Transcript Slide 1

Outline
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Research Guides
Treaties
UN Materials and OHCHR
International courts and tribunals
Regional materials
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Europe
The Americas
Africa
 Other useful resources
 URLs for collections of
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Country Reports
Subject materials
Research Guides
 ASIL
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http://www.asil.org/resource/humrts1.htm
 United Nations Documentation: Research
Guide on Human Rights
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http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/spechr.htm
 The George Washington Law School
 http://www.law.gwu.edu/NR/rdonlyres/D07D9
3EB-A26A-4B40-A2E19DDEE95728AE/0/HumRights07.pdf
United Nations: Useful URLs
 UN web site @ http://www.un.org/
 Official Web Locator @ Index to web sites of UN
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organisations - http://www.unsystem.org/
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights @
http://www.ohchr.org/
ASIL guide to UN research@
http://www.asil.org/resource/un1.htm
UN Documentation: Research Guide @
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/
UN Research Guide for Human Rightshttp://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/spechr.ht
m
Finding UN Documents
 UN ODS - http://documents.un.org/
 UNBisnet - http://unbisnet.un.org/
 Treaty Bodies Database -
http://tb.ohchr.org/default.aspx
UN Human Rights Bodies
 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights @
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http://www.ohchr.org/english/
Charter Based bodies
 Established by the UN charter
 Address broad human rights issues
 Unlimited audience
 Majority voting
Treaty Based bodies
 Established by a treaty
 Address issues covered by the treaty
 Audience is signatories of the treaty only
 Decisions based on consensus
Documents available on UN ODS, UnBisnet
Documents produced by the Treaty Based bodies
are also available on the Treaty Bodies Database
UN Human Rights Bodies: Charter Based Bodies
 Human Rights Council
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Special procedures (discuss and report on human rights
situations relating to particular countries or themes)
 Commission on Human Rights
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No longer exists – predecessor of the Human Rights
Council
 Sub commission on the Promotion and Protection
of Human Rights
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Carries out studies on human rights issues and make
recommendations
Treaty Based Bodies
 Committee against Torture (CAT)
 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
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Rights (CESCR)
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW)
Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination (CERD)
Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW)
Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Human Rights Committee (CCPR)
 Documents produced by the Treaty Based Bodies
are available on the Treaty Bodies Database as
well as UN ODS, Unbisnet
A-Z of issues with links to
relevant bodies / rapporteurs
Country information for each member
including treaty
ratification/reservation information,
rapporteurships and special
procedures relating to the country,
news, events, links
“Ratifications and reservations” –
treaties with signatories, reservations
etc
Country mandates – countries
subject to HRC special procedures
Publications including fact sheets/special
issues on various topics
Links to the charter and treaty based
organisations (introductory general
information, publications, rules and
procedures, events, relevant
rapporteurships, relevant treaties and
ratification information, links) plus
links to Treaty bodies database
International Courts and Tribunals
Guides
 Pict – Project on International Courts and
Tribunals
http://www.pict-pcti.org/
 Explanation of the origins, history, functions
and procedures of the international and
regional courts
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 UN Research Guide @
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/sp
ecil.htm
International Courts and Tribunals online
Where to find…
 Basic Court documents
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Court’s website
Westlaw (for some courts)
 Annual reports etc – Court’s Website
 Judgments, Decisions, Indictments, related docs
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Court’s own web site
Westlaw / Lexis
Worldlii (usually judgment only)
ICJ: Research Guides and Reference Works
 UN research guide includes a section on
the ICJ @
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/sp
ecil.htm#icj
 International Court of Justice Yearbook
Internat 725 c 858 j-k
 Summaries of Judgments, Advisory
Opinions and Orders of the International
Court of Justice Internat 121a
 Bibliography of the International Court of
Justice Internat 400 c858
ICJ: Judgments in print
 (Reports of) Judgments, Advisory Opinions and
Orders – Internat 121
 French and English
 Annual index
 Pleadings, Oral Arguments, Documents – Internat
122
 Documentation relating to each case (e.g.
application, written and oral proceedings,
documents submitted to the court, selected
correspondence etc)
 Published after the end of the case in the
original language
 OSCOLA - cite the print series in preference
to other series and online versions. If print is
not available cite online version from the ICJ web
site.
