INTERNATIONAL LAW

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INTERNATIONAL LAW

• A UNITED STATES PRACTICE
• PERSPECTIVE

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International Legal Research in Context

• Foreign Law
• Comparative Law
• Public International Law
• Private International Law

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Role of International Law in U.S. Law

• US Constitution Article VI
• Treaties are the law of the land
• Treaties create an obligation under international
  law
• Treaties also have status as U.S. domestic law

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Todays Focus

• International Agreements
• Treaties
• Executive Agreements
• Judicial Decisions
• Secondary Sources

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International Agreements

• Many Names
• Treaty, convention, protocol, covenant, charter,
  etc.
• For U.S. research purposes under the category of
  treaties executive agreements

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Treaties

• Bilateral
• Multilateral

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Ratification How a TreatyBecomes Law

• U.S. Constitution Article II, sec. 2
• Treaty terms are negotiated between the parties
• Treaty is submitted to the Senate
• Treaty must receive advice and consent of 2/3 of
  the Senate
• President ratifies the treaty

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Executive Agreements

• Made with other countries by the President
• Without the consent of the Senate

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Treaty Research Three Steps

• Find the text in an authoritative source
• Determine if the treaty is in force
• With what parties?
• Any reservations?
• Interpret the treatys provisions
• Judicial decisions
• Secondary sources

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Publication of Treaties

• Slip
• Session
• Compilation

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Official Publications

• SLIP LAWS TREATIES AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL
  ACTS (T.I.A.S.)
• Since 1945
• Begin with number 1501

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Official Publications

• SESSION LAWS UNITED STATES TREATIES AND OTHER
  INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS (U.S.T.)
• Since 1950
• Bound volumes
• BY STATUTE THEY ARE AUTHORITATIVE SOURCES FOR THE
  TEXT OF AGREEMENTS PUBLISHED THERE

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Official Publications

• Congressional Documents
• Senate Treaty Documents Senate Executive
  Reports
• Senate Treaty Documents since 97th Cong.
  (1981-82)
• Senate Executive Reports
• CIS
• Since 1970 reference to both documents in
  abstracts
• Retrospective Index 1817 to 1969 not in Serial
  Set

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Commercial Publishers

• Heins United States Treaties and Other
  International Agreements Current Microfiche
  Service
• Microfiche cabinets Row 21 Drawers 8 9
• Given a KAV number, which is a temporary
  identification number
• Indexed through United States Treaty Index
  1776-1990 Consolidation

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Commercial Publishers - 2

• Consolidated Treaties International Agreements
  Current Document Service United States (CTIA)
• Seeks to include within 90 days of release or
  ratification, newly concluded international
  agreements, both executive agreements as well as
  formal treaties, which have been ratified
• Arranged by State Department document number
• State Department Document Number 04-86

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Commercial Publishers - 3

• LEXIS
• INTLAW, ITRADE,E-COMMERCE
• USTRTY, ILM (1975-)
• 1776-current 14,000 documents w/in 1 month of
  publication
• Including un-ratified treaties
• WESTLAW
• USTREATIES (1778-present)
• ILM (1980-)

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Commercial Publishers - 4

• TIARA U.S. Treaties Researcher
• Oceana Web bases

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Non-comprehensive Sources

• International Legal Materials
• 1962
• American Journal of International Law

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Compilations

• Treaties and Other International Agreements of
  the United States of America, 1776-1949 (Bevans)
  13 vols.
• Volume 13 Indexes by Country Subject
• Govt Document S7.12/2, (In Reading Room)
• Unperfected Treaties of the United States of
  American, 1776-1976 Oceana 7 vols.
• JX 236.1776.U56

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Retrospective Trivia

• Session Laws
• Statutes at Large
• Vols. 8-64 (1776-1949)
• Volume 8 all treaties 1776-1845
• Treaty Series (1908-1945), T.S. up to 994
• Executive Agreement Series (1929-45), E.A.S. up
  to 506

