Researching International Law - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Researching International Law by Annette Demers BA LLB MLISSlide2

International Law

All resources mentioned today are available from the law library website:

http://www.uwindsor.ca/law/librarySlide3

International Law

Public International Law – law between nations.Slide4

Sources

Article 38

“1. The Court, whose function is to decide in accordance

with International Law such disputes as are submitted to it,

shall apply:

a. international

conventions

(Treaty Law)

b. international

custom

(Not Discussed Today)

c. general principles of

law

(Not Discussed Today)

d. judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists;

Statute of the ICJ,

26 June 1945, Can

TS 1945 no 7, Article 38, BTS 1946 no 67 (entered into force 24 October 1945. Ratification by Canada 09 November 1945).Slide5

Secondary

Sources “Teachings of the Most Highly Qualified Publicists”

BOOKS

Library Catalogue

WorldCat

HarvardSlide6

REFERENCE MATERIALS

Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Law

Oxford International Law Dictionary

Oxford Encyclopedia of Human Rights

Oxford Guide to Latin in International Law

Secondary

Sources “Teachings of the Most Highly Qualified Publicists”Slide7

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Westlaw Canada

-”WORLD-JLR”

Quicklaw

-”Law

Reviews, CLE, Legal Journals & Periodicals

Combined” + ”All Canadian Legal Journals” + ”Law Reviews with International Focus”

+ “International Law Review Articles, Combined”

HeinOnline

Secondary

Sources “Teachings of the Most Highly Qualified Publicists”Slide8

Working with

Treaties

When doing research for International Treaties, you may need to know:

Where to find the full-text of the treaty.

What is the status of the treaty?

-is it in force?

-where was it signed and when?

-what countries signed it?

-what countries have ratified it?Slide9

Where to Find the Full-Text of a Treaty

Although a Google search may yield results, you always need to work from a copy that

can be cited

! Best place to look for Canada is:

Canada

Treaty Series

(print only)

Step one: find

the cite using Canada Treaty Information

website

http

://

www.treaty-accord.gc.ca/index.aspx

Note:

The full-text of a few treaties is now being made available here as well.

You Try It! Use the Treaty Information website to locate the citation for this treaty:

“Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of

Intercountry

Adoption”Slide10
Slide11

Date and Place of Signature.

Date Canada ratified it.

Location in Treaty Series.Slide12

Try it!

Use the Canada Treaty Information website to find the citation to this treaty:

Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child AbductionSlide13

Finding

Treaties – Using UN Treaty Series Website

Every

treaty and every international agreement entered into by any Member of the United Nations …shall as soon as possible be registered with the Secretariat and published by it.

No

party to any such treaty or international agreement which has not been registered in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article may invoke that treaty or agreement before any organ of the United Nations.

Charter

of the United Nations

, 26 June 1945, Can TS 1945 No 7, Art 102, BTS 1946 No 67 (entered into force 24 October 1945. Ratification by Canada 09 November 1945).Slide14

Finding Treaties

United Nations Treaty Series – Free

online at:

https://

treaties.un.orgSlide15
Slide16

Finding Treaties

This is the proper volume number to use in your UNTS cite, see slide 18.Slide17

This is a screenshot of the Table of Contents for the PDF in the previous slide.

This is the proper page number to use in your UNTS cite, see slide 18.Slide18

Citing

Treaties

Title of Treaty

Date of Signature

First

Citation

Parallel

Cite

Notation

Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of

Intercountry

Adoption,

(29 May 2013)

Can

TS 1997 No 12,

1870 UNTS 167

(entered into force 1 May 1995, ratification by Canada 19 December 1996).

Date when treaty was

first opened for signature – see Slide 16, line 6 (“Places/Dates of Conclusion”)

To Canada Treaty Series when discussing

Canadian obligations.

If available.

See McGill

page E-89.Slide19

YOU TRY IT!

Use the UN Treaty Series Popular Names website to find out when this treaty was signed by the United Kingdom:

Berne

Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic WorksSlide20

What do I do if I Find a Citation to a Treaty – How

Do I Locate it?

Example:

Treaty Between the United States of America and the Republic of Uruguay Concerning Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investment,

25 October 2004, 44 ILM 268

.

Step One – figure out what ILM stands for!Slide21

Step 1: Locating

Abbreviations

-Cardiff Index

Online

http://

www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk

or

Mary Miles Prince,

Bieber’s

Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations,

(Buffalo, N.Y.: W.S. Hein, 2001).

and

Christian L.

Wiktor

,

Multilateral Treaty Calendar 1648-1995

, (The Hague: M.

