If you have an interest in practicing or studying international law, you may have heard of the American Society of International Law (ASIL).

A student membership includes access to several ASIL publications, including the American Journal of International Law and the ASIL Newsletter. In addition to its traditional publications, ASIL offers a range of electronic, video and career development resources, as well as numerous topical guides, papers and conferences.

Tomorrow, ASIL wraps up its annual meeting in Washington, D.C. (The program, including a description of all the educational programs, can be viewed here.) For future reference, please note (on the Registration tab) that students get very substantial discounts to attend, with access to educational programs, receptions and exhibits at the meeting.

If you are conducting research a treaty to which the United States is (or may be) a party, free Internet resources provide some of the most useful tools available. Some tips on using these free sources follow.

One example of a treaty that was recently considered by the Senate is the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (“the Convention”). Late in 2012, there was much news coverage of the Senate’s failure to ratify the Convention. To check on recent treaty actions in the Senate, a good first stop is Thomas, the Congressional web site. In Thomas’ Treaties section, a simple search (“disabilties”) in the 112th Congress leads to information about the Convention, identified as Treaty no. 112-7; Senate Executive Report 112-6, which accompanies the treaty; and the Senate vote on December 4, 2012. However, Thomas does not link out to these reference documents or more details.

For the text of the treaty documents, go to the Government Printing Office web site, FDSys, which provides access to Congressional Documents; that includes Senate Treaty Documents for each recent Congress, including the 112th. Treaty Document 112-7 is available in PDF there. Likewise, Executive Report 112-6 is available; to find it, run a search (e.g., “senate executive report 112-6″) on the FDSys main page. The Senate’s web site provides information on roll-call votes, including the December 4 vote on the Convention. (Because the 61-38 vote fell 6 votes short of a two-thirds majority, ratification was rejected.) Continue Reading »

http://worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index

Death Penalty Worldwide is a site created by the Center for International Human Rights at Northwestern University School of Law.  The site’s death penalty database allows you to search by country, region, or form of execution.  The pages provide citations to government, UN, and NGO publications that describe a particular country’s laws regarding the death penalty.  In addition, the site provides information under “International Legal Issues” on issues related to the death penalty, such as due process, foreign nationals, and juvenile offenders.  An extensive death penalty bibliography detailing relevant books and articles is also provided.  If you are interested in a comparative examination of the death penalty, this resource is a great place to get started.

Hat tip to Georgetown Law Library.

HeinOnline recently added the “Index to Foreign Legal Perodicals” to its substantial offerings.

“The Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals is the preeminent multilingual index to articles and book reviews appearing in more than 500 legal journals published worldwide. It provides in-depth coverage of public and private international law, comparative and foreign law, and the law of all jurisdictions other than the United States, the UK, Canada, and Australia.”

This is a great source to consider when a foreign journal article search would be helpful to your research.

The United Nations plays an important role in shaping international law, resolving conflicts between nations, and promoting worldwide efforts in such areas as human rights, anti-terrorism, sustainable development and disaster relief. This certification class will provide an introduction to the UN and its organization, how to locate documents (including General Assembly and Security Council resolutions), and to use the UN web site and related materials for research.

This session is offered twice (in Room 334): Tuesday, March 20 at 1pm, and Wednesday, March 21 at 1pm. Space is still available for the Wednesday session. To register, click here.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a landmark speech yesterday in Geneva in recognition of International Human Rights Day. Sec. Clinton put the human rights of LGBT people in the context of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the movement to secure the rights of women, indigenous people, children and other marginalized groups. Continue Reading »

The world of IGO reports and data is continuing to move onto the Internet.  The latest addition is a sleek new interface from the World Bank with the complete World Development Report online.