Digests of international law

Use digests to locate customary international law contained in diplomatic papers of States.

Search LawCat under the subject: law reports, digests, etc; law reports, digests, etc--[country].

United States

Cadwalader, Digest of Published Opinions of the Attorneys-General and of the Leading Decisions of the Federal Courts, with Reference to International Law, Treaties, and Kindred Subjects (Washington, DC: G.P.O., 1877). Subject guide to documentary sources (mostly quotations) taken from court cases and attorney general opinions.

Wharton, Digest of the International Law of the United States (Washington, DC: GPO, 1886). Subject guide to official statements of Pres. and Secty. of State, court decisions and attorney general opinions.

Moore, Digest of International Law (Washington, DC: GPO, 1906). Supersedes Cadwalder and Wharton; more like a treatise.

Hackworth, Digest of International Law (Washington, DC: GPO, 1940-1944). Continues 1906 ed. through 1939.

Whiteman, Digest of International Law (Washington, DC: GPO, 1963-1973). Covers 1940-1960; but topics have different coverage.

Digest of United States Practice in International Law (Washington, DC: GPO, 1973-1980; Washington, DC: International Law Institute, 2001-). Continues Whiteman. Not complete approach of predecessors; only includes calendar year material. The earlier edition was continued by Cumulative Digest of United States Practice in International Law (Washington, DC: GPO, 1981-) which covered 1981-1988. Supplemented monthly by American Journal of International Law (column: "Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law"). The new edition of the Digest began with 2000 and is supposed to be issued annually. Documents listed in the Digest are available on the State Dept.'s web site.

Murphy, United States Practice in International Law (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002-). Vol. 1 covers 1999-2001. A thorough survey of U.S. international law practice arranged by topic. It includes citations to US statutes and cases, US documents, international documents and materials.

Restatement of the Law, Third, Foreign Relations (St. Paul, MN: American Law Institute Publishers, 1987-, plus supplement). Unofficial but authoritative digest. Also available on Westlaw and LexisNexis.

Hyde, International Law Chiefly as Interpreted and Applied by the United States (2nd rev. ed. , Boston: Little, Brown, 1945).

Other States

International Law, Chiefly as Interpreted and Applied in Canada (6th ed., Toronto: Edmond Montgomery, 2000).

British Digest of International Law (London, Stevens, 1965-). Covers materials in Foreign Office archives 1860-. Not yet complete.

National Treaty Law and Practice: France, Germany, India, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom (Leigh and Blakeslee, eds., Washington, DC: American Society of International Law, 1995).

National Treaty Law and Practice: Austria, Chile, Colombia, Japan, The Netherlands, United States (Leigh and Blakeslee, eds., Washington, DC: American Society of International Law, 1999).

National Treaty Law and Practice: Canada, Egypt, Israel, Mexico, Russia, South Africa (Washington, DC: American Society of International Law, 2003).

National Treaty Law and Practice: Dedicated to the Memory of Monroe Leigh (Leiden; Boston: M. Nijhoff, 2005). Covers Austria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States).

Many countries have web sites for departments or ministries similar to the U.S. Dept. of State. For example, the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Germany's Auswärtiges Amt. Information varies from country to country.

Repertories

These are considered the digests of the practice of international organizations.

Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs (New York: United Nations, 1958-). Comprehensive summary of the decisions of UN bodies, organized by the articles of the UN Charter. Deals with the application and interpretation of the Charter. Kept up with supplements, but nothing new has been issued in quite some time. Available on the UN's web site.

Repertoire of the Practice of the Security Council (New York: United Nations, 1946-). The "ways and means for making the evidence of customary international law readily available." It is an analytical record of the practice of the Security Council. Kept up with supplements. Also available on the UN web site from 1946-2003.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1073