Libraries

International Law

Charter of the United Nations (UN)

The complete text.

Constitution Finder

This database from the University of Richmond provides links to constitutions of foreign countries as well as their drafts and previous incarnations.

EISIL: Electronic Information System for International Law

This site from the American Society of International Law provides information in a variety of legal categories

NATLEX

This database from the International Labour Organization contains law and legislation concerning national labour, social security and related human rights - covering 190 countries. Browseable and searchable.

World Legal Information Institute

This free, non-profit site provides access to legal databases from over 100 countries. Much of it is not in English.

Foreign Claims Settlement Commission

This agency within the Justice Department adjudicates claims of U.S. Nationals against foreign governments pursuant to international claims agreements.

Country Specific Information about Adoption

This website from the State Department lists adoption requirements by country.

European Union Law

EUR-Lex (Europa)

Free access to European Union law, including regulations, decisions, directives, treaties, case law and legislation.

SCADPlus (Europa)

Summaries of EU legislation organized by topic.

Legislative Observatory of the European Parliament

Use this site to follow legislation. Organized by topic. Registration required for the Observatory Tracker.

European Union Internet Resources (UC Berkeley)

This is a great guide to the EU and it's online documents.

CURIA

Access European case law (1997 forward) from the Court of Justice, Court of First Instance or Civil Service Tribunal.

European Union Documents

Find documents for individual EU Institutions, such as the European Commission, the European Council, the European Parliament, and the European Central Bank, as well as documents from the European Union Courts.

European Commission Codecision

This website details the Codecision Procedure (the central legislative procedure of the European Community) outlined in Article 251 of the EC Treaty concerning the roles played by the three institutions (Commission, Council and Parliament) as well as offers Codecision dossiers both under consideration and completed.

Image of a gavel with a satellite image of Earth in the background
What is International Law?

International law is governed by many associations, treaties, and agreements. It is subdivided into public international law and private international law. Public international law concerns state to state relations (e.g.: extradition treaties, foreign aid). While private international law governs the foreign transactions of individuals and corporations (e.g.: trade).

There is no enforcement agent for international law. Taking that place are sanctions and hostilities. The fear of either or both is a somewhat reliable alternative to an international enforcement body.