Oxford LibGuides: International law courts, cases & commentary: International law in domestic courts (ILDC)

International Law in Domestic Courts

Finding case law
Related commentary

Multi-jurisdictional collections of key decisions in domestic courts applying international law with unofficial English translations or summaries:

International Law Reports (ILR)
Part of the vLex subscription. Requires Oxford SSO for remote access. International courts, & domestic courts applying international law. (English translations of the latter provided when appropriate)

Oxford Reports on International Law
Includes collection called International Law in Domestic Courts (ILDC) which gathers reports of domestic courts applying international law from over 70 jurisdictions, providing (unofficial) English translations.
Alternative name: oril

Decisions from a number of international courts and tribunals including the International Court of Justice and Permanent Court of International Justice, International Criminal Court, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Nuremberg International Military Tribunal, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the UN Committee against Torture, the UN Human Rights Committee, European Court of Human Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. In addition the "International Law in Domestic Courts" section includes decisions from domestic courts relating to international law from 60 jurisdictions.
Westlaw US
Includes American Law Reports (ALR) "analyzes relevant U.S. and foreign cases from English- and non-English-speaking countries on specific legal issues of international import."
Westlaw US is a large legal database with both primary and secondary sources. Legal research tools include the KeyCite citator, and West Key number system for case law.
Coverage:
US federal and state legislation
US federal and state law reports
US law reviews and journals
US federal and state legal encyclopedias and dictionaries
US legal texts and treatises
US Restatements & Principles of the Law
Because of licencing restrictions this database is not available to "Walk-in" users of the library.

Other international law serial publications keep their eyes open for interesting developments from around the world - in some cases helpfully supplying English translations or summaries of what was decided. Key ones below. Also check to see if there is a yearbook of international law for the jurisdiction(s) you are researching.

International Legal Materials (ILM)
Requires Oxford SSO for remote access. ILM can be first print journal to pick up new treaties, recent judgments etc as well as providing articles. HeinOnline + JSTOR current combined have full run. Or see More for other provides of parts of ILM
more...less...
LexisLibrary has both a library of texts of treaties & agreements drawn from I.L.M. (1975 to "date" ie within 2 weeks of publication of latest issue of ILM.) & full run of journal. For full journal from home page, click on Sources tab. Change UK to International. Click the letter I. Select & ok International Legal Materials. In the search box if you want to search by citation, you need to include the full stops in the abbreviation eg 42 I.L.M. 2. (The use of " " around the citation is optional) If you just want a treaty text: on initial Source page - change UK to International - then put ILM in the Find a source box to right.
British Yearbook of International Law (BYIL)
Requires Oxford SSO for remote access. Be careful to check the coverage of the various suppliers before clicking - eg only the Oxford University Press will have most recent issues.

International Law in Domestic Courts: A Casebook by Edda Kristjansdottir (Editor); André Nollkaemper (Editor); Ralph Janik (Editor); August Reinisch (Editor); Florentina Simlinger (Editor)
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link.
ISBN: 9780198739753
Publication Date: 2019
Print copy is at Internat 500 N796.5c
Interpretation of International Law by Domestic Courts: uniformity, diversity, convergence by Helmut Philipp Aust (Editor); Georg Nolte (Editor)
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link.
ISBN: 0198738927
Publication Date: 2016
Print copy is at Private Int 510 A932.7a
The Engagement of Domestic Courts with International Law by Yuval Shany; Antonios Tzanakopoulos; Eleni Methymaki (Editor); André Nollkaemper
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link
ISBN: 9780192864185
Publication Date: 2024

Commentary available to all with access to the internet

National Courts, Domestic Democracy, and the Evolution of International Law: A summary in the context of our current research
Open Access. EJIL: Talk! 2009 by Eyal Benvenisti & George Downs
Three Cheers for the Application of International Law by Domestic Courts! Or should that be two? A response to Benvenisti & Downs.
Free resource. EJIL Talk! 2009 from Dapo Akande
EJILTalk!: International Law and Domestic Law subject collection
Blog related to the European Journal of International law

Guides to fuller collections of domestic court decisions

Case law: online resources for common law countries
by Elizabeth Wells Last Updated Jan 10, 2025 405 views this year

Bodleian Law Library guides to jurisdictions
The Law Bod's guides to both online and print resources for national constitutions, legislation, and case law as well as commentary on the legal systems and their law in books and journals