International Law Research Resources
A research guide to selected sources in public international law available at the Burns Law Library.
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Introduction
Customary international law is particularly important as a source of international law in absence of a treaty or other controlling rule. J. L. Brierly, in The Law of Nations: an Introduction to the International Law of Peace states that in order to determine what international customary law is on a particular subject "we must look at what states do in their relations with one another and attempt to understand why they do it, and in particular whether they recognize an obligation to adopt a certain course, or, in the words of Article 38, we must examine whether the alleged custom shows ‘a general practice accepted as law."
Ian Brownlie, in Principles of Public International Law lists the following sources of custom as "diplomatic correspondence, policy statements, press releases, the opinions of official legal advisers, official manuals on legal questions, e.g. manuals of military law, executive decisions and practices, orders to naval forces etc., comments by governments on drafts produced by the International Law Commission, state legislation, international and national judicial decisions, recitals in treaties in the same form, the practice of international organs, and resolutions relating to legal questions in the United Nations General Assembly."
Selected Treatises on Customary International Law
The Changing Nature of Customary International Law by 
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Call Number: KZ1277 .A73 2014This book examines the evolution of customary international law (CIL) as a source of international law. Using the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) as a key case study, the book explores the importance of CIL in the development of international criminal law and focuses on the ways in which international criminal tribunals can be said to change the ways in which CIL is formed and identified. In doing so, the book surveys the process and substance of CIL, as well as the problematic distinction between the elements of state practice and opinio juris. By applying an inclusive and positivist approach, Noora Arajärvi analyses the methodologies of identification of CIL in selected cases of the ICTY, and their normative foundations.
Customary International Law by - This link opens in a new window
Call Number: KZ1277 .L47 2010Customary international law, although long recognized as a primary source of international law, remains replete with enigmas, both conceptual and practical. These include how to determine the existence of opinio juris, the function of the state practice requirement, the definition of jus cogens customary norms, and the relationship between customary international law and ethics. In part because of these enigmas, the subject has generated a wide-ranging literature. However, no recent book-length work has attempted to articulate a comprehensive theory of customary international law that can effectively resolve these questions. This book sets out to accomplish this goal.
Reexamining Customary International Law by 
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Publication Date: 2017Reexamining Customary International Law takes on the complex issues and controversies surrounding the history, theory, and practice of customary international law as it reexamines customary law's increasingly important role in world affairs. It incorporates the expertise of distinguished authors to probe many difficult issues that remain unresolved concerning the doctrine of customary law. At the same time, this book engages in a profound exploration of the practical role of customary international law in a variety of important fields, including humanitarian law, human rights law, and air and space law.- Customary International Law and Treaties by
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Call Number: KZ1277 .V55 1997States often regard themselves bound by treaty rules which have developed under customary international law, even though many of the treaties themselves have not been ratified. The Law of the Sea Convention, for instance, has generated new customary rules which modified the 1958 Geneva Conventions. These & many other issues are dealt with clearly & systematically in this informative handbook on the relations between written & unwritten international law. The conclusions of the first edition of Customary International Law & Treaties were largely confirmed by the International Court of Justice in the Nicaragua Case. This fully revised second edition, while basing itself on the original version, brings the subject up to date. 
Customary International Law in Times of Fundamental Change by - This link opens in a new window
Call Number: KZ1277 .S33 2013This is the first book to explore the concept of 'Grotian Moments'. Named for Hugo Grotius, whose masterpiece De jure belli ac pacis helped marshal in the modern system of international law, Grotian Moments are transformative developments that generate the unique conditions for accelerated formation of customary international law. In periods of fundamental change, whether by technological advances, the commission of new forms of crimes against humanity, or the development of new means of warfare or terrorism, customary international law may form much more rapidly and with less state practice than is normally the case to keep up with the pace of developments. The book examines the historic underpinnings of the Grotian Moment concept, provides a theoretical framework for testing its existence and application, and analyzes six case studies of potential Grotian Moments: Nuremberg, the continental shelf, space law, the Yugoslavia Tribunal's Tadic decision, the 1999 NATO intervention in Serbia and the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Custom as a Source of Law by - This link opens in a new window
Call Number: K282 .B43 2010A central puzzle in jurisprudence has been the role of custom in law. Custom is simply the practices and usages of distinctive communities. But are such customs legally binding? Can custom be law, even before it is recognized by authoritative legislation or precedent? And, assuming that custom is a source of law, what are its constituent elements? Is proof of a consistent and long-standing practice sufficient, or must there be an extra ingredient - that the usage is pursued out of a sense of legal obligation, or, at least, that the custom is reasonable and efficacious? And, most tantalizing of all, is custom a source of law that we should embrace in modern, sophisticated legal systems, or is the notion of law from below outdated, or even dangerous, today? This volume answers these questions through a rigorous multidisciplinary, historical, and comparative approach, offering a fresh perspective on custom's enduring place in both domestic and international law.
