This section will highlight a few starting points for researching the complex mix of treaties, reports, caselaw, and other documents important to international human rights law.
Many international human rights documents and decisions are primarily governed by the bodies of the United Nations. For more information on the United Nations, please use the United Nations tab above.
Electronic Information System for International Law (EISIL) – International Human Rights: This section of EISIL highlights important instruments and web resources for researching various topics within human rights as well as the different regional systems.
University of Minnesota Human Rights Library: The University of Minnesota Human Rights Library houses one of the largest collections of more than sixty thousand core human rights documents, including several hundred human rights treaties. The site also provides access to more than four thousands links and a unique search device for multiple human rights sites.
Multilaterals Project – Human Rights: Contains a variety of full-text treaties, including many United Nations instruments.
Human Rights Documents Online: Serves as an unofficial depository for over 350 non-governmental human rights organizations worldwide. Coverage is 1980-2003.
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR): The ECHR is the result of the European Convention on Human Rights and is administered through the Council of Europe. The ECHR is separate and distinct from the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Cases from 1960-present are available on Westlaw, LexisNexis, and for free on the Court's website.
Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR): Created in 1979 under the umbrella of the Organization of American States (OAS), the Courts objective is the application and interpretation of the American Convention on Human Rights. Cases from 1979-present are available on the Court's website.
International Criminal Court (ICC): The ICC is an independent, permanent court established by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The ICC tries persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY): Cases from 1996-present available on Westlaw and for free on the Tribunal's website.
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR): Cases from 1995-present available on Westlaw and for free on the Tribunal's website.
INTERIGHTS' Commonwealth and International Human Rights Case Law Database Service: Database of Commonwealth courts and tribunals such as the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
The Project on International Courts and Tribunals: Full-text of selected cases from various international courts and tribunals including the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
