International Law Basics

According to the Restatement of the Law Third, Foreign Relations of the United State, Sec. 102(2) (1987), customary international law results from a general and consistent practice of states followed by them from a sense of legal obligation."  

Additionally, the Statute of the International Court of Justice identifies sources of international law in Article 38 as:

• International conventions (Treaties)
• International Custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law
• General principles of law recognized by civilized nations
• Judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law (Scholarly works)

Evidence of customary rules of international law may be found in treaties, national law, international and national jurisprudence, and scholarly writings. Other sources include the practices of individual states, widely ratified treaties as evidence of the customs and practices of states, and long-established trade practices.

Resources for Customary International Law include: 

State Practice: National and Domestic Law

• ICRC Customary International Humanitarian Law database has rules of customary IHL and national practice for the rules of customary IHL.
• Sources of State Practice in International Law, 2d ed, KZ 64 .S67 2014. Chapters by country describing treaty practice and listing treaty collections and sources.
• Northwestern University Library Research Guide: List of Foreign Governments: Includes links to ministries of foreign affairs, defense, as well as central banks and legislatures
• Foreign Law Guide database: Guide to government and legal systems of other countries, along with citations (and some links) to statutes by subject
• Law Library of Congress: Guide to Law Online: Nations of the World: Links to government sites and resources

State Practice: United States

• Restatement of the Law, Third, Foreign Relations Law of the United States discusses US practice and policy on foreign relations law and includes statements on customary international law. Available on Range 306 in the MacMillan Law Library and online through Hein Online ALI Library and Westlaw.
• Foreign Relations of the United States: Official documentary historical record of major US foreign policy decisions and diplomatic activity. Available on the State Department website and Hein Online. 
• Digest of United States Practice in International Law: Annual publication of the views and practice of the government of the United States in public and private international law. Available on the State Department website and Hein Online. 

Scholarly Writings

• Treatises and journal articles on international law include citable statements of custom and practice, especially international law classics and noted authors:
  • Hein Online Recueil des cour: Collected Courses of the Hague Academy of International Law
  • Hein Online Legal Classics Library: Browse or search by subject in International Law and International Relations
  • Hein Online Foreign and International Law Resources Library: See International Yearbooks and Periodicals
• Find major international law treatises in this guide under Secondary Sources

Research Guides and Tutorials for finding information on Customary International Law include:

• NYU Globalex: Researching Customary International Law, State Practice and the Pronouncements of States Regarding International Law
• Peace Palace Library: Customary International Law
• Duke Law Library Tutorial: Customary International Law
• CALI Lessons: Customary International Law

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