library University of Chicago: Foreign & International Washburn University School of Law-Washlaw

ASIL ELECTRONIC RESEARCH GUIDE

Georgetown Law Library’s Research Guides MEGASITES RESEARCH GUIDES

University of Chicago

WASHLAW – FOREIGN & INTERNATIONAL LAW

Treaty Research Why do I need to know how to do treaty research ? This Constitution and the Laws of the United States … and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States shall be the supreme Law of the Land … (Art. VI, Section 2)

But there are also practical considerations -- Your Client may be involved in an agreement for the sale of goods to a buyer in another country. This transaction will be governed by a treaty, the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods unless you provide otherwise.

What is a Treaty ? Treaty is an international agreement concluded between States in written form and governed by international law. Treaties may be called Accords, Conventions, Protocols, Memorandums of Understanding, or Charters. (Requires 2/3 vote of the Senate). They are legally binding.

There are Numerous Elements to Treaty Research Finding the Full- Text -- most commercial publishers have begun to make full texts available shortly after their release or ratification. Determining the Status of the Treaty. Who has signed and ratified the treaty ? Has the treaty been amended by subsequent protocols or amendments ?

What Information Do You Have ? Time period involved Status of the treaty Whether the treaty is bilateral (two parties) or multilateral (many parties) ? Parties involved (for example, is the United States involved ? ) Whether the treaty has been amended ?

If you have a citation and the U.S. IS a party to the agreement United States Treaties and other International Agreements (UST) Treaties and other International Acts Series (TIAS)

If You do not have a citation, but you know the subject, parties to the agreement, or the date, and the U. S. IS a party to the agreement -- Treaties in Force United States Treaty Index : Current Treaty Index

If you have a citation and the U.S. IS NOT a party to the agreement -- United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS) International Legal Materials (ILM) Collections of Treaties published by another state or organization. (ETS)

If you do not have a citation, but you know the subject, parties to the agreement, or the date, and the U.S. IS NOT a party to the agreement World Treaty Index ( ) Multilateral Treaties Deposited With the Secretary General.

What About the Internet ? United States Government Sites GPO Access html IRS al/article/0,,id=96739,00.html Trade Compliance Center (TCC) ndex.asp

GPO ACCESS SENATE TREATY DOCUMENTS

Internal Revenue Service

Trade Compliance Center

SEARCH

UNITED STATES SENATE

U.S. SENATE – ACTIVE LEGISLATION

U.S. SENATE

THOMAS -- TREATY STATUS

GOOD FOR DETERMINING THE STATUS OF A TREATY WORD/ PHRASE TREATY DOC. NUMBER

TREATY TEXT THOMAS will link you to GPO ACCESS

Internet --- International Organizations United Nations World Trade Organization e/legal_e.htm World Intellectual Property Organization

UNITED NATIONS TREATY COLLECTION SEARCH OPTIONS

WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION SEARCH

WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

WIPO 24 TREATIES ADMINISTERED BY WIPO

Internet - Treaty Sites Avalon Project at Yale Law School Tufts University. Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Council of Europe

Lexis U.S. Treaties on Lexis U.S. Treaties in Force (Index) GATT Materials International Tax Treaties International Legal Materials (ILM) Eur-Lex (EU Law Database)

Westlaw U.S. Treaties and International Agreements U.S. Treaties in Force (Index) European Union Materials International Legal Materials (ILM) RIA International Tax Treaties

HEINONLINE International Yearbooks and serials such as the U.N. Commission on International Trade Law Yearbook. Digests such as the Digest of United States Practice in International Law. UST ( ) TIAS ( ) Treaties in Force ( )

International Organizations Research Guides United Nations European Union – Europa

UNITED NATIONS RESEARCH GUIDE

EUROPEAN UNION --EUROPA

EUR-LEX – EUROPEAN UNION LAW

Legislation

Decisions SEARCH TERMS Secondary Legislation

OFFICIAL JOURNAL

SEARCH OPTIONS European Court of Justice

European Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance Reports of Cases before the European Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance Paper KJE /R 4 Lexis Westlaw EUR-Lex & Curia

Eur-Lex for cases before 1997

International Court of Justice Principal judicial organ of the UN Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions, Orders Paper Internet Westlaw Lexis International Legal Materials Lexis and Westlaw

FOREIGN STATUTES WASHLAW FOREIGN AND INTERNATIONAL

GlobaLex - NYU -- Research Guides

GUIDE TO FOREIGN LAW ONLINE

Points to Consider AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY FROM THE LAW LIBRARY’S HOMEPAGE

FOREIGN LAW GUIDE

Useful Titles Foreign Law Guide: Current Sources of Codes & Legislation (Reynolds & Flores) (Available electronically from the Library’s Homepage. Select “Foreign Law Guide.”) Germain’s Transnational Law Research (Reference K 85/ G 47/ 1991)

More Useful Titles --- Martindale Hubbell International Law Digest ( Lexis) Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals ( available electronically)

Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (Available from Law Library’s Page)

How Do I Keep Up ? Harvard Law Library has an “International Law News Page.” American Society of International Law has an “International Law in Brief.” BNA alerts in the area of International Trade, the WTO, and international business or tax. Newsletters & Blogs such as International Law Reporter.

WHERE DO I GO ? FREE INTERNET MATERIALS COMMERCIAL SERVICES LEXIS/ WESTLAW U. N. TREATY DATABASE BOOKS (NOT EVERYTHING IS ON THE WEB) LIBRARIANS