International Custom As a Source of International Criminal Law by - This link opens in a new window
Call Number: KZ1277 .H37 2011International customary law is said to be the father of international law. Accordingly, international crimes are also assumed to evolve out of international customs. Even some international crimes are assumed to have jus cogens status from which no derogation is allowed. At the other angle, however, there is the principle of legality in the criminal law regime which requires strict time reference from which retroactive application of criminal laws is prohibited, precise provisions clearly putting prohibited acts, written provisions to refer such prohibited acts, etc. Yet international customary law does not have the capacity to create international crimes fulfilling all these features of the principle of legality. On the other, the principle of legality is the principle which is accepted almost by all states of the world. Therefore, it is impossible for the international customary law to create international crimes duly accepted.- Ligitimacy Deficit in Custom by
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Call Number: KZ1277 .C49 2001In international law, the creation of rules of customary law has been the subject of much commentary. Customary international law has been described as a mysterious phenomenon that has lost its utility. Some have called for its abandonment and others for a radical reformulation of the doctrine. A former judge of the International Court of Justice perceived it to be both delicate and difficult. However, the majority of rules of international law are customary in nature. Therefore, the transparency, consistency and determinacy of custom - the process by which rules of customary law are created is central to the legitimacy of rules of customary law. This book examines the issues at the heart of this complex problem and recommends a deconstructionist approach to custom as a means of resolving the legitimacy deficit in custom. 
The Sources of International Law by - This link opens in a new window
Call Number: KZ1279 .T45 2019This new edition of Hugh Thirlway's authoritative text provides an introduction to one of the fundamental questions of the discipline: what is, and what is not, a source of international law. Traditionally, treaties between states and state practice were seen as the primary means with which to create international law. However, more recent developments have recognized customary international law, alongside international treaties and instruments, as a key foundation upon which international law is built. This book provides an insightful inquiry into all the recognized, or asserted, sources of international law.
Selected International Law Yearbooks
- African Yearbook of International Law
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- Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law
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- Asian Yearbook of International Law
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- Australian Year Book of International Law
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- Austrian Review of International and European Law
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- Baltic Yearbook of International Law
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- British Yearbook of International Law
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- Canadian Yearbook of International Law
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- Croatian Yearbook of European Law and Policy
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- Finnish Yearbook of International Law
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- German Yearbook of International Law
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- Global Community: Yearbook of International Law and Jurisprudence
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- Hague Yearbook of International Law
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- Irish Yearbook of International Law
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- Italian Yearbook of International Law
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- Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law
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- Netherlands Yearbook of International Law
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- New Zealand Yearbook of International Law
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- Palestine Yearbook of International Law
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- Polish Yearbook of International Law
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- Revue Hellénique de Droit International
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- Singapore Year Book of International Law
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- South African Yearbook of International Law
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- Spanish Yearbook of International Law
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Sources for U.S. Practice in International Law
- Restatement of the Law, Fourth, Foreign Relations Law of the United States
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Call Number: KF4651 .R463 2018 (Reserve, 1st floor)The Restatement of the Law, 4th series is a partial revision of the influential Restatement (3d) of Foreign Relations Law of the United States, published in 1987. The topics covered include jurisdiction, the domestic effect of treaties, and sovereign immunity.
- American Journal of International Law
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Issues of the American Journal of International Law include a feature entitled "Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law" which serves as an update of sorts for the Cumulative Digest of United States Practice in International Law. (Click here for help using HeinOnline.) - Digest of the Published Opinions of the Attorneys-general, and of the Leading Decisions of the Federal Courts, with Reference to International Law, Treaties, and Kindred Subjects (Cadwalader)
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Revised edition, 1877. (Click here for help using HeinOnline.) - Digest of the International Law of the United States (Wharton)
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Three volumes, a compilation of documents issued by presidents and secretaries of state, and from decisions of federal courts and opinions of attorneys-general. (Second ed.,1887). (Click here for help using HeinOnline.) - Digest of International Law (Moore)
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Eight volume set, published in 1906, intended as a revision and completion of F. Wharton's Digest of the International Law of the United States (2nd ed., 1887). Volume 8 contains addenda and errata, a general index, a list of cases cited, and a list of documents. (Click here for help using HeinOnline.) - Digest of International Law (Hackworth)
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Department of State publication, coverage of 1940-1944 (continued in 1963 by Whiteman's Digest of International Law). (Click here for help using HeinOnline.) - Digest of International Law (Whiteman)
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Fifteen volumes with coverage from 1963-1973 (does not incorporate the Hackworth volumes). (Click here for help using HeinOnline.) - Cumulative Digest of United States Practice in International Law
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Department of State publication from 1981-1988, continues the annual publication Digest of United States Practice in International Law. (Click here for help using HeinOnline.) - Digest of United States Practice in International Law
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An annual Department of State publication to provide the public with a ready source of current information on the views and practice of the U.S. Government in the arena of public and private international law. Coverage from 1973-2018. (Click here for help using HeinOnline.)
U.S. Diplomatic Correspondence
- American Foreign Policy Current Documents
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Coverage from 1956-1991. (Click here for help using HeinOnline.) - Department of State Bulletin
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Coverage from July 1939-December 1989. (Click here for help using HeinOnline.) - Foreign Relations of the United States
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The Foreign Relations of the United States database presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. It is comprised of more than 1,500 volumes containing invaluable information beginning with Abraham Lincoln's administration in 1861 and continuing to the administration of Ronald Reagan in 1988. (Click here for help using HeinOnline.) - US Department of State Dispatch
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Coverage from September 1990-December 1999. (Click here for help using HeinOnline.)
Selected Websites of Foreign Ministries and Delegations to International Organizations
- Embassy.org
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- Foreign Affairs Ministries on the Web
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- List of Foreign Governments
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- United Nations Member States
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