international law

Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect was established in 2008 by the International Crisis Group, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam International, Refugees International and WFM-Institute for Global Policy. The work of the Centre is focused on the new international norm, the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), which refers to protection of populations against genocide and other large-scale atrocities. The work of the Centre includes advocacy, research designed to further understanding of R2P and helping states to build capacity.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

The World Trade Organization (WTO) website provides information on the work of the WTO, its history, structure and aims. It includes a dispute settlement gateway and a collection of WTO legal texts, such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Research reports, records of meetings, background papers and other documents are also provided. The site is available in English, Spanish and French.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the UN agency responsible for the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights worldwide and for the administration of multilateral IP treaties. Its website contains the full text of all the treaties administered by WIPO, with status information; arbitration decisions relating to domain names; a database of national IP laws (WIPO-Lex); and a patents database.

Office of the Legal Adviser

This website outlines the work of the Office of the Legal Adviser at the US State Department and makes available US official publications and information about international law. The Treaty Affairs section provides the current edition of Treaties in Force; the Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS) from 1996 to 2003; information about multilateral treaties deposited with the US Government; details of treaty actions; and a list of treaties pending in the Senate. The Digest of United States Practice in International Law is available from 1989/90 onwards.

United Nations

The United Nations (UN) website provides details of its work in the fields of peace and security, development, human rights, humanitarian affairs and international law. There are sections covering the UN's main bodies: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice and the Secretariat. Official documents, databases, maps , news and an online bookshop are provided, among other things. The website is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a political and military alliance between North America and Europe. Its aim is to maintain peace and stability through cooperative action. The NATO website contains information about the Organization’s purpose, structure and activities. The North Atlantic Treaty and its protocols are available, together with NATO ministerial communiqués (1949 onwards) and other official documents. The site also provides news, transcripts of speeches and an online bookshop.

Rules of warfare, arms control

The Rules of warfare, arms control page forms part of the Multilaterals Project at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. The project provides the text of international treaties and conventions covering various subjects. This section has the Hague Conventions, the Geneva Conventions and other texts dealing with the laws of war.

International Law Library

This WorldLII library brings together 76 searchable databases concerning international law. The databases include the International Courts and Tribunals Collection which has, among others, decisions of the International Criminal Court, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Caribbean Court of Justice and the Timor Leste Special Panel for Serious Crimes. The Treaties & International Agreements Collection has 7 treaties databases from international organisations the League of Nations and the United Nations.

Customary Law Database

The Customary Law Database is an online version of 'Customary International Humanitarian Law', a study by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which was published by Cambridge University Press in 2005. Available on the ICRC website, the database has two parts: Rules and Practice. The Rules section analyses the 161 customary rules of international humanitarian law identified by the study, while the Practice section covers the underlying practice.

International Law Students Association

The International Law Students Association (ILSA) is a non-profit organisation for students and lawyers interested in international law. Based in the United States, it has members around the world. It holds academic conferences, produces publications, holds international mooting competitions and plays an international role in the co-ordination of educational programmes. The site provides selected issues of the ILSA Quarterly and the current issue of the FOJ Newsletter (Friends of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition Newsletter).

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