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Retrospective Trivia - 2

• Compilations
• Treaties,Conventions, International Acts,
  Protocols, and Agreements Between the United
  States and Other Powers
• Compiled by William M. Malloy known as Malloy
• Treaties and Other International Acts of the
  United States of America
• Compiled by Hunter Miller known as Miller

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Indexes - Official

• Treaties in Force
• Annual Department of State S 9.142003
• Bilateral and Multilateral sections
• Bilateral
• Alphabetical by country
• Chronologically
• Multilateral
• Alphabetically by subject
• chronologically

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Indexes Official -2

• Information
• Name of agreement
• Place and date concluded
• Date entered into force
• Citation (parallel)
• Brief notes ( are there reservations)
• Updating Treaties in Force
• Assistant Legal Advisor for Treaty Affairs United
  States Department of State 2201 C Street, N.W.
  Washington, D.C. 20520
• LEXIS
• WESTLAW

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Indexes Commercial Annual

• A GUIDE TO THE UNITED STATES TREATIES IN FORCE
  2002 EDITION
• 3 VOLUMES
• Appendix in volume 1
• Non-binding international agreements cumulative
  1980s-
• Pending agreements cumulative
• Unrecorded international agreements cumulative
  1970s-
• Supplemented by GUIDE TO THE UNITED STATES
  TREATIES IN FORCE CURRENT TREATY ACTION
  SUPPLEMENT
• January 20003 May 2004

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Indexes - Commercial Consolidations

• UNITED STATES TREATY INDEX 1776-1990
  CONSOLIDATION (1998 Rev.)
• By TIAS number
• Subject indexes
• Country (2001) Subject (2002) Chronological
  (2003) Geog. Subject (2002)
• Numerous conversion tables
• Updated by Consolidation 2000 Supplement
• Current Treaty index Current Service
• Updated twice a year
• Updates Consolidation Supp main volumes

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Judicial Interpretation of U.S. Treaties

• Wests digests, Topic Treaties
• U.S.C.S. Uncodified Notes to Uncodified Laws
  and Treaties
• Shepards Federal Statute Citatons
• Arranged by U.S.T. cite prior to 1950 Stat.
• WESTLAW LEXIS
• Key Word search

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Judicial Interpretation of U.S. Treaties

• American International Law Cases
• Selective
• Three series
• 1789-1979 1st series
• 1979-1986 2nd series
• 1991-1994 3rd series
• JX 238 A2 D4, D41, D43

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Secondary Sources - Official

• Introduction
• Article 38 of the ICJ international custom, as
  evidence of a general practice accepted as law
• Digests
• Bring together material from a large number of
  sources and arrange them topically
• Pub. By dept. of State Substantive
  Authoritative not cumulative
• Digest of International Law M.M. Whitman
  1940s-1960 15 Vols. KZ 21 .D54
• Not cumulative

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Secondary Sources - Official

• Updating Whitman
• Digest of United States Practice in International
  Law KZ 21 .D543
• 1973-1980 (Annuals)
• 1981-1988 (Cumulation)
• 2000 2001 started publishing again
• Available online on Department of State web site
  Office of Legal Adviser
• Same basic organizational scheme as Whitman

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• American Journal of International Law
• Contemporary Practice of the United States
  Related to International Law
• 1959 (Vol. 53-)
• Prior editions to Whitman
• Digest of International Law
• G.H. Hackworth 1906-1939 8 Vols.
• Digest of International Law as Embodied in
  Diplomatic Discussions, Treaties, and Other
  International Agreements, International Awards,
  the Decisions of Municipal Courts, and the
  Writings of Jurists..

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• J.B. Moore 1776-1906 8 Vols.
• Superceded Digest of International Law of the
  United States Taken from Documents Issued by
  Presidents and
• Francis Wharton 1776-1886
• Foreign Relations of the United States
• Foreign Relations of the United States
• 1862-
• Currently up to 1968
• By jurisdiction great detail
• Govt. Docs S1.1

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Secondary Sources - Unofficial

• Restatement of Foreign Relations Law of the
  United States
• Third Second
• 1987-