by Annette Demers BA LLB MLIS International Law All resources mentioned today are available from the law library website httpwwwuwindsorcalawlibrary International Law Public International Law law between nations ID: 376078
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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”Slide10Slide11
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.orgSlide15Slide16
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
yesSlide33Slide34
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