International law
resources at BFD
Geneva Academy of
International Humanitarian
Law and Human Rights
September 13th, 2011
Program
 Tools of UNIGE library
 Official websites in international law
 Free databases in international law
 International law resources at BFD
 General databases
 Visit of BFD
2
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Websites
 BFD website
– www.unige.ch/biblio/droit (French only)
 Dedicated webpage
– www.unige.ch/biblio/droit/adh2011_en.html
– !! Not available through menu !!
 Add it as a bookmark
3
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Réro and Geneva catalogs
Catalogs at two different levels
 Réro catalog
– opac.rero.ch/gateway?lng=en
– Most of academic libraries in Western Switzerland
(university and patrimonial libraries)
 Geneva catalog
– opac.rero.ch/gateway?skin=ge&lng=en
– Part of réro, only for Geneva libraries
– UNIGE, BGE but not public and international
organisations' libraries
5
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Search
 Identical in both catalogs
 Of a known reference
– Browse an index : Author or Title
 For documents about a subject
– Quick search : Google-like (!! Non-pertinent results !!)
– Advanced, By keyword : possibility of choosing in which
fields terms are going to be searched
 Author
 Title
 Subject (!! Warning : not all libraries use Subject fields AND
they must be in French !!)
6
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Boolean operators and wildcards
 AND (by default)
 OR
 NOT
 " " : exact phrase
 ? : replace a single letter
 * : replace any number of letters
7
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Documents' localisation
 Items
– Only in Geneva catalog
– Location = library
– Call number = where the document is found on
the shelves
– Status = availability of the document
8
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Other tools
 Interlibrary loan
– With réro libraries or other
 Patron folder
– To renew loans
9
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Other tools of the UNIGE libraries
Databases directory
 http://www.unige.ch/biblio/plus/ressources/rep2.php (only in
French)
 400 databases, in all disciplines
– ~40 legal ones
 150 online dictionaries and encyclopedias
– 5 legal ones
 Search database name, keyword or by library
– !! No search IN databases !!
– → Importance to select the good one(s)
11
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
A-Z e-Journals list
 http://resolver.rero.ch/unige/az
 More than 30'000 e-journals (all disciplines)
– More than 2'000 legal ones
 Search by title words
– !! No search IN journals !!
– → Only to search known references
12
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
VPN (Virtual Private Network) software
 Download on the Informatics Division
website (www.unige.ch/dinf - French only)
–
–
–
–
Services aux étudiants
Catalogue de services
Accès aux réseaux
Travailler à distance
 Allows access to UNIGE online resources
from a personal computer
13
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Official websites in international
law
Treaties
United Nations Treaty Collection
 Treaties registred with the United Nations
Secretary-General
 Paper version at the BFD : D 3 b TRSU
(1946-1983)
 Online (1946-) : treaties.un.org/Home.aspx
– Access limited to UNIGE
16
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Search
 Select UNTS database
 Search by
–
–
–
–
–
17
Name of the treaty
Words of the title
Participant
Full-text
and others
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Jurisprudence of international
courts
International Court of Justice
 Paper version at the BFD : D 4 d CIJ/A (1947-)
 Jurisprudence on the ICJ website (www.icj-cij.org)
– > Cases > List of All Cases
 All cases since 1946, with a lot of related documents
 Chronological search only
 In Westlaw International too (1957-)
– International/Worldwide Materials > Multi-National
Materials > Court & Tribunal Cases
19
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
European Court of Human Rights
 Paper version at the BFD : D 18.2 d READ (1961-)
 Jurisprudence on the ECHR website
(www.echr.coe.int)
– > Case-Law > HUDOC
 Search through the search engine only
–
–
–
–
–
–
20
Text
Respondent State
Application Number
Article of the Convention
Date
Keywords
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
International Criminal Court
 Jurisprudence on the ICC website (www.icccpi.int)
– > Situations and cases > Cases
 Search by country only
 Lots of procedure documents
21
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia
 Jurisprudence on the ICTY website (www.icty.org/)
– > the Cases
 Search by Accused name or Case number
 Cases-law and lots of related documents
(indictements, transcripts, etc.)
