1. United Nations Sources

2. United Nations Sources
UN Citation System
Paper and electronic access to documents

3. Citations UN documents are published in three forms
Masthead (formerly mimeograph, or supplemental publications-- working documents.
Official records: Resolutions, declarations, proceedings, etc. (Publications that are later incorporated into the official record have two numbers)
Sales: Publications the UN wants to make generally available, often reports and studies.)
The ICJ has a separate publication system, so this page applies only to the other bodies

4. Publication Types
Before electronic publication, masthead documents were very hard to obtain so they were not usually cited. Their relevance to international dispute resolution is limited.
Sales documents are also unlikely to be useful in international disputes or policy.
But, just as we saw with treaties, the UN’s internal system of citation is different from the Bluebook.
Official
Masthead
Sales Document
E/2003/29
A/CONF.157/PC/63/Add.4
E.95.XIII.12
Official citations share elements of the masthead system (next slide) but can be as simple as this.
Because of the huge volume of publications, the citation system is very versatile (i.e., complicated).
Attorneys will not usually cite to sales documents. Notice that it uses periods to delineate segments

5. Citation Format A/CONF.157/PC/63/Add.4
Secondary Elements. As in this example multiple designations may apply
“CONF” indicates a conference. “CONF.157” was a Human Rights conference in 1993.
“PC” indicates a preparatory committee.
Other important designations include
“AC” Ad hoc committee
“C” standing main committee
“CN.4” etc. to indicate each of the six (6) subcommittees of the Assembly.
“RES” to indicate a resolution (i.e. statement of customary law)
“PV” Verbatim records of meetings (i.e. legislative history)
Document number.
Since the late 1970s, some series include a session or year element. Because the documents here are organized under the conference number, they saw no need to add the year (1993) or the session (48th)
“Add.4” indicates the 4th amendment to the document.
The “Rev.” (revision or superseding text) and “Corr.” (corrigendum) are other modification elements to be aware of.
Some (prolific) subsidiary bodies have received their own designations
CRC/C/- Committee on the Rights of the Child
DP/- United Nations Development Programme
TD/- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNEP/- United Nations Environment Programme
The leading element refers to publishing body
A/- General Assembly
E/- Economic and Social Council
S/- Security Council
ST/- Secretariat
T/- Trusteeship Council

6. Look for four types of elements
Document Citation
Look for four types of elements
Element denoting the body or organ that issued the document
Element denoting the organizational session or year during which the document was issued.
Element denoting the nature of the document.
Element denoting the unique number of the document.

7. Sales Numbers
Sales numbers do not have the variety of Masthead and official documents.
The order is
i.e.: E.95.XIII.12
Language
A- Arabic C-Chinese E-English F-French R-Russian S-Spanish
Year
Subject i.e.
II.B-Economic Development
XIII- Demography
XVII-International Statistics
Document number

8. Online Indexes
ODS - Official Documents System: Comprehensive official documents since Resolutions since
UNBISnet - United Nations Library’s Catalog. Documents since
UN-I-QUE : United Nations Info Quest: (Dag Hammarskjöld Library) Bibliographic records.
These systems overlap—they actually link to the same pdfs. UNBISnet’s search engine is more powerful and its coverage is more extensive.
Links all still good.

9. Online Indexes

10. Online Indexes
ODS
UNBISnet
UN-I-QUE

11. ODS (Official Documents System)
ODS contains only official documents

12. UNBISNET (United Nations Bibliographic Information System)
If your search needs to be more comprehensive or is more complex, UNBISNET gives you access to more sources.
Keyword Search
Tailoring searches by document type and language makes expansive searches manageable.

13. UNBISNET (United Nations Bibliographic Information System) (cont’d)
If your search needs to be more comprehensive or complex, UNBISNET gives you access to more sources.
Browse List Search
Once you know the document of interest, the voting records are all available here.

14. ODS

15. UNBISNET

16. ODS & UNBISNET
ODS and UNBISNET provide different bibliographic displays but link to the same document.

17. UN-I QUE
The information in UN-I-QUE is not hyperlinked. This is simply an official bibliography that illustrates the evolution of the topic over time.
The emphasis is on annual reports.

18. Paper Index
The major print finding aid for United Nations documents is the official index, currently called the United Nations Documents Index. It has had five names previous to the current one. It was last published in 2009.
The two or three volume index is published for each quarter (with no cumulative index).
Check each quarter within the relevant time frame—or go online.

19. Interpreting Documents
Once you have citations to various documents, consider consulting the press release (where available, such as for resolutions). Although one expects a press release to be a watered-down summary for the media, actually, it is like a pre-prepared research guide explaining the committees, revisions, and effects of the document.
Good link

20. Press Releases
Research Guide
Press Releases

21. United Nations Digital Library
The United Nations just unveiled its new digital library in June

22. ICJ Decisions
The International Court of Justice has published all its decisions and opinions online.
But the case names do not always indicate the area of law that the case touches.
The World Court Digest is an index resource for each opinion. Max Planck Institute
Both links still valid (7/6/17)

23. Summary Each document distribution system has its own citation format.
Since the UN publishes a vast quantity of documents, even the available microfiche materials are selective.
Comprehensive electronic indexing is invaluable.

24. Questions?