ICJ online : The ICJ web site
 @ http://www.icj-cij.org
 Basic Documents
 Cases
Full text of judgments (contentious cases)
/advisory opinions (advisory proceedings)
 Related documents (e.g. application,
preliminary objections, provisional measures,
merits oral and written proceedings, orders,
summaries, press releases)
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 No search facility
Background information – history, how
the court works, judges etc
Text of judgments and advisory
opinions and related documents
Statute of the Court, rules of
procedure etc
Information about the courts
jurisdiction
ICJ Online: Westlaw and Worldlii
 Westlaw
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International (Directory)| All Westlaw Database |
International/Worldwide | Multinational | Court and
Tribunal Cases
Full text judgments and orders but NOT all related
documents
Search engine allows subject searching
How up to date?
 Worldlii – http://www.worldlii.org
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“International Decisions” > 26 international courts
including ICJ
Full text judgments (from ICJ website) and some related
documents
Search engine allows subject searching
For materials from
beyond the UK/EU
choose Westlaw
International
Full list of results
Commentary relating to result 1
Result 1
ICJ and other
international courts
and tribunals on
Worldlii
International
Courts and
Tribunals
Worldlii “International Decisions” database includes 27
international courts including:
•ICJ
•European Court of Human Rights
•Inter-American Court of Human Rights Decisions 1981- (Selected)
•Interights Commonwealth Human Rights Law 1992-2002
•Interights International Human Rights Law 1981-2001
•International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Decisions 2004•International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia Decisions
1996•United Nations Committee against Torture Decisions 1993•United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination Decisions 1988•United Nations Human Rights Committee Decisions 1977(WorldLII)
Combine terms using:
AND, OR, NOT
NEAR – within 50 words
w/n –term 1 within n terms of term 2
Pre/n –term 1 must precede term 2
by n terms
*truncation symbol
Search across groups of courts. “All
Human Rights Courts & Tribunals” is
useful
To find out when judgments were
added to Worldlii for each court
To browse a court click on the link,
to search a court tick the check
box
Results options – relevance, date,
title
International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia
UN research guide @
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/specil.htm#ity
 Basic documents, annual reports @http://www.un.org/icty/
Judgments in print (indictments, decisions, judgments)
 The Judicial Reports/ Recueils judiciaires Internat 580 I63c
Judgments online (indictments, decisions, judgments)
 ITY web site @ http://www.un.org/icty/
 Westlaw
 Worldlii (judgment only – not entirely up to date)
Oscola citation
 Case name (Decision type) ICTY-year#-case# (date).
 Alternatively cite International Legal Materials or
International Human Rights Reports.

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
 UN Research Guide @
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/sp
ecil.htm#itr
 ICTR website
Basic documents
 Indictments, decisions, judgments
 Status of pending cases
 Annual reports etc
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 Westlaw (indictments, decisions,
judgments)
 Worldlii
 Oscola citation – same as ICTY
Other international courts…
 International Criminal Court
 UN research guides @
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/specil.h
tm#icc
 http://www.icc-cpi.int/
 Special Court for Sierra Leone @
http://www.sc-sl.org/
 Commission for Reception, Truth and
Reconciliation in East Timor @
http://www.cavr-timorleste.org/
Cases before UN Treaty Committees
 Worldlii
 Cases before Human Rights Committee,
Committee against Torture, Committee on
Elimination of Racial Discrimination,
 Netherlands Institute of Human Rights
(http://www.law.uu.nl/english/sim/)
Databases > Case Law
 Cases before Human Rights Committee,
Committee against Torture, Committees
on…Elimination of Racial Discrimination,
…Discrimination against women.