– For pending cases included
 In Westlaw International too (1995-)
– International/Worldwide Materials > Multi-National
Materials > Court & Tribunal Cases
22
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
International Criminal Tribunal for
Rwanda
 Jurisprudence on the ICTR website (www.ictr.org)
– > Cases > Status of Cases
 Search by accused name only
 Cases-law and lots of related documents
(indictements, transcripts, etc.)
– For pending cases included
 In Westlaw International too (1995-)
– International/Worldwide Materials > Multi-National
Materials > Court & Tribunal Cases
23
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Special Court for Sierra Leone
 Jurisprudence on the SCSL website
(www.sc-sl.org)
– > Cases
 Search by case name only
Cases-law and lots of related
documents (indictements, transcripts,
etc.)
– For pending cases included
24
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Free databases in international
law
Customary International
Humanitarian Law
http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/home
Free access
Content
 ICRC database
 Paper version at BFD : D 43.1 g DRI/AN
2005
 Online version : Updated version of the
books (2007)
 Rules and practices of customary
international humanitarian law
27
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Search
 By rules or practices
– Then by chapter or by rule
 No search engine
28
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
International law databases
Collected Courses of the Hague
Academy of International Law
http://www.nijhoffonline.nl/pages/recueil-courses
Access limited to UNIGE
Content
 Paper version at the BFD : D 9 f RECO
 Online version identical to it
 Documents on specific themes in
international law
 Warning : UNIGE has no subscription to
International Law and Human Rights and
Humanitarian Law series
31
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Search
 Browse
– Author
– Date
– Title
 Advanced search in specific fields
–
–
–
–
–
32
Full-text
Title
Author
Year
Etc…
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Boolean operators and wildcards
 AND (by default)
 OR
 NOT
 ? : replace 0 or 1 letter
 * : replace any number of letters
33
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Results
 On the left, possibilty to refine results
 PDF documents only => no way to browse
search terms
 Print and download in Acrobat Reader
34
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
International Law Reports
http://www.justis.com/
Access limited to UNIGE
Content
 Print version at BFD : D 4 d LAUT
 Online version identical to the print one
 Jurisprudence, in English, of national
tribunals relative to international law
 Warning : Subscription only to that
publication
36
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Search
 Search In > Cases
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Parties
Full-text
Citation
Court
Year
Subject
Headnote
 Browse
– By year
37
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Boolean operators and wildcards
 : and (by default)
 or
 not
 " " : exact phrase
 * : replace any number of letters
 ? : replace a single letter
38
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Results
 Print, send by e-mail and download with
buttons in the upper left corner
39
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
International Law in Domestic
Courts
http://www.oxfordlawreports.com/
Access with a password
Content
 Warning : Subscription only to International
Law Reports
 Selected domestic cases concerning
international law
 Original text with English translation and
commentary
41
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Search
 Browse by country (homepage)
 Advanded search, with combinable fields
–
–
–
–
–
42
In full-text
Limited to a subject
By country
By party name
By date
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Results
 Table of contents in the left column
 Case references in upper box
 Print options at the start of page
43
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Annotated Leading Cases of
International Criminal Tribunals
http://www.annotatedleadingcases.com/
Access with a password
Content
 Print version : D 19.1 d ANLC 1999/...
