International Human Rights Law Research Links

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The
Rights International Research Guide
for
International Human Rights Lawyers

Introduction

Purpose and scope. One of Rights International’s most important missions is to promote the growth of international human rights caselaw. To that end, research — legal and factual — is crucial. An exciting development in international legal research over the last few years is the increasing availability of cases, treaties, and other international law instruments on-line. In addition, there is much information available on-line about printed materials.
     At the same time, written materials are critical. For example, research into the travaux préparatoires of human rights treaties may prove useful where interpretation of a particular article in a treaty is at issue. These materials are not available on-line, but often (though not always) there are published collections of the travaux.
     In short, the competent human rights litigator today needs access to both the written resources and the on-line resources, drawing on each to off-set the gaps in the other. Finding these materials may seem a daunting task. The purpose of the Research Guide is to present these resources in an integrated way, oriented towards the needs of the practitioner. (In addition, this page points you in the direction of other useful guides, both written and on-line; no one guide can possibly be comprehensive, so it is in your interest to check several.) Although oriented towards human rights practice, the Research Guide should also be useful for academics and students.

Table of Contents
  1. Guides to Research and Practice
    1. Guides to research in international law and related topics, including human rights law
      1. Guides to Written Resources and On-Line Resources
      2. Guides Devoted Primarily to On-Line Resources
    2. Guides to Practice before International Tribunals
      1. Global/U.N./Comparative
      2. The European System
      3. The Inter-American System
      4. The African System
  2. Research on International Human Rights Instruments: Texts, Travaux Préparatoires, Ratifications & Reservations, General Comments & Caselaw, and Useful Secondary Materials
    1. Databases and Compilations of Treaties
      1. Global and Regional Treaties
        1. General Collections of Treaties
        2. Specific Topic Areas
      2. Regional Treaties
    2. General Treaty-Related Information
      1. General Information on Ratifications, Accessions, and Signatures
      2. General Information on Reservations, Declarations, and Understandings
      3. General Information on Derogations
      4. General Information on Travaux Préparatoires
      5. General Information on Procedural Issues
        1. Exhaustion of Local Remedies
        2. Remedies
      6. General Information on General Comments & Caselaw
    3. Treaty-Specific Information
      1. Global Treaties and Declarations
        1. The U.N. Charter
        2. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
        3. The ICCPR and Optional Protocols
        4. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
        5. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
        6. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
        7. The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment
        8. The Convention on the Rights of the Child
      2. Regional Treaties
        1. The Inter-American System
        2. The European System
        3. African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights
        4. Arab and Islamic Human Rights Documents
        5. The Asia-Pacific Region
    4. Non-Treaty-Specific Information
      1. Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
      2. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
      3. Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions
      4. Other Thematic Working Groups and Special Rapporteurs
      5. Country-Specific Rapporteurs
      6. 1503 Procedure
      7. High Commissioner for Human Rights
  3. Other Resources on International Law and Human Rights
    1. Research on General and Specific Topic Areas
      1. Research on international law
      2. Research on international human rights law
        1. Edited Collections of Cases
        2. General Information Resources
        3. Particular Topics
          1. Children’s Rights
          2. Gender and Human Rights
          3. Humanitarian Law, including the Law of Armed Conflict
          4. Indigenous Rights, Minority Rights, and Self-Determination
          5. Prisoners’ Rights
          6. Privacy; Application of Human Rights to Private Life
          7. Racial Discrimination
          8. Refugees, Asylum
          9. Transitions to Democracy; Impunity
          10. Other
      3. Research on comparative & foreign law
        1. Constitutional Law
        2. Domestic Application of International Human Rights Law
        3. Foreign Law Generally
      4. Research on international humanitarian law, including the law of armed conflict
    2. Research on International Tribunals (Other than Human Rights Tribunals)
      1. Research on international criminal tribunals
      2. Research on other U.N. bodies relevant to human rights
    3. Research on the state of human rights in particular countries and regions

     

 

NOTE: This Research Guide is written and maintained by Stephen J. Schnably. Links are kept current through Doctor HTML.™
Please feel free to e-mail Professor Schnably if you would like to suggest a link or other resource, note any links that are no longer valid, or make any other comments or suggestions.
Last updated: 07/23/00

 

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