Research Guides: International Law: Cases, Courts & Tribunals

Cases, Courts & Tribunals

Researching Cases

Remember, judicial decisions are a subsidiary means of determining international law according to the ICJ Statute Article 38(1).

Similar to U.S. legal research, running keyword searches for cases at the start of your research can lead to overwhelming results and it can be hard to sift through them without context. Starting with secondary sources and determining which tribunals are most relevant for your situation will help you locate key cases in a targeted manner, then you can expand your research from those cases.

Researching Tribunals

International tribunal decisions can generally be located in one of a few databases of decisions, through sources compiling the decisions of a particular tribunal, or at the tribunal website.

The Court of Justice of the European Union
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) interprets EU law to make sure it is applied in the same way in all EU countries, and settles legal disputes between national governments and EU institutions. The website provides information about cases, the court, law, and other related documents and sources.
International & Comparative Law Open Source Casebook
Provided by Harvard Law School's Berkman Center Center for Internet & Society, this casebook provides access to 20+ important cases in International Law.
The International Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes Reports
A comprehensive collection of arbitral awards and decisions given under the auspices of the World Bank's International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes or pursuant to other multilateral or bilateral investment treaties, including in particular the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).
NOTE: Look for the Green Circle with White Checkmark to identify articles available in full-text. You will need to order all others through Interlibrary Loan to access to the full-text.
International Court of Justice
The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the UN. Its website includes case information, press releases, and various other documents and publications.
International Court of Justice Advisory Opinions
Through the Nexis-Uni database, the ICJAO contains the full-text, English-language advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice. The advisory procedure of the Court is open solely to international organizations. The only bodies at present authorized to request advisory opinions of the Court are five organs of the United Nations and 16 specialized agencies of the United Nations family.
Advisory Opinions will display in reverse chronological order by date of decision. For judgments in contentious cases, see International Court of Justice Judgments. For pleadings and orders of pending cases filed in 2004 forward, see International Court of Justice Filings.
International Court of Justice Filings
Through the Nexis-Unit database, the ICJF contains various full-text, English-language interim documents filed with the International Court of Justice for pending cases, including the application and written pleadings, as well as various orders of the Court, where available.
International Court of Justice Judgements
Through the Nexis-Uni database, the ICJJ contains the full-text, English-language judgments of the International Court of Justice for "contentious cases"; i.e. cases between the Member States of the United Nations (currently 191).
Judgments will display in reverse chronological order by date of decision. For advisory opinions, see International Court of Justice Advisory Opinions. For pleadings and orders of pending cases filed in 2004 forward, see International Court of Justice Filings.
International Crimes Database
This database includes a case law collection for international crimes from national tribunals.
International Law Reports
Reporting in English of decisions of international courts and arbitrators as well as judgments of national courts. Cases are drawn from every relevant jurisdiction - international and national.
NOTE: Look for the Green Circle with White Checkmark to identify articles available in full-text. You will need to order all others through Interlibrary Loan to get access to the full-text.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration
The Permanent Court of Arbitration, established by treaty in 1899, is an intergovernmental organization providing a variety of dispute resolution services to the international community. Access current and past case information.
SHERLOC Case Law Database
Use SHERLOC to:
1) Conduct legal research
2) Design legal and policy reforms
3) Cooperate with national authorities of other countries
4) Design training courses and training materials
5) Monitor ratification of and accession to international treaties concerning organized crime and terrorism
6) Monitor implementation of international treaties concerning organized crime and terrorism
WorldCourts: International Case Law Database
Search across over 50,000 decisions of 52 international tribunals and hundreds of arbitral awards. Updated periodically, so it may not contain recent decisions.
WorldLII: International Courts & Tribunals Collection
Search for decisions across many major international tribunals. Updated periodically, so may not contain recent decisions. The World Legal Information Institute (WorldLII), is a free, independent, and non-profit global legal research database.