Foreign & International Blog
ICRC's Study on Customary International Humanitarian Law - now online!
The invaluable and immense three-volume study on customary international humanitarian law conducted by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and published by Cambridge University Press in 2005 is now available free online: http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/home. I have used this work to find, for example, relevant sections of a foreign country's military manual.
The Study has two parts:
- Rules - a comprehensive (but not exhaustive) analysis of the customary rules of international humanitarian law identified by the Study and considered to be applicable in all armed conflicts.
- Practice - for each aspect of international humanitarian law covered, a summary of relevant state practice including military manuals, legislation, case law, and official statements; practice of international organizations, conferences, and judicial and quasi-judicial bodies.
We have this work in print here: http://morris.law.yale.edu/record=b591517~S1.
A complementary work, Perspectives on the ICRC Study on Customary International Humanitarian Law, is here: http://morris.law.yale.edu/record=b668444~S1.
"Perspectives on the ICRC Study on Customary International Humanitarian Law results from a year-long examination of the Study by a group of military lawyers, academics and practitioners, all with experience in international humanitarian law. The book discusses the Study, its methodology and its rules and provides a critical analysis of them. It adds its own contribution to scholarship on the interpretation and application of international humanitarian law."
The ICRC has two other databases:
- Treaties - contains treaties, commentaries, and other documents related to international humanitarian law: http://www.icrc.org/ihl.
- National Implementation - provides documentation and commentaries concerning the implementation of international humanitarian law at the national level: http://www.icrc.org/ihl-nat.
New Foreign Law E-Resources
The Law Library has subscriptions to four new e-resources from LexisNexis:
EU Tracker
EU Tracker tracks the implementation of key EU Directives across 20 Member States in 10 practice areas. There are links to consultation papers, draft legislation and the eventual national implementing legislation of member States. It is a unique monitoring and analysis tool for lawyers, PSLs and information managers.
JurisClasseur
This database contains French-language legal information: legislation, regulations and case law. It also gives access to a great volume of secondary legal sources and expert analysis.
LexisNexis China Law Database
The LexisNexis China Law Database (LNCHNL) is an authoritative collection of Chinese laws, regulations, tax information, judicial decisions, and other legal documents, collected from government sources, and translated by LexisNexis China Online (COL) in Beijing.
Quicklaw
Quicklaw is a Canadian electronic legal research database that provides court decisions from all levels, news reports, provincial and federal statutes, journals, and other legal commentary. It also offers a case citator and case digests.
They are accessible on the Yale network and username/password are not required to log in. For a list of legal databases subscribed by the law library see here.
Cinco de Mayo - Viva Mexico!
If you've ever wondered about the origins of Cinco de Mayo, here's a short article that nicely summarizes the popularity of the holiday in the U.S.:
Cinco de Mayo, from the Battlefield to the Beer Bottle
Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Mexican victory in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, against the invading French army of Napoleon III...
"Cinco de Mayo" is an official Library of Congress subject Heading. In other words, you can conduct a Subject search in Orbis, Yale University Library's catalog, and you will find several books on the holiday as well as the famous battle in the Mexican state of Puebla.
Have a look also at the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on International Relations', Resolution recognizing the Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo.
Viva México!
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
Today is the anniversary of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. You can see an image of the Treaty on the National Archives website.
Per the National Archives, "the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which brought an official end to the Mexican-American
War (1846–48), was signed on February 2, 1848, at Guadalupe Hidalgo, a
city to which the Mexican government had fled with the advance of U.S. forces.
Signed on February 2, 1848, this treaty ended the war between the
United States and Mexico. By its terms, Mexico ceded 55 percent of its
territory, including parts of present-day Arizona, California, New
Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah, to the United States." In sum, Mexico ceded 525,000 square miles (55% of its pre-war territory, not including Texas) to the United States in exchange for $15 million ($313 million in 2006 dollars).
The library has several items specific to the treaty including:
- The Treaty of Guadalupe: A Legacy of Conflict (1990)
- The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: 1848-1948 (1948)
- Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Message of the President of the United States, transmitting a communication from the Secretary of State, and accompanying papers, in compliance with resolutions of the House of Representatives, of the 5th Instant, relative to the Treat of Peace concluded at Guadalupe Hidalgoon the 2d of February, 1848 (1848)
The Library of Congress has assigned a subject heading for material related to this treaty: Guadalupe Hidalgo, Treaty of, 1848.
Yale's Avalon Project also has the full-text of the treaty.
U.S. Treaties prior to 1950, such as the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (9 Stat. 922), were published in the Statutes at Large. Volume 64, Part 3, contains an Index of all treaties ratified by the United States prior to 1950.
Treaties to which the U.S. is a party are now published in United States Treaties and other International Agreements.
http://faculty.umf.maine.edu/~walters/web%20103/map%20guadalupe%20hidalg...
Japanese Law Treatises
The Law Library has received a gift of Japanese law treatises from Janice Rabinowitiz, the widow of alumnus, Richard W. Rabinowitz, B.A. (Yale, '47), LL.B. (YLS, '50), M.A. (Yale, '51).
The gift consists of a collection of treatises on Japanese legal history, international investment law and Japanese commercial/business law written in English as well as in Japanese. The Japanese language materials include multi-volume series comprising annotated codes and treatises on a wide range of legal topics: Gendai hōritsugaku zenshū published by Seirinshoin and Hōritsugaku zenshū published by Yūhikaku. They will be wonderful additions to our foreign law collection.
NEW DATABASE -- Kluwer Arbitration
Kluwer Arbitration is now available via IP Access on the CCH IntelliConnect platform. You must register though it is very quick -- just email and password.
