It's NOT Mission Impossible -

Researching and Preparing a Persuasive Written and Oral Argument

for International Law Moot Court Students

Presentation of "Special Agents" Davis and Edelman⁽¹⁾

to the International Law Students Association

April 6, 2001

An AIT's vocabulary:

Public IL:

• Law that governs relationships between nation-states.
• Law that applies to conduct of international organizations.
• Law that applies to some relationships between nation-states and persons (national and juridical).

Article 38(1) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice:

http://www.icj-cij.org/ > Basic Documents > Statute of the Court

The Court...shall apply:

• International conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states;
• International custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law;
• The general principles of law recognized by civilized nations;
• Judicial decisions [int'l./nat'l.] and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of various nations, as subsidiary means for [determining] rules of law.

FL:

• In the U.S., the domestic law of a non-U.S. jurisdiction.

CL:

• In the U.S., understanding legal systems/principles different from the U.S. legal system/principles.

It's NOT Mission Impossible, but even Ethan Hunt needs help...

MI 1: Meet the FCIL librarian(s) at YOUR institution!

IL & FL Research Guides:

Print:

Jeanne Rehberg & Radu D. Popa, eds. Accidental Tourist on the New Frontier: An Introductory Guide to Global Legal Research. Littleton, CO: F. B. Rothman, 1998.

Discusses IL research, treaty research, European Union law-related research, transnational business law research, international tax research, and FL research.

Reynolds, Thomas H. & Arturo A. Flores. Foreign Law: Current Sources of Codes and Basic Legislation in Jurisdictions of the World. Littleton, CO: F. B. Rothman. (Looseleaf or subscription Internet site.)

Provides overviews of jurisdictions' legal systems and titles of key sources. Identifies many English-language sources of foreign jurisdictions' laws and regulations.

Internet:

Jean Davis & Victoria Szymczak, Introduction to International Law Research

http://brkl.brooklaw.edu/screens/rgintl.html

Includes sections on public and private IL.

Harvard Law School Library, International, Foreign & Comparative Law Research Guides

http://www.law.harvard.edu/library > Research Guides

Includes "Foreign and International Law Resources: An Annotated Guide to Web Sites Around the World," "How To Find a Treaty When You Have a Citation," "How To Find a Treaty When You Don't Have a Citation," "How To Find United Nations Documents," "The World Trade Organization," "Guide to European Union Legal Research," and "French Law Research."

Marci Hoffman & Jill Watson, eds. ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law

http://www.asil.org/resource/Home.htm

Offers research guides on treaties, the United Nations, human rights, international criminal law, international economic law, international environmental law, and private international law.

LexNotes

http://www.lexnotes.com/index.shtml

Includes links to pathfinders and bibliographies on IL and FL topics.

LLRX.com

http://llrx.com/

Includes many FL research guides. Try "search" feature: legal research [add country]

Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Finding Foreign Law Online When Going Global http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/global.html

Links to indexes and databases for finding FL through English-language interfaces and for locating English translations of FL.

Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Legal Research on International Law Issues Using the Internet

http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/forintlaw.html

Links to key IL web sites, home pages of international organizations, research guides, news sources, online journals, electronic discussion groups, and library catalogs.

Timothy Mulligan, Foreign Primary Law on the Web

http://www.law.uh.edu/librarians/tmulligan/foreignlaw.html

Describes and links to many primary sources of FL (examples: constitutions, codes, and official gazettes) on the Internet.

Mirela Roznovschi, Guide to Foreign and International Legal Databases

http://www.law.nyu.edu/library/foreign_intl/index.html

Describes and links to many useful IL and FL sources on the Internet.

Janet Sinder & Katherine Topulos, Treaties

http://www.law.duke.edu/lib/libser/publicat/researchGuides/treaties/treatyframe.html

Discusses many print and electronic sources of treaties.