 Indexed by convention, subject, keyword,
state, name etc

Cases before UN
committees
Cases before ECHR
Cases before
tribunals for
Yugoslavia /
Rwanda
Comments by
treaty bodies in
response to
country reports
Browse by treaty article,
subject, keyword, country etc
Regional: Europe
Council of Europe - http://www.coe.int
 Council of Europe Treaties
http://conventions.coe.int
 Directorate General of Human Rights @
http://www.coe.int/T/E/Human_rights/
documents and news organised by subject
 Commissioner for Human Rights @
http://www.coe.int/t/commissioner/
 European Court of Human Rights http://www.echr.coe.int/echr
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Judgments and decisions on Westlaw, Justis, HUDOC,
Worldlii
Legal affairs includes link to the Treaties Office – COE treaties, ratification
information, subject index etc
Directorate General of Human rights – information for
different themes/conventions (e.g. torture, women's rights,
national minorities etc) including introductory information,
publications/documents, country reports, news, events etc
Text of the convention, signatories, ratifications, reservations etc
Reports and other documents from the Office of the
Commissioner for Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights:
Judgments
 Official Reports
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Before 1 Nov 1998 known as Series A and numbered
consecutively
e.g. Plattform ‘Ärtze für das Leben’ v Austria (App no
10126/82) (1988) Series A no 139
After 1 Nov 1998 - Renamed Reports of Judgments and
Decisions (cited ECHR)
e.g. Osman v UK (App no 23452/94)
ECHR 1998-VIII 3124
Available in print at Internat 121 and online on Justis
 European Human Rights Reports (EHRR)
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e.g. Young, James and Webster v UK (App no 7601/76)
(1982) 4 EHRR 38
Available in print at Internat 150 E60 on Westlaw
 OSCOLA – Cite Official Reports or EHRR
ECHR: Transcripts
 Court Transcripts
 Court web site – HUDOC http://www.echr.coe.int/echr
 Worldlii
 Netherlands Institute
•Full text searching use
the following connectors:
AND
•OR
•NOT
•WITHIN N OF
*TRUNCATION
•? SINGLE CHARACTER
Reports of Judgments and Decisions (ECHR) on Justis
Official reports – old style series A
Transcript
Official reports – new style
EHRR on Westlaw
 UK section of Westlaw includes ECHR
judgments
 European Court of Human Rights Reports
(includes all court judgments and selected
commission decisions)
Choose “Advanced Search” for
more options
Searches full text of all judgments
Searches party names
Searches for cases by legislation
considered.
Searches for cases which have
considered an earlier case
Related information including:
•List of reports of the case
•Summary of the issues
•Legislation considered in the
judgment
•Earlier cases considered in the
judgment
•Later cases which have considered
this judgment
•Commentary on the judgment
Full text of the case
ECHR web site
 http://www.echr.coe.int/
 Basic Documents and texts of the court
 Database of transcripts of judgments and
commission decisions
 To go direct to the transcripts database
http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/
History, organization, composition,
procedures etc
European Convention on H
Rights and additional prot
Transcripts database
To search decisions of the European Commission (ceased 1999) o
up decisions box. Note not all commission decisions are available.
Some judgments are only available
on one language
Use … to browse a
thesaurus of terms
HUDOC - Transcripts
Make sure the “from” field is not filled
in when you open up the database
Keywords in context – finds
your keywords and displays
sorrounding text
Full text
Analytical information
including dates, party
names, who the case
was referred by,
Strasbourg case law
cited, keywords,
durable URL
Links to related
information
Inter American Human Rights system:
Key web sites & documents
 OAS - http://www.oas.org/
 Charter of the OAS @
http://www.oas.org/juridico/english/charter.html
 Treaties @ http://www.oas.org/DIL/treaties.htm
 American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of
Man@
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/oasinstr/zoas2d
ec.htm
 American Convention on Human Rights @
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/oasinstr/zoas3c
on.htm
Inter American Human Rights system:
The Commission
 Inter American Commission on Human Rights @
http://www.cidh.org/DefaultE.htm
 Reports adopted by the Commission @
http://www.wcl.american.edu/pub/humright/di
gest/
index.html
 Finding cases before the Commission
 Cases section of the Commission web site
 University of Minnesota index to Commission
cases @
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/cases/commi
ssn.htm
Inter American Human Rights system:
The Court
@ http://www.corteidh.or.cr/
University of Minnesota - Basic Documents / jurisprudence
@ http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/iachr/iachr.html
 Reports
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Series A – Judgments and opinions (Advisory cases)