According to CCH:
Kluwer Arbitration is the world's leading online resource for international commercial arbitration research. It contains a wealth of commentary from expert practitioner authors and an extensive collection of primary source materials. It is a comprehensive, authoritative and up-to-date arbitration library that is designed for quick and simple browsing and searching. Kluwer Arbitration includes case law, commentary, conventions, legislation and rules. This resource has been recently expanded with an Investment Arbitration section. This section provides a wealth of fully searchable investment materials.
We will run this database on a one-year trial basis so if you use this database, please let us know -- and let us know what you think of it!
Send any feed back to Teresa Miguel or Fred Shapiro.
Treaty of Lisbon enters into force Dec. 1, 2009
HeinOnline's Blog this week has a nice entry on the Treaty of Lisbon with links to finding scholarly articles about the "Road to Lisbon" and other EU treaties.
Briefly, Czech President Vaclav Klaus ratified the Treaty of Lisbon on November 3, 2009. The Czech Republic was the final Member State to ratify the Treaty. The instrument of ratification was deposited in Rome on
November 13, 2009 and will enter into force on December 1, 2009. The new EU presidency and other top jobs have now been filled. The EU's Europa database has indepth treatment of the Treaty of Lisbon.
The EU's "Your Guide to the Lisbon Treaty" highlights several prinipal provisions of the treaty:
1. More democracy, more openness: The Treaty gives you a stronger voice in decision-making.
2. Faster, more efficient decision-making: The Lisbon Treaty streamlines the EU’s decision-making procedures.
3. Modernising the EU’s institutions: A key aim of the Lisbon Treaty is to modernise the institutions that run the EU’s business and makes them more democratic.
4. Economic policy: The Lisbon Treaty confi rms the commitment to achieving economic and monetary union with the euro as the EU’s currency.
5. Th e European Union in the world: The EU pledges to promote the values of the EU in the world by contributing to:
• peace and security;
• sustainable development of the Earth;
• solidarity and mutual respect among peoples;
• free and fair trade;
• eradication of poverty;
• protection of human rights;
• respect for and enhancement of international law as defi ned, in particular, in the United Nations Charter.
6. Security and defence: The Lisbon Treaty spells out more clearly the EU’s role in the area of common foreign and security policy. Decisions on defence issues will continue to need unanimous approval of the 27 EU Member States.
7. Justice and crime: The Lisbon Treaty contains important new provisions strengthening the EU’s ability to fi ght international cross-border crime, illegal immigration, traffi cking of people, arms and drugs.
8. Social policy: The Lisbon Treaty steps up the EU’s social objectives. It provides that, in all its policies and actions, the EU will take into account the promotion of a high level of employment.
9. New areas of cooperation: The Lisbon Treaty has important provisions in a number of new policy areas reinforcing the EU’s ability to fi ght international cross-border crime, illegal immigration, traffi cking of women and children, drugs and arms.
10. Human rights: The Lisbon Treaty recognises the rights, freedoms and principles set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and makes the charter legally binding.
The law library also has a fine selection of material related to the Lisbon Treaty and the EU. See, for example:
- The Lisbon Treaty: EU Constitutionalism without a Constitutional Treaty? KJE4443.32007 .L57 2008
- Dividing Lines between the European Union and its Member States: The Impact of the Treaty of Lisbon. KJE4443.32007 .S54 2008
- Comprendre le Traité de Lisbonne: Texte Consolidé Intégral de Traités: Explications et Commentaires. KJE970 .S28 2008
Research Resources on the Rome Statute and International Criminal Court
The current official website of International Criminal Court (ICC) has comprehensive research resources including basic legal texts relevant to doing research relating to ICC. The Official Journal includes the full text of the Rome Statute, the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, and Regulations of the Court. Key filings, transcripts as well as decisions can also be searched by party names and docket here. The UN Secretariat ceased to serve as the ICC Secretariat in 2003 when the Permanent Secretariat of the assembly of State Parties to the Rome Statute was established but the pre-2003 website of the Court contains documents on the drafting history of the Rome Statute and notes from the Preparatory Commission.
The website ICL Database and Commentary provides a basic research tool which links international criminal law cases with its corresponding legal texts in the Rome Statute and commentary. More treatises and commentaries can be found in L1 of the Law Library with the call number KZ6310. In Morris, one can locate these titles by doing an advanced search by subject heading phrase "International Criminal Court" combined with word in the subject "History" for its drafting history and combined with word in the subject "Rules and Practice" for procedural materials.
Other relevant secondary sources include reports from NGOs such as the War Crimes Research Office, International Bar Association's IBA/ICC Monitoring Report, Victims Rights Working Group.
Chilean Independence Day!
Feliz Dieciocho, Chile!
Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, also sends her congratulations to Chile today, on its 199th anniversary of independence.
Not only is Chile know for its wines, but it is also one of the top five legal publishers in Latin America. Our Country-by-Country page contains several Chilean legal research guides to help you get started. Additionally, if you venture down to the Lower East Side, head to LC Call Number KHF where you can have a look at our Chilean legal collection, including current Chilean laws and the Civil Code of Chile in English. You can browse the collection in Morris. Look at the Latin American Journals & Serials page for a quick glance at our holdings in Chile. We even have a few Chilean DVDs.
Legal databases containing Chilean legal material include vLex and InterAm (subscription databases) and SciELO (open access).
Of course, for additional research assistance, please contanct the reference department.
Que lo pases bien!
2008 Bibliography of Academic Writings on China Law Written in Western Languages
The latest issue of Max Planck Institute's Zeitschrift für Chinesisches Recht includes a comprehensive bibliography of academic writings in Western languages published in 2008. See here (Bibliography2009.pdf) for the bibliography compiled by Knut Pissler.
To locate the full-text articles, check Morris for serial holdings in the law library and Orbis and the Online Journals & Newspapers A to Z list for print and electronic holdings in other libraries on campus.
