Resources Secondary

Note & disclaimer: The list of sources on this page is intended to serve as initial guidance for students conducting research in the broader international law domain. The overview is not intended to be exhaustive. A number of collections included in the list can be accessed only within Ghent University and/or only with a proper subscription. This page is reviewed on a periodic basis, also to ensure that links remain up-to-date. Suggestions for additions to the overview can at all times be sent to the GRILI contact persons.  Note that proper legal research cannot rest exclusively on an analysis of secondary sources, but should first and foremost be firmly grounded in an appropriate study of relevant primary sources.

a. Highlights

Peace Palace Library

  • Peace Palace Catalogue: Online catalogue of the broadest collection of books and journals in the broader international law domain. Useful search engine to identify relevant books, book chapters and journal articles, offering an excellent starting point for research 
  • See also the ‘research guides’ published by the peace palace library staff for useful overviews of key books/articles/materials on the main topics of international law:

Ghent University library catalogue

Max Planck Encyclopaedia of Public International Law

  • The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (MPEPIL) is a comprehensive online resource containing peer-reviewed articles on every aspect of public international law. Written and edited by an incomparable team of over 800 scholars and practitioners, published in partnership with the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, and updated throughout the year, this major reference work is essential for anyone researching or teaching international law.
  • Hard copy in Ghent University library (RBIB)

Oxford Bibliographies – international law

  • Useful bibliographies of selected subjects of international law (e.g., climate change, immunities, neutrality,…)

American society of international law ELectronic Research Guide (ERG)

  • designed to be used by students, teachers, practitioners, and researchers as a self-guided tour of relevant, quality, up-to-date online resources covering important areas of international law

Oxford Scholarly Authorities on International Law (OSAIL)

  • Collection of over 70 leading international law works published by Oxford University Press:

Collected Courses of the Hague Academy of International Law

  • Collection of contributions by renowned authors dealing with a variety of international law topics
  • Hard copies in Ghent University library (RBIB) 

United Nations Audio-visual Library of International Law

  • Contains historic archives, a series of lectures by distinguished experts and scholars, an extensive online library of international law materials in various international law fields as well as many useful links.

Institut de Droit International

  • Access to the resolutions and declarations adopted by the Institut de Droit International since 1873
  • The webpage also provides access to the most recent versions (post 2007) of the Annuaire de l’Institut de droit international. Older versions can be consulted in hard copy in the library of Ghent University (RBIB) or via Gallica

International Law Association

  • Access to the conference and committee reports of the ILA

b. Databases

Ghent University Databases

Google Scholar

Freely-accessible web search engine by Google that indexes the full-text of scholarly literature across a very wide array of publishing formats and disciplines.

CAIRN/Persée

For French-speaking journals

Europeana

Older works in fulltext, complementary to Google Books, linked to the major European research institutions.

SSRN:

Social Sciences Research Network.

c. Journals/Yearbooks

Selection of key general international law journals & yearbooks:

  • American Journal of International Law
  • Annuaire français de droit international
  • Archiv des Völkerrechts
  • Asian Journal of International Law
  • Australian Yearbook of International Law
  • Austrian journal of public and international law/Zeitschrift für öffentliches Recht
  • British Yearbook of International Law
  • Cambridge Journal of International and Comparative Law
  • Canadian Yearbook of International Law/Annuaire canadien de droit international
  • Chicago Journal of International Law
  • Chinese Journal of International Law
  • Columbia Journal of Transnational Law
  • Cornell International Law Journal
  • European Journal of International Law
  • Finnish Yearbook of International Law
  • Fordham International Law Journal
  • Georgetown Journal of international law
  • German Yearbook of International Law
  • Goettingen Journal of International Law
  • Hague Yearbook of International Law
  • Harvard International Law Journal
  • Indian Journal of International Law
  • International and Comparative Law Quarterly
  • International community law review
  • Israel Law Review
  • Italian Yearbook of International Law
  • Journal de droit international
  • Leiden Journal of International Law
  • London Review of International Law
  • Melbourne Journal of International Law
  • Michigan Journal of International law
  • Netherlands International Law Review
  • Netherlands Yearbook of International Law
  • New York University Journal of International Law and Politics
  • Nordic Journal of International Law
  • Recueil des Cours de l’Académie de droit international de la Haye
  • Revista española de derecho internacional
  • Revue belge de droit international/Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Internationaal Recht
  • Revue de droit international et de droit comparé
  • Revue générale de droit international public
  • Stanford Journal of International Law
  • South African Yearbook of International Law
  • Texas International Law Journal
  • University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law
  • Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
  • Virginia Journal of International Law
  • Yale Journal of International Law
  • Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht/Heidelberg Journal of International Law

