UN International Law Documentation

International law is a primary concern of the United Nations. The third preambular paragraph of the UN Charter states as a key goal of the organization "to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained". The Statute of the International Court of Justice is an integral part of the Charter, and the ICJ is a principal organ of the UN.

International law is a complex and specialized field. This guide provides an introduction to the key documentation of the UN.

The UN Juridical Yearbook provides an overview of the legal activities of the organization during the year.

Some subject terms which might prove useful in conducting a search are:

• environmental law
• international criminal courts
• international trade law
• judicial system
• law of the sea
• law of treaties
• space law
• war crimes

Additional descriptors may be identified through the UNBIS Thesaurus.

Proper names may also be used for subject searches:

• Conference on the Law of Treaties between States and International Organizations or between International Organizations
• Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses

The Peace Palace Library is not a UN body.  It provides excellent research guides on a variety of international law topics.

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the UN. 

The Court’s role is to:

• settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted by States
• give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized UN organs and specialized agencies.

The General Assembly is involved with international law at many levels. Many subsidiary bodies of the General Assembly consider specific areas of international law and report to the plenary. Most legal matters are referred the Sixth Committee, which then reports to the plenary.  The International Law Commission and the UN Commission on International Trade Law report to the General Assembly.

The General Assembly also considers topics related to the institutional law of the United Nations, such as the adoption of the Staff Regulations and the establishment of the system of internal justice.

The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.

Some of its actions have international law implications, such as those that relate to peacekeeping missions, ad hoc tribunals, and sanctions. The binding nature of resolutions adopted under Chapter VII of the Charter is particularly relevant in researching this topic.

In accordance with Article 13(b) of the Rome Statute, the Security Council can refer certain situations to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), if it appears international crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, the crime of aggression) have been committed.

The UN has been involved with several tribunals established to bring justice to victims of international crimes. The Security Council established two ad hoc criminal tribunals, the ICTY and the ICTR. The UN has also been involved in various ways with the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), and others. Though the UN continues to be actively engaged in transitional justice and rule of law matters, the ICC is mandated to be a permanent international criminal court, fulfilling the role of these ad hoc criminal tribunals. There are many secondary sources of information that can support research on various aspects of the work of the tribunals.

International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (UNMICT)

The ICTR completed its work on 31 December 2015 and the work of the ICTY will soon be completed, however some tasks, including archiving of the case materials, will be carried out by a new body, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.  This body calls itself the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (UNMICT).

• UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals website
• Established by Security Council resolution 1966 (2010)
• Located in Arusha and The Hague
• Reports to the Security Council 

Because this is a new body, and the Tribunals are still completing their work, it is not yet clear how much of the ICTY and ICTR website functions will be carried out by the Residual Mechanism.

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)

Formal name: International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991.

• International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia website
• Established by Security Council resolution 827 (1993) of 25 May 1993
• Located in The Hague, The Netherlands

Basic Documents

• The Documents portion of the ICTY website contains links to all basic documents as well as judgements
• Statute of the Tribunal
  • Original version annexed to document S/25704 + Corr.1
  • Amended by various Security Council resolutions over the years
  • Current version of the Statute, as well as previous versions, is posted on the Tribunal's website
• Rules of Procedure and Evidence

Reports and Publications

• Annual Reports to General Assembly and Security Council 
• The Yearbook provides information about the work, members (with biographies), jurisdiction, organization, functioning and activities of the Tribunal in a given year
  • Includes a bibliography of publications relating to the Tribunal released during the reporting period
• The Judicial Reports reprint all public indictments as well as the decisions and judgements 

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)

Formal name: International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such Violations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States between 1 January and 31 December 1994.

• International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda legacy website
• Established by Security Council resolution 955 (1994) of 8 November 1994
• Located in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania
• Closed on 31 December 2015

Basic Documents

• Statute
  • Current version available from the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals website
  • Original annexed to Security Council resolution 955 (1994)
  • Amended by several subsequent Security Council resolutions
• Rules of Procedure and Evidence

Reports and Publications

• Annual reports to General Assembly and Security Council
• Detailed information about cases is available on the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals website

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an independent judicial body that may exercise jurisdiction over persons charged with genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.  

• Located in The Hague, The Netherlands
• Governed by the Rome Statute (A/CONF.183/9)
  • adopted by the UN Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court on 17 July 1998
  • entered into force on 1 July 2002
  • current status available in UN Treaty Collection

The ICC is not part of the UN

• The Court was established by the Rome Statute. This treaty was negotiated within the UN; it created an independent judicial body distinct from the UN.
• The Rome Statute was the outcome of a long process of consideration of the question of international criminal law within the UN.
  • See the International Law Commission's Analytical Guide, International Criminal Law section, for a introduction to some of the UN's work on this topic. In particular, the Summary of Work of the ILC: Draft code of crimes against peace and security of mankind (Part II) summarizes the studies and the work done by the ILC that led to the creation of the Rome Statute
  • The UN Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court adopted the Statute.

Relationship with the UN

• Article 2 of the Statute provides for the ICC's relationship with the UN.
• The UN-ICC Relationship Agreement governs the cooperation between the two organizations
• General Assembly resolution 58/318 approved the Relationship Agreement between the UN and the ICC, found in document A/58/874 + Add.1.
• The UN Secretary-General reports regularly on:
  • "Information relevant to the implementation of article 3 of the Relationship Agreement between the United Nations and the International Criminal Court"
  • "Expenses incurred and reimbursement received by the United Nations in connection with assistance provided to the International Criminal Court"
• The UN Security Council can refer certain situations to the Prosecutor of the ICC, in accordance with Article 13(b) of the Rome Statute and Chapter VII of the UN Charter
  • To research this topic, use the Repertoire of Practice of the Security Council, ICC situations will be found under Chapter VII
• The annual "Report of the International Criminal Court" is transmitted to the General Assembly by a note of the Secretary-General, accordance with article 6 of the Relationship agreement

Websites & Databases

Publications

Arabic: وثائق الأمم المتحدة: القانون الدولي

English: UN International Law Documentation

French: Documents de l’ONU : Droit international

Spanish: Documentación de la ONU : Derecho Internacional