The International Court of Justice (ICJ) identifies the sources of international law in the
Article 38 which reads:
The primary sources you will use are:
UN Audiovisual Library of International Law: Sources of International Law [Anthony D'Amato]
General principles can be determined from reliable secondary sources on foreign law. This is an exercise in comparing laws from different jurisdictions and looking for similarities.
To Find Books in UC Law SF library on a foreign law topic, try searching for Law and the country name as a subject header and a key word related to the legal issue. Examples are provided below.
Some books provide comparisons of law from different jurisdictions. This series may provide you with a collection or articles about the principles of law across multiple jurisdictions.
If you are researching a constitutional law issue:
HeinOnline Provides an excellent Finding tool for Foreign Law Articles.
To quickly find relevant primary and secondary sources on a specific legal topic in another country, use:
If the Foreign Law Guide provides the name of a law or legal resource, but does not provide a direct link, you can try searching for the publication in the UC Law SF catalog.
To quickly compare law on a particular legal issue across multiple countries, use:
Writings of Publicists refers to commentary by respected scholars and practitioners of international law. This comes in the form of articles and books.
Research Guides and Citators are useful finding tools for discovering the titles of books or articles on your topic, by prestigious international law practitioners or scholars. Once you find the name of the publication, you will need to then look for it in UC Law SF databases or in the catalog.
Some databases for finding reliable information include:
If the book you would like to use is not in the UC Law SF Catalog, you can look for it in WorldCat and then request it via ILL.