​International Case Law

International Case Law

Along with treaties, international cases are some of the most important documents of international law. The primary source of international cases is the International Court of Justice, a part of the United Nations. Other sources of important international case law include the European Court of Justice, and European Court of Human Rights. Example: Oil Platforms (Iran v. U.S.), 2003 I.C.J. 161.

  • International Court of Justice (ICJ), decides cases of international law between separate countries and it issues advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by the UN: Cases from 1947-present available for free from the ICJ website.
    Located: LRC Reading Room KZ214 .R43
  • European Court of Justice (ECJ), decides cases arising from EU law including, but not limited to, disputes about interpretation and application of treaties and/or failure to implement EU legislation: Cases from 1954-present available for free from EUR-Lex.
    Located: LRC Reading Room KJE924.5 .R471
  • European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), is the result of the European Convention on Human Rights and is administered through the Council of Europe. The ECHR is separate and distinct from the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Cases from 1960-present are available for free on the Court's website.
    Located: LRC Reading Room KJC5132.A52 E88

Westlaw and Lexis

Both Westlaw and Lexis contain the full run of cases from the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Justice, and the European Court of Human Rights. Westlaw contains additional cases for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).