Treaties: Introduction / Retrospective Collections / Current General Colletions / National Collections / Subject Collections / Treaty Indexes
Customary International Law: Digests of Practice
Reports: General / International Court of Justice / Permanent Court of International Justice / International Arbitrations
Scholarly Writings: Scholarly Writings
Other Resourses: Databases / Legal Research Guides / Internet Links

There are a number of good web sites giving access to materials on international law, including:

Broadly speaking, international law is the body of rules which govern relations between nation States; the relationships and behaviour of multinational corporations; and human rights.

According to Article 38(1) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the main sources of international law are:

A treaty is a written agreement between States which is governed by international law. A treaty may also be concluded by States and international organizations. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969, sets out the rules for the negotiation of treaties between States.

A treaty may also be known as a "convention", "protocol", "covenant" or "exchange of letters".

Comprehensive information on Australia's role in treaty making can be found on AustLII's Australian Treaties Library.

A nation State, that is, an independent sovereign nation, will express its consent to be bound by the terms of a treaty by signing it. The authority to sign is usually vested in the diplomats assigned to negotiate the treaty's terms. In most cases the treaty is not binding until it is ratified.

Once the treaty has been signed, the Heads of State or the governments of the signatory countries then 'confirm' that the country agrees to be bound by the provisions of the treaty. This procedure is known as ratification. In Australia, treaties are tabled in both Houses of Parliament for at least 15 sitting days before the Government takes action to bring the treaty into force. Tabled treaties are now accompanied by a National Interest Analysis.

The terms of a treaty will usually stipulate if ratification is necessary and this procedure is implemented for multilateral treaties (treaties to which there are more than two parties). However, in the case of bilateral treaties (treaties between two parties), ratification rarely occurs as it is viewed as an onerous task and a signature is usually viewed as sufficient. The ratification of a bilateral treaty usually occurs only if one of the parties insists on it.

Treaties that Australia is a party to are published in the Australian Treaty Series. Multilateral treaties can also be found in the United Nations Treaty Series (L/KC10/U5).

A treaty usually enters into force in accordance with the procedure laid down within the treaty itself. For example, a treaty may contain a provision stating that it will enter into force once a certain number of countries have signed it.

A treaty may sometimes require implementing legislation. If so, the text of the treaty may be reproduced in the legislation as a schedule.

Consolidated Treaty Series
Reprints of treaties concluded between 1648-1920.
Print: L/KC10/C5 1648-1920

League of Nations Treaty Series (LNTS)
Print: L/KC10/L4 1920-1946

Tufts University Multilaterals Project
This site gives access to many historical texts, from the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia to the Covenant of the League of Nations.

United Nations Treaty Series : UNTS
Print: L/KC10/U5

International Legal Materials
A monthly publication that provides the text of selected international legal materials.
Print: LQ/KC20.15/I2
Also available online via Lexis (recent) and Hein Online (historical).

Tufts University Multilaterals Project
Fulltext versions of current treaties.

Australian Treaty Series
This contains the texts of all treaties that Australia is a party to.
Print: L/KC12/A1

This series is indexed by the Australian Treaty List which is published by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It is updated monthly.

Australian Treaties Not Yet in Force
Contains treaties that Australia has participated in the preparation of but has not yet ratified.

British and Foreign State Papers
Microfilm: LM/KC10/B1 1812-1977

Foreign & Commonwealth Office : Treaties
Treaties from January 2002 are available in fulltext as Command papers. Explanatory memoranda applying to treaties are also provided.

The Main Library holds print and microfiche copies of the Command Papers, which form part of the British Parliamentary Papers Series.
Print: DS328.420405/2 (1963-1981)
Microfiche: SMFL/1372 (1981-)

To locate treaties within the Comand Papers, use the Index to House of Commons Parliamentary Papers.

Index of British Treaties
Print: L/KC12/G1/1/(1-3) 1101-1968

Treaties prior to 1950 are contained in:

United States Statutes at Large
Microfiche: LMFL/KG322/U1 (1789-1931)
Print: LQ/KG322/U1 (1932-)

Bevans C (ed), Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America, 1776-1949
Print: L/KC12/U2/1/(1-13)
Also available online via Hein Online.

Treaties made after 1950:

United States and Other International Agreements
Print: L/KC12/U1
Also available online via Hein Online.

There are two indexes that cover these US treaty series:

United States Treaties and Other International Agreements: Cumulative Index
Print: L/KC12/U1 1776-1949

United States Treaties and Other International Agreements: Cumulative Index
Print: L/KC12/U1 1950-

United States treaties currently in force are also available online via Lexis.

The Avalon Project at the Yale Law School has selected U.S. multilateral and bilateral treaties.

Ruster B (ed), International Protection of the Environment: Treaties and Related Documents
Print: L/KC10.E/I1/1/(1-31) 1975-1982
Print: L/KC10.E/I1/2/(1-6) 1990-

Environmental treaties are also available on the ENTRI (Environmental Treaties and Resource Indicators).