 Online version identical to the print one
 Commentary of the more pertinent cases
judged in International Criminal Tribunals
45
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Search
 Search by
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Court (browsing possible)
Case number
Name of the accused (browsing possible)
Volume (browsing possible)
Author (browsing possible)
Keyword
Date
Full-text
 Fields can be combined
46
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Results
 Possibility to refine the search in the left
column
 Links to related documents
 Print and download options in Acrobat
Reader
47
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Max Planck Encyclopedia of
Public International Law
http://www.mpepil.com/
Accès par mot de passe
Content
 Print version at BFD : D 1 a ENPI 1992
 Online : updated version of the print one, but
still in development
 Definitions of terms and concepts in
international public law
49
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Search
 By index
– Title (Alphabetically)
– Subject (by Subject)
– Author (by Author)
 Advanced Search, with combinable fields
–
–
–
–
50
Title
Author
Fulltext
Etc…
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Boolean operators and wildcards
 : phrase exacte (by default)
 AND
 OR
 NOT
 ? : replace a single letter
 * : replace any number of letters
51
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Results
 Articles in HTML
– With links to other articles in the MPEPIL
– Print option in upper left corner
52
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
General databases
LexisNexis University
www.lexisnexis.de/e-solutions/KSH/en/index.html
Access limited to UNIGE
Legal content
 American legisation and jurisprudence
 British legisation and jurisprudence
 Legal journals ("law reviews")
 Legal documents of a few other countries
– South Africa, Argentina, Australia, Brunei,
Canada, China and Hong Kong, Scotland,
France, Hungary, India, Ireland, Northern Ireland,
Italia, Malaysia, Mexico, New-Zealand, Russia,
Singapore, European Union
55
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Search
 5 thumbnails
– > Legal Information
 3 search modes
– General Search
 All types of documents
– Law Journals
 Only "law reviews"
– Get a Case
 Jurisprudence
56
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Law Journals
 Enter Search Terms : keywords with
boolean operators
– By default, operator is "or"
 Select Sources : sources to search in
–  lists the journals
– Most complete : US and International Law
Reviews & Journals
 Specify Date : to limit the search in time
(publication time)
57
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Boolean operators and wildcards
 View more segments and connectors for
details
–
–
–
–
–
–
58
: exact phrase (by default)
or
and
and not
* : replace a single letter
! : replace letters (0->), only at end of words
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Results
 Button Hits to browse search terms
 Page numbers not always present
– > [*xxx] if available
 Options
– Show
– Sort : by date or relevance
– Search within results
 Print, send by e-mail or download with
buttons in the upper right corner
59
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Westlaw International
Dynamic URL, use a link
Access limited to UNIGE
Legal content
 American legislation and jurisprudence
 British legislation and jurisprudence
 Legal journals ("law reviews")
 Documents in international arbitration law
 Legal documents of other countries
– Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, European Union
61
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Search
 International Directory
– > World Journals and Law Reviews (2x)
 2 thumbnails :
– Terms and connectors : keywords with boolean
operators
– Natural language : question or text in "human
language" -> less effective
62
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Terms and connectors
 Search : keywords
 Dates to limit the search in time
 Fields to look for keywords in a specific field
63
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Boolean operators, wildcards and limitation
by field
 Boolean operators are listed under the search field
–
–
–
–
–
–
& : and
: or (by default)
% : and not
" " : exact phrase
* : replace a single letter
! : replace any number of letters, only at the end of words
 Limitation by field
– TI(y) : title
– AU(y) : author
– PR(y) : 1st section
64
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Thesaurus
 To add synonyms of search terms
65
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Results
 Browse the search terms with the arrows under the document
 Page numbers are shown with *
– Ex: *118
 Options
– Result list
– Related info : other useful documents related to the selected
article
– Edit search : modify search
– Locate in results : search new keywords in the results
 Print, send by e-mail or download with buttons in the upper right
corner
66
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
HeinOnline
www.heinonline.org
Access with a password
Legal content
 American legislation
 British legislation and jurisprudence
 Legal journals ("law reviews")
 International law periodicals
68
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Search
 Law Journal Library
 Foreign & International Law Resources
Database
– Browse by title
– Search > Field Search
 Field search for : keywords
 Subject or [Journals] : limit to a subject or a journal
 Date : limit by date
69
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Boolean operators and wildcards
 Help in Search Tips
–
–
–
–
–
70
OR
AND
NOT
? : replace a single letter
* : replace any number of letters
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Results
 Browsing page by page
 Access to the table of contents (thumbnail
Table of Contents)
 Print and download of selected page or
article (Printer icon)
– Print Current section for the whole article
71
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD
Questions and/or remarks
???
Otherwise, let's go downstairs to visit the
Library
Questions afterwards : [email protected]
72
September 13th, 2011
International law resources at
BFD