Nijhoff

Publishers, 1998).Slide22

Finding Treaties by Citation

Sample

abbreviations:

ILM – International Legal Materials

UNTS – United Nations Treaty Series

Can TS – Canadian Treaty Series

BFSP – British Foreign and State Papers

Comm

– UK Command Papers

+ many others.Slide23

Canada Treaty Series – Print OnlyUnited Nations Treaty Series – OnlineInternational Legal Materials – HeinUS Treaties – QL, West, Hein

Locating TreatiesSlide24

ILM and other Treaty Sources on Hein Online

Locating TreatiesSlide25

Try it!

Use International Legal Materials on

HeinOnline

to locate this treaty:

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade – Multilateral Trade Negotiations (The Uruguay Round):

Agreement

Establishing the World Trade Organization,

with annexes (1 to 4)

. 15 April 1994, 33

ILM

15.Slide26

How a Treaty is MadeCountries come together to negotiate; or a body such as the UNGA prepares a template.

Countries come together to sign the treaty. (The date and place of signature are both important pieces of information about the treaty.If a country was not at the table at the date and place of signature, they may accede to the treaty at a later date.The treaty must enter into force. The treaty itself will indicate how it enters into force.Slide27

DefinitionsAccession: A country, who was not a party to the treaty at the date and place of original signing, may later accede to the treaty. The treaty itself will usually indicate by what means accession can be demonstrated

.The Statute of Rome which set up the International Criminal Court has an example for us:Article 120, section 3: "This statute shall be open to accession by all States. Instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Secretary General of the United Nations."Slide28

“This Statute shall enter into force on the first day of the month after the 60th day following the date of the deposit of the 60

th instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the Secretary – General of the United Nations.”Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 18 December 1998, Can TS 2002 No 13, Art 126, 2187 UNTS 3 (entered into force 01 July 2002, ratification by Canada 07 July 2000).

Sample

EIF

ProvisionSlide29

How a Treaty is MadeCountries must then ratify the treaty.

“Instrument of ratification = a country’s formal confirmation, in writing, of its intention to be bound to a treaty.”(For multilateral treaties) – The instrument of ratification is filed with the “Depository” or the “Registrar” for the treaty. Example, the US is the depository for the UN Charter.7. (For bilateral treaties) – The instrument is signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and is delivered to the other party.8. A party may also file reservations to the treaty. Other countries may choose whether or not to observe the reservations vis a vis their relationship with that country.9. In Canada, ratification is exercised by the Executive, who prepare an Order in Council, issued by the Governor General.10. In Canada, a treaty does not take effect until a statute has been passed by Parliament to implement, but see:Slide30

DefinitionsReservations: A unilateral statement, made by a State when signing, ratifying or acceding to a treaty, whereby it purports to exclude or modify the legal effect of certain provisions of the treaty with respect to its own obligations. In the course of their dealing under the treaty, other states may choose whether or not to recognize the reservations made by another nation.Slide31

Status of Treaties

Baker v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

,

[1999] 2 SCR 817 ¶ 7-11, 69-72, 76-77, 174 DLR (4

th

) 193

.

69  

“Another

indicator of the importance of considering the interests of

children

when

making a compassionate and humanitarian decision is the ratification by

Canada

of the

Convention on the Rights of the Child

, and the recognition of the

importance

of children’s rights and the best interests of children in other

international

instruments ratified by Canada.  International treaties and

conventions

are not part of Canadian law unless they have been implemented

by statute…

I agree with the respondent and the Court of Appeal that the

Convention

has not been implemented by Parliament.  Its provisions

therefore

have

no direct application within Canadian law.

70  

Nevertheless

, the values reflected in international human rights law may

help

inform the contextual approach to statutory interpretation and judicial

review…”

 Slide32

To make arguments on the basis of a treaty, and to cite it properly, you may need:

Status Information

Canada (Treaty

Information website)

UNTS website

“Status of Treaties”Date and Place of Signatureyes

yesDate of Canada’s consent to be bound and howyesyes

Date of ratification, if applicableyesyes

Date of entry into force

yes

yes

Canada’s implementation statute.

no

no

Reservations filed

no

yesSlide33
Slide34

International Judicial DecisionsVisit: http://

www.uwindsor.ca/law/library/267/researching-international-law#JudicialExamples:International Court of JusticeEuropean Court of Human RightsInternational Criminal CourtICTR and ICTYand many others.Slide35

THANK YOU!

Annette Demers

ademers@uwindsor.ca

http://www.uwindsor.ca/law/library