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International Public Law

Guide to International Public Law

While this is meant to be an excellent starting point for research in international public law, this list is by no means comprehensive.  Below, we’ve focused on the official websites of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as including databases, articles, and full text documents.

In creating a resource for political and legal issues, we’ve had to cope with the inherent controversy of the topic being discussed.  In an effort to eliminate bias and provide objective information, we’ve made an effort to point the reader to primary sources.  We’ve also included a large number of comprehensive web portals in which multiple perspectives will be expressed.   On particularly contentious issues, we’ve made a point to acknowledge bias and to provide representative examples of conflicting viewpoints.

We’ve divided our database into ten sections.  Six of these sections– war and peace, human rights, indigenous peoples’ issues, women’s rights, environmental issues, and international trade law– deal with specific categories of international law.    Due to the massive importance in international law of the United Nations, we’ve devoted an entire section to specifically UN-based research.  We’ve also indexed major international tribunals, such as the World Court and its related organizations.  For specifically regional issues, we’ve indexed ten major associations of nations that are either regional, such as ASEAN or the European Union, or that are based on historic alliances, such as NATO or the Commonwealth.  Lastly, due to the central position of Middle Eastern issues in contemporary geopolitical debate, we’ve dedicated a specific section to Middle East treaties, primarily between Israel and its neighbors, but also involving other Middle Eastern states.

United Nations:

War and Peace:

International Courts:

Middle East Treaties:

Human Rights:

Indigenous Peoples’ Issues:

  • Indigenous Portal – An excellent portal for indigenous peoples issues around the world
  • UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues – The website of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
  • Comments from FP Magazine – A set of reflections on the aforementioned declaration in Foreign Policy magazine
  • UNPO – The official website of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
  • The Society for Threatened Peoples – a major NGO promoting indigenous rights
  • CWIS – The website of the Center for World Indigenous Studies, a research and education organization
  • UNEP – The United Nations Environment Programme’s page on indigenous issues and how they correlate to environmental issues

Women’s Rights:

Environmental Issues:

International Trade Law:

  • World Bank – The official website of the World Bank
  • IMF – The official website of the International Monetary Fund
  • GU – Georgetown University’s portal on international trade law
  • WTO – The official website of the World Trade Organization
  • LLRX Guide – LLRX’s guide to researching international trade law on the internet
  • UN Commission – The website of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
  • UN Trade Development - The website of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  • Trade Law Portal - An excellent portal on international trade law
  • NAFTA Secretariat – The official website of the NAFTA Secretariat

International Cooperative Organizations: