International Courts and Tribunals
Specialized Reports
JX 68 .A65; Second Level
JX 238 .A2 A43; Second Level
International Court of Justice Research Tips
There are several ways to search for ICJ opinions and supporting materials, each with a different approach:
WESTLAW has the full-text of all ICJ opinions from the beginning (1947). They are located in the library designated as INT-ICJ. Under no circumstances should you search for ICJ opinions on LEXIS. Many of the “opinions” in their database are actually press release summaries of judgments prepared by the Court!
The Court’s website: www.icj-cij.org. The court has recently revised and modernized its search engine. You can now search the full text of all its opinions. Importantly, it also has memorials and transcripts of oral arguments from the more recent cases. These can be extremely helpful, as the memorials are written by the world’s leading international lawyers. The page for each case should have a link for “written pleadings.” The easiest way to find relevant memorials is to determine which opinion of the court addresses the issue of interest and find the memorials submitted in advance of that opinion.
All the opinions of the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), the predecessor to the ICJ under the League of Nations, are available here: http://www.worldcourts.com/pcij/eng/decisions.htm. The search engine on this site is not very good. Note that the ICJ cites decisions of the PCIJ as if they were its own. So they are quite important to review.
The World Court Digest, created by the Max Planck Institute in Germany: http://www.mpil.de/ww/en/pub/research/details/publications/institute/wcd.cfm?100000000006.cfm. This is a West-like digest of ICJ jurisprudence organized according to general and specific topics in international law. It is very thorough and very helpful. NOTE, however, the Digest only goes up to 2000.
International Court of Justice (ICJ): Books
JX 1971.5 .A6 1970; Second Level
The Law and Practice of the International Court, 1920-2005, 4th edition by Call Number: Law Library Reserves: KZ 6275 .R67 2006Publication Date: 2006
Reservations in unilateral declarations accepting the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice by Call Number: Law Library Reserves: JX 1971.6 .A675 1995Publication Date: 1995
The World Court: What it is and How it Works, 6th edition by Call Number: Law Library & Purdy-Kresge Library: JX 1971.6 .R64 2003Publication Date: 2003
The World Court in Action by Publication Date: 2001
International Court of Justice (ICJ): Journals, Reports, & Websites
Many other international organizations have their own web sites with extensive documentation. Almost all of these are listed in the very comprehensive site of the NYU Project on International Courts and Tribunals: http://www.pict-pcti.org/links/links.html. It includes links both to international courts and their parent organizations.
European Communities Court Systems
Court of Justice of the European Communities: Reports of Cases Before the Court (ECR) (1954-present)
KJE 5472 .C68; Second Level; web site also available
The European Union
Please see the European Union Research Guide for more information about the EU generally.