Wendy Scott, Research Sources and Formats in International Law

http://www.law.syr.edu/faculty/arzt/ilresearch/international_law_sources_and_formats_tables_1999.html

Provides data in tables.

Katherine Topulos, Foreign and Comparative Law

http://www.law.duke.edu/lib/libser/publicat/researchGuides/foreign/foreignframe.html

Describes print and electronic sources for FL and CL research.

Katherine Topulos, U.S. Practice in International Law

http://www.law.duke.edu/curriculum/courseHomepages/380_01/guide2.html

Includes secondary sources, U.S. Department of State publications, cases, statutes and regulations, and Presidential documents.

United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library, United Nations Documentation Research Guide

http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/

Describes United Nations document symbols and includes sections on IL, human rights and peacekeeping.

U.S. Law Library of Congress, Guide to Law Online

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/law/GLINv1/GLIN.html > Law on-line

See "Guide: Nations" and "Guide: International and Multinational."

See Jessup Competition Rule 2.4.2: "Assistance from librarians, computer research advisors, and other legal resource specialists in preparing Competition materials shall be limited to answering specific questions regarding the location of legal sources or general legal research methods."

MI 2: Review the work of AITs who aced their missions.

Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition (vols. of best briefs)

List of prior Jessup Competition problems appears in The Jessup Reporter (revised annually).

American University, Washington College of Law, Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court Competition

http://www.wcl.american.edu/humright/mcourt/2001/index.html (also: > Past Competitions)

Stetson University College of Law, International Environmental Moot Court Competition

http://www.law.stetson.edu/mootct/moot.htm#env

MI 3: To clarify sources of modern public IL, consult a student handbook and Restatement of the Law, Third: The Foreign Relations Law of the United States.

Mark Janis, An Introduction to International Law. 3^rd ed. Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Law & Business, 1999.

Rebecca M. Wallace, International Law: A Student Introduction. 3^rd ed. London: Sweet & Maxwell, 1997.

American Law Institute, Restatement of the Law, Third: The Foreign Relations Law of the United States. St. Paul, MN: American Law Institute Publishers, 1987-.

or

http://lawschool.lexis.com > All Sources > Area of Law - By Topic > International Law > Treatises & Analytical Materials > Restatement on Foreign Relations

or

http://lawschool.westlaw.com "Select a Database": REST-FOREL

MI 4: Read your problem a few times. Identify the international agreements and legal issues in the problem. Begin research with secondary sources.

Useful approach:

• Is there a research guide (article, book or Internet resource) to my IL topic?
• Is there a treaty (text expressing the agreed upon rights and obligations of the parties) that applies to my IL issue? Multiple treaties may be relevant.
• Are there reservations, understandings, declarations, and/or supplemental protocols to the applicable treaty(ies)?

MI 5: Super Secondary Sources: Skim entries in the Encyclopedia of Public International Law and ID titles of articles that might be helpful for an international water law/transboundary pollution problem.

IL Encyclopedias:

Encyclopedia of Public International Law. Consolidated, revised library ed. Amsterdam; New York: North-Holland, 1992-.

Topics beginning with A-P: consult "List of Entries" at beginning of each vol.

Encyclopedia of Public International Law. 1981-1991. 12 vols.

Topics beginning with Q-Z: consult "List of Articles" at end of any vol.

International Encyclopaedia of Laws: [various subjects] Deventer, The Netherlands; Boston: Kluwer Law and Taxation Publishers, 1991-. (Looseleaf)

IL Treatises:

Jean Davis & Victoria Szymczak, Introduction to International Law Research

http://brkl.brooklaw.edu/screens/rgintl.html

Titles of many well-known international law treatises appear in the section: "International Law: Teachings of Publicists."

IndexMaster

http://www.indexmaster.com/

Fee-based service that searches indexes and tables of contents to thousands of legal treatises. One may search by keyword, title, author and publisher. (Ask a librarian if your institution has a subscription.)

