Treaty Research with Flare

The Institute of Advanced Legal Studies has released a new treaty index, the Flare Index to Treaties (FIT). FIT is searchable by any of the following: key words from the title of the treaty; additional keywords relevant to the subject matter; the date on which the treaty was concluded; and the place where the treaty was concluded. For example, a free text search for genocide will take you to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide. When you click on the Convention, you will discover that the treaty was concluded on 9/12/1967 in New York and is published at 78 U.N.T.S. 777. There are also several links that will take you to the full text of the treaty. For more resources related to treaty research, see the Rutgers International Resources page.

War Crimes Research

A War Crimes Research Portal has been developed by the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center at Western Reserve Law School. The portal contains hundreds of links to websites related to international humanitarian law, arranged alphabetically by subject area. Each link includes a summary of the contents of each site. The portal also contains the text of over 120 research memoranda on issues pending before various international criminal courts, such as the International Criminal Court for the Former Yugoslavia. Finally, the portal provides access to a Research Guide to international humanitarian law prepared by the Case Law School Library.

Treaties in Force 2009

The recently published Treaties in Force 2009 publication by the U.S. Department of State will tell you what bilateral and multilateral treaties to which the U.S. is a party are currently in force. This annual publication is also available in print.

Treaty research can be complicated. There are plenty of research guides and databases to help with your research. You will find them on our International and Foreign Legal Resources page.

The U.S. Congressional Serial Set

The U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1980 is a full database of key publications of the United States Congress. It documents the official activities of the committees of the House and Senate, including the journals, reports and documents. The database is an especially useful source of committee reports. As of May, 2009, the database was complete for the 15th Congress through the 91st Congress, 1st session (1817-1969). To access the database go to the Indexes and Databases page of the University web site. Select the U.S. Congressional Serial Set from the alphabetical list of databases.

“Why Do We Have Law Libraries Anymore”

If that’s a question that interests you, you’ll want to check out The Twenty-First Century Law Library [pdf], in the latest issue of Law Library Journal. The article is an edited version of a discussion that took place at the celebration of the renovation and expansion of Duke University’s Goodson Law Library in November 2008. Richard Danner of Duke, Blair Kauffman of Yale, and our own John Palfrey bring their different backgrounds together for a thoughtful exploration of questions about the concept and role of the law library as it continues to evolve to meet the needs of our users.

Grading Obama Administration Transparency Efforts

The Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law has released their Report Card grading the Obama Administration’s transparency efforts at the 100 day mark. The full report is available online. At the 100 day mark, the report concludes that the Administration has made many positive strides in making government information more publicly available, but still has significant work to do to match policy efforts with rhetoric promising more openness by administration officials. In particular, the report takes a tough look at the Obama Administration’s continued use of the State Secrets Privilege, also the subject of an editorial in the New York Times (discussing a 9th Circuit Three Judge Panel Ruling).

Senator Russ Feingold (D) Wiconsin, has also issued a report entitled “Restoring the Rule of Law: A Report on the Obama Administration’s Efforts in the First 100 Days,” which also gives the President high marks for open government efforts, except in the category of “State Secrets”.

Open government advocates will continue to monitor the Administration’s transparency efforts. A good website to track government transparency efforts is maintained by Open the Government, a coalition of open government advocates.

Looking For a Nutshell

As you study for exams, remember that the library has an extensive collection of Nutshells and other study aids, such as the Examples and Explanations series and the Understanding series. You can locate these materials using the library’s catalog.

Foreign Cultural Property Legislation in English

Several U.S. museums have recently returned priceless antiquities to European nations after suspicions were raised about possible looting. Foreign and international law are relevant to these situations and there is a new resource to track down foreign laws in English. The International Foundation for Art Research is providing translations of over 25 jurisdictions. Useful links to relevant U.S. statutes and case law are also available.

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