Series B – Pleadings, Oral Arguments and Documents (relating
to series A)
Series C – Decisions and judgments (Contentious cases)
Series D - Pleadings, Oral Arguments and Documents (relating
to series C)
Series E - Provisional measures
Finding Cases online
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Court web site (as above) – Spanish versions appear first
University of Minnesota (as above) - Judgments, opinions and
decisions plus related documents
Worldlii (most recent judgment available 2006)
Introductory
information,
publications,
country reports
Background information
including relationship of
Commission and Court
Country reports,
resolutions, special
reports
Treaties,
ratifications,
reservations/d
eclarations
Reports from
special
rapporteurs,
country
reports,
cases, work
with the court
Special /
Country
reports
Cases
Documents re:
•Migrant workers
•Freedom of
expression
•Women
Statute of the court,
rules of procedure,
composition, history
etc
Annual reports – includes
cases
•Browse judgments chronologically or by country
•Decisions and judgments =series c (contentious)
•Advisory = series A
•Text in word / pdf
Search for judgment by keywords or by
country/date range
Africa: some key web sites
 African Union

http://www.africa-union.org/
 African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights

http://www.achpr.org/english/_info/charter_en.html
 African Commission on Human and Peoples
Rights

http://www.achpr.org/
 Africa Human Rights Resource Centre (University
of Minnesota Human Rights Library) – is this still
current? @
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/africa/index.html
Treaties and
ratification details,
speeches etc
Includes link to AU
information on
Darfur/Sudan and
Rights of the Child
Treaties
Most recent country
reports, and
activities reports
•Activity reports including reports
from Special Rapporteurs (note
full reports appended as
annexes)
Special
•list of state reports but no full Subject
text
A-Z of Human
Rights links (NGOs,
governments,
charities etc)
Country reports and
decisions from the UN
Human Rights
Committee. Possibly out
of date?
Report on NGOs in
Africa published 1994.
Treaties,
conventions etc
Constitutive Act of the AU
+ documents /
information re OAU/AU
African summit 2002
Compilations of treaties,
books and articles on
human rights in Africa.
Nothing later than 1994.
Journal article by J.
Oloka-Onyango
(1995)
Other useful web sites
 Interights @ http://www.interights.org/
Charity that promotes human rights through
the law
 2,000 summaries of significant human rights
decisions from the Commonwealth and beyond
 Eisil @ www.eisil.org
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Treaties, conventions etc with related web sites and
research guides
 University of Minnesota Human Rights Library @
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/
Case law database
Summaries of some HR issues,
bibliographies etc
Country Reports
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Collection of links to Country Reports in the ASIL research
guide @ http://www.asil.org/resource/humrts1.htm
Amnesty
 http://web.amnesty.org/library/engindex
 Reports organised by country, region, theme
Human Rights Watch
 http://hrw.org/
 Reports organised by country and subject
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights
 Europe (esp E Europe)
 For Reports follow the link to “Documents and
publications”
 http://www.ihf-hr.org/welcome.php
US Dept of State Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices
 Choose Country Reports from the navigation bar
 Annual reports submitted to US congress
 http://www.state.gov/g/drl/hr/
Subject Approach
 Amnesty
http://web.amnesty.org/library/engindex
 Human Rights Watch http://hrw.org/
 University of Minnesota Topics Guide
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/topicgu
ides.html
 Introduction to main issues
 Links to relevant web resources
 University of Minnesota Human Rights Library
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/links/links.htm
 Links to document repositories, organisations, country
and subjects
Subject Approach
 Derechos http://www.derechos.org/
Particularly good for Latin America
 Human Rights Internet http://www.hri.ca/
 Hurisearch - http://www.hurisearch.org/
 search engine searching multiple human rights
web sites
 Worldlii Human Rights Catalog
http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/303.html
 Links to document repositories, organisations,
country and subjects
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Journals
 Use usual journals indexes
Westlaw
 Index to Legal Periodicals
 Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals
 Social Science Citation Index
 Cambridge Scientific Abstracts : Social
Sciences
 PAIS – Public Affairs Information Institute
 Links to free journals with Human Rights focus
 http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/links/journals
.html
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