E. Print and Online Primary Sources of International Law

• Author: Ted Tjaden
• Profession: National Director of Knowledge Management McMillan LLP
• Pages: 175-179

Contenidos

• 1) Treaties.
• 2) International Courts.

Page 175

In the previous section, discussion focused on secondary sources of international law, such as leading books, law journals, dictionaries/ encyclopedias, and websites that explain international law. In this section, the discussion will focus on print and online primary sources of international law in the form of treaties and international case law.

1) Treaties

Treaties - in their broad sense - are the means by which nation states enter into bilateral or multilateral agreements on subjects of mutual interest, ranging anywhere from postal services to the environment to extradition. In Canada, the Treaty Section of the Department of Foreign Affairs is responsible for the implementation and publication of treaties entered into by Canada. These treaties are officially published in the Canada Treaty Series, available at most major academic law libraries. The Canadian government also makes access to Canadian treaties accessible through their Canada Treaty Information website at www. treaty-accord.gc.ca. This website provides access to lists of treaties Canada has entered into, along with the full text of most treaties. Treaties are divided between bilateral and multilateral, and "word wheels" are provided to allow the searcher, if desired, to choose a treaty by subject, country, or IGO. Another important source of Canadian-American treaties is the Canado-american Treaties website available online at www.lexum.umontreal.ca/ca_us/index_en.html. This site provides free access to the text of all bilateral treaties established between the United States and Canada from 1783 to 1997.

Treaties entered into by other countries are also published in official treaty series in print but will not necessarily be widely held by law libraries in Canada. Fortunately, most countries now publish online versions of their treaty series. Here is a partial list of some of the international treaties sites most likely of interest to Canadian legal researchers:

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· U.K. Treaties: www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/publications-and-documents/treaties

· U.S. Treaties: www.state.gov/s/l/treaty/index.htm

· U.S. Treaties (via Tufts): http://fletcher.tufts.edu/multi/multilaterals. html

· E.U. Treaties: http://europa.eu/abc/treaties/index_en.htm

· France Treaties ( Base Pacte ): www.doc.diplomatie.gouv.fr/pacte

· Australia Treaties: www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat

However, one of the most prolific producers of international treaties and other primary sources of international law is the United Nations (www.un.org), which was established on 24 October 1945, when fifty-one original member...