Library Catalogs:

Lyonette Louis Jacques, Legal Research on International Law Issues Using the Internet: Library Catalogs

http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/forintlaw.html#catalogs

MI 6: MORE Super Secondary Sources! Describe Public International Law: A Current Bibliography of Books and Articles to the AITs.

IL:

Public International Law: A Current Bibliography of Books and Articles (Print)_

http://www.virtual-institute.de/en/hp/e-pil.cfm > "Online Documentation of Articles" (Internet)

RAVE (focus: Public IL and European Law)

http://www.jura.uni-duesseldorf.de/rave/e/englhome.htm

U.S.:

Current Index to Legal Periodicals

http://lawschool.westlaw.com "Select a Database": CILP (contains 8 recent issues)

Index to Legal Periodicals and Books (particularly useful for older U.S. law review and law journal citations)

SearchBank (Internet subscription version of the Current Law Index)

or

http://lawschool.westlaw.com "Select a Database": LRI

or

http://lawschool.lexis.com In "Find a Source" box, enter: Legal Resources Index

Other Jurisdictions:

Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals

Doctrinal (CD-ROM subscription- focus: France)

European Commission Libraries Catalogue

http://europa.eu.int/eclas/ > Access ECLAS (Limit: Document type: Article or Periodical)

Index to Canadian Legal Literature

http://www.quicklawamerica.com/ Database: ICLL (Index to Canadian Legal Literature)

U.S. law school faculty, librarians and students may obtain free access to this database.

From this site, select: "Law School Program."

Index to Legal Periodicals in Israel

Karlsruher Juristische Bibliographie (focus: Germany)

Legal Journals Index (focus: United Kingdom)

http://lawschool.westlaw.com/ "Select a Database": LJI

MI 7: Decipher: Trail Smelter Arbitration, 3 RIAA 1965 (1949)

Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations: Reference Guide for Attorneys, Legal Secretaries,

Paralegals, and Law Students. Buffalo, NY: W. S. Hein, 1993.

Contains entries for abbreviations of foreign agencies, organizations, periodicals, and other publications cited in American legal literature. Also available through http://lawschool.lexis.com: Reference > General > Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations.

The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Law Review Association. (Revised periodically)

Rule 21 of The Bluebook focuses on international materials. Table 2 provides citation formats for foreign jurisdictions' materials, Table 3 concerns citation formats for many intergovernmental organizations' publications, and Table 4 discusses citation formats for treaty sources. Rule 18.2 concerts Internet sources.

World Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations. Buffalo, NY: W. S. Hein, 1991-. (Looseleaf)

Contains entries for abbreviations appearing in foreign law sources and foreign legal literature.

MI 8: Define: sic utere jure tuo ut alienum non lades

Print:

Black's Law Dictionary. 7^th ed. St. Paul, MN: West Group, 1999.

Dictionary of International and Comparative Law. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1997.

The Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law. New York: Oceana Publications, 1986.

Internet:

Ray August, International Law Dictionary & Directory

http://august1.com > Publications > International Law Dictionary & Directory

MI 9: Become familiar with key legal publications of the United Nations (and related products of other publishers)

Internet:

United Nations Law-Related Bodies:

United Nations Home Page: International Law (free)

http://www.un.org/law/

• International Court of Justice

> Basic Documents (includes Statute of the ICJ)

> Decisions

• Law of the Sea (links to Oceans and the Law of the Sea home page)
• International Law Commission
• International Trade Law (links to United Nations Commission on International Trade Law)
• Sixth (Legal Committee) (reports to GA on legal matters)
• International Criminal Court
• International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
• International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

United Nations General Assembly and Security Council Resolutions:

UN Documentation Centre (free)

http://www.un.org/documents/

Treaties Deposited with the United Nations:

United Nations Treaty Database (subscription)

http://untreaty.un.org/English/access.asp

• > United Nations Treaty Series (text)
• > Texts of Recently Deposited Multilateral Treaties
• > Status (signatories and ratification/accession data)

Print:

ICJ Judgments:

International Court of Justice. Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders

or

http://www.icj-cij.org/ > Decisions (free)

or

http://lawschool.westlaw.com "Select a Database": INT-ICJ or use FIND 1986 I.C.J. 14

ICJ Digests:

Giuliana Ziccardi Capaldo, ed. A Repertory of Decisions of the International Court of Justice (1947-1992). Dordrecht; Boston: M. Nijhoff Publishers; Norwell, MA, U.S: Sold and distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1995.