Brownlie I (ed), Basic Documents on Human Rights
Print: L/KC203/B1/3

Israel F (ed), Major Peace Treaties in Modern History
Print: L/KC10/I2/1/(1-4)

Investment Laws of the World
Print: L/LC227/I2/1/(1-10)

International Human Rights Instruments
Print: L/KC200/I9/2

To find further collections held by the Library, search the the Library Resource Database using "treaties" as a subject keyword in combination with a keyword describing the area you are interested in.

A subject index to treaties is also available from the Tufts University Multilaterals Project with links to the full text.

Bowman MJ and Harris DJ (eds), Multilateral Treaties : Index and Current Status
This is a useful publication if researchers wish to obtain brief information about treaties quickly. It provides the full name of the convention or treaty, date of entry into force, where published and names of parties. The main volume was published in 1984 and is updated by cumulative supplements.
Held at the UNSW Freehills Law Library, Loans & Information Desk, Level 1.

Rohn P (ed), World Treaty Index
Covers treaties made between 1900-1980. It also has keyword and party indexes.
Print: LQ/KC10/R1/2/(1-5)

The second source of international law is customary international law. This can be defined as law which has evolved from the practice and customs of states. To assist researchs locate what would otherwise be disparate sources, many states publish digests of practice.

Australia

The Australian Year Book of International Law
Print: L/K1/A990 1965-
Also available via Hein Online.

United States

Cumulative Digest of United States Practice in International Law
Print: L/KC50/C1/1 1993-
Continues: Digest of United States Practice in International Law (L/KC50/D1 1973-79)

Whiteman M, Digest of International Law
Print: L/KC80/W3 1940-1960

Hackworth GH, Digest of International Law
Print: L/KC80/H3 1906-1939

United Kingdom

The British Year Book of International Law
Print: L/K1/B710 Vol. 1 (1920)-
Also available via Hein Online.

A British Digest of International Law
Print: L/KC50/B5 1860-1960

This is the third area designated by the International Court of Justice as being a source of international law.

Lauterpacht E, Greenwood CJ and Oppenheimer AG (eds), International Law Reports
Brings together decisions from the highest court of appeal from each nation-state. It also covers the decisions of international tribunals such as the International Court of Justice.
Print: L/KC20.15/I1 1919-

Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders
Print: L/KC23/I1 1947-

Pleadings, Oral Arguments and Documents
These are catalogued by subject. They are irregularly produced and the authorised reports of the Court.
Print: Search the LRD

International Court of Justice Yearbook
Print: L/KC1225/I1

Bibliography of the International Court of Justice
Print: LREF/K36/I1 No.19 (1964)-

Fulltext decisions of the International Court of Justice are also available online.

Series A, Judgments
Print: L/KC21.A/P1/1970/(1-3)

Series B, Advisory Opinions
Print: L/KC21.B/P1/1970/(1-2)

Series AB, Judgments, Orders and Advisory opinions
Print: L/KC21.AB/P1/1970/(1-4)

The above titles are the official reports of the Court.

World Court Reports
Print: L/KC24/W1 Vol. 1 (1922/1926)-v. 4 (1936/1942)

The publications listed below may assist in locating international arbitration awards:

Scott JB (ed), Hague Court Reports
Print: L/KC42/P1/1 (first series)
Print: L/KC42/P1/2 (second series)

Stuyt AM (ed), Survey of International Arbitrations, 1794-1989
Print: L/KC1250/S2/3

Reports of International Arbitral Awards
Print: L/KC40/U5 1948-

The Library also has several titles that cover specific topics of international law (e.g. human rights, environmental law, international trade law, etc.). These can be found by searching the Library Resources Database.

Scholarly writings are regarded by the International Court of Justice to be a 'subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law' (Article 38(1)(d)). References or citations to these writings may be found in encyclopedias, bibliographies and periodical indexes. Some useful titles are listed below.

Encyclopedia of Public International law
Print: LREF/K129/E5/1/(1-12) 1981-1992

Beyerly E (ed), Public International Law: a Guide to Information Sources
Print: LREF/K36/B4/1

Besterman T (ed), Law and International Law: a Bibliography of Bibliographies
Print: LREF/K36/B2/1

Delupis I (ed), Bibliography of International Law
Print: LREF/K36/D1/1

Public International Law : a Current Bibliography of Books and Articles
Print: LREF/K36/P1 1975-

Merrills A (ed), A Current Bibliography of International Law
Print: LREF/K36/M1/1

Index to Legal Periodicals
Indexes articles from journals, yearbooks, bar association journals, university publications and law reviews.

LegalTrac
Indexes articles from more than 800 legal publications, including law reviews and bar association journals.

Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals
An international legal information index of articles as well as book reviews from more than 450 legal periodicals.

The Law Library has an extensive collection of bibliographies covering specific aspects of international law such as armed conflict, terrorism, human rights, humanitarian law, air law and law of the sea.

The following books have chapters on researching international law.

Campbell E and Poh-York L, Legal Research Materials and Methods
Print: L/KL155/C7/4-4D [Check LRD]

Watt R, Concise Legal Research
Print: L/KL155/W2/4-4A [Check LRD]

Public International Law / Francis Auburn
An extensive directory with links arranged by subject.

ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law / American Society for International Law