Law of Armed Conflict/Use of Force & collective Security/International Criminal Law (selection):

  • International Criminal Law Review
  • International Law Studies – US Naval War College
  • International Journal of Transitional Justice
  • International Review of the Red Cross
  • Journal of Conflict and Security Law
  • Journal of International Criminal Justice
  • Journal on the Use of Force and International Law
  • Military Law Review
  • Revue de droit militaire et de droit de la guerre/Military Law and the Law of War Review
  • Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law

Human Rights Law (selection):

  • Asia-Pacific Journal of Human Rights Law
  • Columbia Human Rights Law Review
  • Europäische Grundrechte-Zeitschrift
  • European Human Rights Law Review
  • Harvard Human Rights Journal
  • Human Rights & International Legal Discourse
  • Human Rights Journal / Journal des Droits de l’homme
  • Human Rights Law Review
  • Human Rights Quarterly
  • Human Rights & International Legal Discourse
  • Inter-American Yearbook on Human Rights
  • International Journal of Human Rights
  • Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights
  • NJCM-Bulletin. Nederlands Tijdschrift voor de Mensenrechten
  • Revue trimestrielle des droits de l’homme

Law of the Sea/Air and space law (selection):

  • Air and Space Law
  • Annals of Air and Space Law
  • Annuaire de droit maritime et océanique
  • International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law
  • Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce
  • Journal of Space Law
  • Marine Policy
  • Ocean Development and International Law
  • Revue française de droit aérien et spatial
  • Zeitschrift für Luft- und Weltraumrecht
  • Yearbook of Polar Law

International Economic Law (selection):

  • ICSID Review: Foreign Investment Law Journal
  • International Financial Law Review
  • International Trade Law and Regulation
  • Journal of International Economic Law
  • Revue international de droit économique
  • World Trade Review

International Environmental Law (selection):

  • Carbon & climate law review
  • Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy
  • Columbia Journal of Environmental Law
  • Environmental Policy and Law
  • European Environmental Law Review
  • Georgetown International Environmental Law Review
  • International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics
  • Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law
  • Journal of Environmental Law
  • Journal of European Environmental and Planning Law
  • Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy
  • Transnational Environmental Law
  • Yearbook of International Environmental Law

Other law journals in specific domains (not covering e.g. European law):

  • Constitutional Law
    • International Journal of Constitutional Law
  • Dispute settlement
    • Journal of International Dispute Settlement
    • The Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals
  • History of international law/legal history
    • Journal of the History of International Law/Revue d’histoire du droit international
    • Jus Gentium: Journal of International Legal History
    • Law and History Review
    • Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis/Revue d’histoire du droit/The Legal History Review
  • Law & Economics
    • Journal of international law and economics
  • Law of international organizations
    • International Organizations Law Review
    • Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law
  • Refugee law:
    • ​International Journal of Refugee Law
  • Specific regions
    • Journal of African Law
    • Journal of East Asia and International Law

Specific journals – political sciences/international relations theory (selection):

  • Foreign Affairs
  • International Affairs
  • Internationale Spectator
  • International Peacekeeping
  • Studia Diplomatica

d. Blogs & related

Blogs may offer a useful tool to keep track of recent developments in case-law and in international relations. Most provide for e-mail alerts users may subscribe to. It must be noted, however, that blog reports and similar ‘insights’ generally do not offer in-depth legal analysis. It is obvious that for research purposes, reliance on blogs cannot replace a proper study of legal doctrine and primary sources.

e. News archives/reports

When using news articles in the context of legal research, try to rely on those sources that are most credible/reliable (e.g., Reuters, Agence France Presse, Associated Press, BBC News, New York Times, Al Jazeera,…).

A very useful source is the Keesing’s World News Archive.

For developments at the UN level, one can consult the UN News Centre.