World Court Digest (Web version: 1986-) (free)

http://www.virtual-institute.de/ > Englisch > Research > World Court Digest

Skim the "Synopsis of Chapters" to obtain titles and chapter numbers (example: INTERNATIONAL WATERCOURSES II.3) Find these references in the "Contents." TIP: Review "Synopsis of Chapters" and "Contents" before using "Search" feature.

PCIJ Judgments:

Permanent Court of International Justice. Publications of the Permanent Court of International Justice. Series A./B., Judgements, Orders and Advisory Opinions.

Manley O. Hudson, ed. World Court Reports: A Collection of the Judgements, Orders and Opinions of the Permanent Court of International Justice. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1969.

PCIJ Digest:

Fontes Iuris Gentium, Series A, Sectio I

Also, many World Court Digest entries refer to PCIJ judgments.

Arbitral Awards:

United Nations. Codification Division. Reports of International Arbitral Awards.

TIP: USE LAW REVIEW ARTICLES AND TREATISES TO ID DECISIONS OF INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNALS AND AWARDS OF ARBITRAL BODIES.

Decisions of High Courts in Many Jurisdictions:

International Supreme Court Decisions

http://www.mossbyrett.of.no/info/links.html

MI 10: Remember the "dynamic duo" of ILM & ILR when searching for documents.

International Legal Materials. Washington, DC: American Society of International Law, 1962-.

TIP: Obtain cites to documents published in International Legal Materials (1990-) through ASILEX http://www.asil.org/asilex.htm. (free)

or

http://lawschool.lexis.com > All Sources > Secondary Legal > Law Reviews & Journals > Individual Law Reviews & Journals > G-I > International Legal Materials (1975-) or use LEXSEE "Get a Document" Icon) 33 ILM 207

or

http://lawschool.westlaw.com "Select a Database": ILM (selected coverage 1980-) or use FIND 33 ILM 207

International Law Reports. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire]: Grotius, (from 1978-).

MI 11: Become familiar with major treaty sources.

Treaty Research Guides:

Many of the guides on pp. 1-3 of this handout discuss treaty research. One web site that links to treaty research guides (pathfinders) and Internet sources of treaties is Mirela Roznovschi's International Treaties, http://www.law.nyu.edu/library/foreign_intl/treaties.html.

Treaty Sources:

United Nations Treaty Series

or

United Nations Treaty Database (subscription database)

http://untreaty.un.org/English/access.asp

• > United Nations Treaty Series (text)
• > Texts of Recently Deposited Multilateral Treaties
• > Status (signatories and ratification/accession data)

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Multilaterals Project (free)

http://fletcher.tufts.edu/multilaterals.html

University of Minnesota Human Rights Library (free)

http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/ > Treaties and Other International Instruments

International Legal Materials. Washington, DC: American Society of International Law, 1962-.

Many other web sites contain treaties!

TIP: IF AN ORGANIZATION ASSISTS IN DRAFTING A TREATY OR ORGANIZES A CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS A TREATY, THE ORGANIZATION'S WEB SITE PROBABLY WILL INCLUDE THE TREATY AND STATUS INFORMATION ON THE TREATY.

