ICJ and PCIJ Research Guide
Official Publications of the ICJ
- Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions, & Orders: Advisory opinions and orders of the Court are printed chronologically and each issue volume has indexes and a table of contents. The original is printed on the left-hand page and the translation is on the right-hand page. Both pages carry the same number, but on the top outside corner you will find the running number of the annual volume (which you should cite) and on the bottom outside corner, the page number in the fascicle. ILS RR JX 197 1.6 .A244 and ILS JX 1971.6 .A244
- Pleadings, Oral Arguments, & Documents: This publication contains the documents instituting the proceedings, the written proceedings, the oral proceedings, documents filed after the closure of the written proceedings, and correspondence relating to the case. Occasionally, documentary annexes are omitted. ILS JX 1971.6 .A242x
- Communiqué: Press releases which often print summaries of proceedings. This is also a good means to keep up-to-date with the ICJ. ILS JX 1971.6 .A16 Current issues in ILS RR.
- Bibliography of the ICJ: Annual bibliography by subject and decision. Each issue contains a cumulative author/subject index for all issues published since the last cumulation. So far, two cumulations have been published covering 1946-1964 and 1965-1980. United Nations materials related to the court are also covered. ILS RR JX 1971.6 .Z99
- ICJ Yearbook: Contains biographies of judges, discussions of cases before the Court, list of cases decided in the PCIJ and ICJ. Information on discussions of the ICJ in the UN is also given. ILS RR JX 1971.6 .A25
- Annual Report to the UN General Assembly : Appears in the Official Records of the General Assembly as Supplement No. 4. This is an abridged version of the ICJ Yearbook. ILS 182B 1602. Current issues at ILS Reference Desk.
- Basic Documents About the Court: Contains basic documents on the Court including rules of the Court, the Charter, and the Statute. ILS JX 1971.6 .A26
Unofficial Reporters of the ICJ
- International Legal Materials, ILS RR JX 68.I5, or the Journal du Droit International (in French and sometimes referred to as Clunet) ILS RR K 10.O72: these periodicals publish decision much more quickly than they appear in the official sources; however, only selected decisions are published.
- International Law Reports: ILR has indexes and tables of cases and provides reports of cases from 1950. ILS RR JX 68 .A65 It continues the Annual Digest and Reports of Public International Law Cases
- Annual Digest and Reports of Public International Law Cases: Provides full coverage of early cases, from 1919 through approximately 1949. ILS RR JX 68 .A65. It is continued by International Law Reports
On-line and WWW Sources for the ICJ
On-line Sources
- Westlaw: ICJ decisions are in the INT-ICJ database, with coverage beginning in 1947. The database includes the published Report of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders, as well as new documents as they are released, prior to publication in paper form. Westlaw features available include star paging to the official ICJ publication (when available), FIND command for retrieving cases with a citation, Westlaw in Natural (WIN, natural language searching), and Keycite for verification of citations. In the ILM database, selected decisions as published by International Legal Materials can be found, with coverage beginning in 1980.
- Lexis: Provides coverage of International Legal Materials from 1980 forward in its INTLAW library, ILM file.
World Wide Web Sources
- The Official ICJ Homepage
(http://www.icj-cij.org):
This site offers a choice of language, English or French, and provides access to recent press communiqués, important basic documents related to the I CJ, the current court docket and composition. All contentious cases and advisory opinions referred to the courts since 1946 are available full-text. They are presented in reverse chronological order and also in alphabetical order by country.
- Cornell Law School ICJ Page
(http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/cijwww/):
This is a mirror site of the ICJ Official Homepage listed above.
Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) 1922-1940
Official Publications of the PCIJ
The official PCIJ publications are issued in series, as follows:
| Series A: | Collection of Judgments (1922-1930) |
| Series B: | Collection of Advisory Opinions (1922-1930) |
| Series A/B: | Judgments, Orders and Advisory Opinions (1931-1940)--combines both Series A and B |
| Series C: | Acts and Documents Relating to Judgments and Advisory Opinions Given by the Court (1922-1930); Pleadings, Oral Statements, and Decisions (1931-1940) |
| Series D-F: | Basic Documents, Annual Reports, and Indexes |
At ILS, the PCIJ Series can be found as follows:
- Series A, Series B, Series A/B are at ILS RR JX 1971.5 .A6
- Series A through Series F are on Microfilm:
Mic JX 1971.5 .P47x (Drawer 352). A bound guide to the microfilm is in: ILS RR JX 1971.5 .P47x and Mic Ref JX 1971.5 .P47x
Unofficial PCIJ Reporters
- World Court Reports: A Collection of the Judgments, Orders, and Opinions of the Permanent Court of International Justice (1922-1942). ILS RR JX 1971.5 .A63
- Annual Digest and Reports of Public International Law Cases
Covers all PCIJ cases (1919-1949). ILS RR JX 68 .A65
On-line and WWW Sources for the PCIJ
- On-line Sources: Neither Westlaw nor Lexis covers PCIJ decisions, documents or publications.
- World Wide Web Sources: The Official ICJ Homepage provides a link to Articles 36P37 on which the statue of the ICJ was built. Also watch http://www.worldcourts.com which provides the history, judges list, jurisdiction, procedures, and conventions of the court. Full-text judgments are slowly being added.
Digests for ICJ and PCIJ
- Digest of the Decisions of the International Court of Justice
Provides summaries of decisions. Volume 1 covers the PCIJ; Volume 2, parts 1 and 2, covers the ICJ.
ILS RR JX 1971.5 .P647 x 1931 T.1, T.3 and T.4 - Case Law of the International Court
Excerpts of decisions with topical arrangement.
ILS RR JX 1971.5 .A615 v.1 - Commentaries on World Court Decisions (1987-1996). Peter H.F. Bekker, ed. (The Hague; Boston: Nijhoff, 1998): ILS KZ213. C66 1998
- Jurisprudence of the World Court: A Case by Case Commentary by J. Verzijl. Volume 1 covers the PCIJ; Volume 2 covers the ICJ through 1965. ILS 143A 11965
Specialized Collections
- Cases on the Law of the Sea ILS JX 4408 .C36
A four volume set, published between 1976 and 1984. - European Commercial Cases ILS RR KJC 2044.3 .E97
This quarterly publication began in 1978 and continues currently. - International Labour Law Reports ILS RR K 1704.23 .I58 An annual begun in 1978, covering through the present.
Basic Treatises
- Procedure in the International Court. by Shabtai Rosenne (Nijhoff, 1983): ILS RR JX 1971.6 .R626 1983 This publication contains a commentary on the 1978 Rules. Also, the Statute, Rules of the Court, and the UN Charter are fully indexed.
- The Law and Practice of the International Court. by Shabtai Rosenne (Nijhoff, 1997): ILS RR KZ 6275. R67 1997: Thorough view of the Court including history, organization, jurisdiction, contentious practice and procedure, and advisory practice and procedure. There is also a concordance of the 1978, 1972, 1936/1947, and 1922/1926/1931 Rules of the Court.
- The World Court: What It Is and How It Works. Shabtai Rosenne (Nijhoff, 1989): ILS RR JX 1971.6 .R64 1995 In addition to an introduction to the Court, this useful work contains the Rules, the Statute, a list of parties to the Statute, judicial statistics, and the composition of the Court from 1922-1988.
- The International Court of Justice: Process, Practice and Procedure. D. W. Bowett and others; (London: B.I.I.C.L., 1997): ILS KZ 6275. I59x 1997
- Germain's
International Court of Justice Research Guide (http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/Finding_the_Law/Guides_by_Topic/icj.htm):
An extensive guide to the ICJ with an annotated bibliography including monographs and articles.