EXAMPLE:

United Nations Environment Programme

http://www.unep.org/ > Environmental Legal Instruments

Current U.S. Treaty Sources:

1. Senate Treaty Document

2. Treaties and Other International Acts Series (T.I.A.S.) "slip" treaty

3. United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (U.S.T.) volume

Large Databases Containing U.S. Treaties:

http://lawschool.lexis.com > All Sources > Area of Law - By Topic: International Law > Treaties & International Agreements > U.S.Treaties on LEXIS

Includes U.S. treaties (ratified) and international agreements from 1776-.

http://lawschool.westlaw.com "Select a Database": USTREATIES

Provides T.I.A.S. No. 10869 (June 18, 1979)- and Senate Treaty Documents from the 103^rd Congress (1993/94)-.

http://www.oceanalaw.com > Treaties and International Agreements Online (subscription, free trials currently available to academic and government institutions)

Includes U.S. treaties and international agreements from 1783-.

MI 12: Find a job!

The Federal Job Search and Optional Application for Federal Employment (Form OF-612) http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/ei25.htm

Law.com Career Center

http://www.lawjobs.com/

Beneath "Jobs": Choose a state or Washington, DC and use the "select practice area" feature.

YOUR PRESENCE SHOWS THAT YOU RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF MEETING

IL PRACTITIONERS AND DEVELOPING YOUR SKILLS.

ASIL Annual Meeting (location: Washington, DC)

http://www.asil.org > 200_ Annual Meeting

FREE if students provide copies of school registration.

International Law Weekend (IL Weekend East & IL Weekend West.)

http://www.ambranch.org/ > 200_ ILA Weekend

FREE programs - no registration required. IL Weekend East occurs at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 42 West 44th Street in Manhattan (next IL Weekend East: October 25-27, 200l).

If you are an AIT from the Empire State:

New York State Bar Association, International Law and Practice Section

http://www.nysba.org/sections/ilp/ilpsdesc.htm

ILPS "would like to involve more students in its activities." Cost: $10 (NYSBA) + $12.50 (ILPS)

Practising Law Institute

http://www.pli.edu > Law School Services

Law students may obtain scholarships to many PLI continuing legal education programs! The PLI Scholarship Committee must receive a completed scholarship application no later than 4 weeks prior to the start of a seminar. Examples of PLI programs: Drafting Corporate Agreements (discusses cross-border transactions); Global Trademark and Copyright: Protecting Intellectual Property Rights in the International Marketplace; International Business Litigation and Arbitration; International Joint Ventures; International Securities Markets; and Introduction to International Taxation: Conceptual Bootcamp.

Print Guides:

Careers in International Law. Washington, DC: Section of International Law and Practice,

American Bar Association, 1993.

Careers in International Law: Your Indispensable Guide to Career Paths and Internships in

International Law. Washington, DC: American Society of International Law, 1999.

The International Lawyer's Deskbook. Chicago, IL: American Bar Association, Section of

International Law and Practice, 1996.

International Opportunities Resource Guide. Washington, DC: National Association for Law

Placement, 1999.

Public Service and International Law: A Guide to Professional Opportunities in the United

States and Abroad. New Haven, CN: Yale Law School, 1998.

Internet Guides:

Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Researching Careers in International Law: Resources in Print and Electronic Format

http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/careers.html

Describes Internet sites, electronic discussion groups, books, and organizations.

William R. Somanson, Career Opportunities in International Law

http://home.att.net/~slomansonb/career.html

Discusses handbooks and articles, Internet sources, volunteer work, scholarships and internships, and foreign study programs.

Weiben Wang, Worldwide Business Directories

http://www.nypl.org/research/sibl/directories/director.htm

Many of these directories (examples: Directory of American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries, Directory of Foreign Firms Operating in the United States) are available at large public libraries.

1. Agent Jean Davis is Reference Librarian and Adjunct Associate Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School. She enjoys teaching International and Foreign Law Research with Agent Victoria Szymczak.

Agent Diane Edelman is the Co-Director of the Legal Writing Program at Villanova University School of Law. She created and teaches a unique International Law Moot Court program for first year law students.