The United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law is a free online

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

research and training tool. It was created and is maintained by the Codification Division of the

United Nations Office of Legal Affairs The United Nations Office of Legal Affairs is a United Nations office currently administered by Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel of the United Nations Miguel de Serpa Soares. History Established in 1946, the United ...

as a part of its mandate under the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law.

Background

The United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law was established in 2008 under the United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law as a tool for promoting knowledge of international law.

Faculty

Over 240 international law experts from different regions,

legal systems The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history and ...

and sectors of the

legal profession Legal profession is a profession in which legal professionals study, develop and apply law. Usually, there is a requirement for someone choosing a career in law to first obtain a law degree or some other form of legal education. It is difficult to ...

have recorded

lectures A lecture (from Latin ''lēctūra'' “reading” ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical inform ...

for the Lecture Series, prepared introductory notes for the Historic Archives and contributed their scholarly writings to the Research Library. Notable faculty members as of 1 July 2016: * Abi-Saab, Georges * Abraham, Ronny * Al-Khasawneh, Awn S. * Annan, Kofi A. * Bassiouni, M. Cherif * Bennouna, Mohamed * Brilmayer, Lea * Buergenthal, Thomas * Cançado Trindade, Antônio Augusto * Cassese, Antonio * Caron, David * Charlesworth, Hilary * Corell, Hans * Couvreur, Philippe * Crane, David M. * Crawford, James * Donoghue, Joan E. * Dugard, John * Ferencz, Benjamin B. * Gaillard, Emmanuel * Gaja, Giorgio * Goldstone, Richard * Goodwin-Gill, Guy S. * Greenwood, Christopher * Heyns, Christof * Higgins, Rosalyn * Hossain, Kamal * Jallow, Hassan Bubacar * Kälin, Walter * Keith, Kenneth * Kingsbury, Benedict * Klabbers, Jan * Koh, Harold Hongju * Koh, Tommy * Laborde, Santiago Oñate * Lacarte Muró, Julio * Lamy, Pascal * Lauterpacht, Elihu * Mautner, Menachem * Mayr-Harting, Thomas * McDougal, Myres S. * McWhinney, Edward * Meron, Theodor * Michel, Nicolas * Momtaz, Djamchid * Odio Benito, Elizabeth * Owada, Hisashi * Palmer, Geoffrey * Paulsson, Jan * Pellet, Alain * Perera, Rohan A. * Pocar, Fausto * Rodley, Nigel * Robinson, Patrick * Rozakis, Christos * Sarooshi, Dan * Schabas, William A. * Scharf, Michael * Schwebel, Stephen M. * Sepúlveda Amor, Bernardo * Shaw, Malcolm * Shi, Jiuyong * Simma, Bruno * Simpson, Gerry * Song, Sang Hyun * Tladi, Dire * Tomka, Peter * Tomuschat, Christian * Tuerk, Helmut * Urquhart, Brian * van Boven, Theo * van den Berg, Albert Jan * van Zyl, Paul * Vasciannie, Stephen C. * Vincent, Robin * Wedgwood, Ruth * Wiessner, Siegfried * Wilmshurst, Elizabeth * Wolfrum, Rüdiger * Wood, Michael * Woolcott, Peter * Xue, Hanqin * Yusuf, Abdulqawi A.

Description and contents

The Audiovisual Library is divided into three sections: the Historic Archives, the Lecture Series and the Research Library. While the Library's main language is

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, many lectures are in other languages (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

, Chinese,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Russian and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

) and all entries in the Historic Archives are translated into the six

official languages of the United Nations The Official Languages of the United Nations are the six languages that are used in UN meetings and in which all official UN documents are written. In the six languages, four are the official language or national language of permanent members ...

Historic archives

The Historic Archives provides detailed information on the negotiation process and significance of major international legal instruments. Each entry is accompanied by an introductory note prepared by an internationally recognized legal expert, a summary of the instrument's procedural history that led to its adoption and a list of all relevant preparatory documents. In some cases, audiovisual materials, including film footage, audio recordings and photos, of the negotiations are also available. The Historic Archives covers the following overarching subject areas: *

Criminal Law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law ...

Decolonization Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on separatism, in ...

* Diplomatic and Consular Relations *

Disarmament Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such a ...

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

and

Culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

Environmental law Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental Legal doctrine, legal principles, focu ...

Health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organ ...

Human Rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

International Economic Law International economic law is an increasingly seminal field of international law that involves the regulation and conduct of states, international organizations, and private firms operating in the international economic arena. As such, internationa ...

International Humanitarian Law International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict, is the law that regulates the conduct of war ('' jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by pr ...

International Organization An international organization or international organisation (see spelling differences), also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states a ...

s * Law of

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such ...

* Law of Outer Space * Law of the Sea * Law of

Treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

Peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

and

Security" \n\n\nsecurity.txt is a proposed standard for websites' security information that is meant to allow security researchers to easily report security vulnerabilities. The standard prescribes a text file called \"security.txt\" in the well known locat ...

Refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

and

Stateless Persons In international law, a stateless person is someone who is "not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law". Some stateless people are also refugees. However, not all refugees are stateless, and many people who are st ...

Succession of States Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th- ...

Lecture series

The Lecture series contains lectures recorded by members of the international legal community. Individuals who have participated in the Lecture Series include scholars, judges of international and regional judicial bodies, senior officials of international and regional organizations, and other international law practitioners. The themes covered by the Series are: *

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

Arms Control Arms control is a term for international restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation and usage of small arms, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction. Arms control is typically exercised through the u ...

and

Boundary Delimitation Boundary delimitation (or simply delimitation) is the drawing of boundaries, particularly of electoral precincts, states, counties or other municipalities.

Courts A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accorda ...

and

Tribunals A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...

and Procedure *

Cultural Heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soc ...

Development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

* Diplomatic and Consular Relations *

Diplomatic Protection In international law, diplomatic protection (or diplomatic espousal) is a means for a state to take diplomatic and other action against another state on behalf of its national whose rights and interests have been injured by that state. Diplomatic ...

* Disaster Prevention and Relief *

Environmental Law Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental Legal doctrine, legal principles, focu ...

and

Human Security Human security is a paradigm for understanding global vulnerabilities whose proponents challenges the traditional notion of national security through military security by arguing that the proper referent for security should be at the human rather th ...

* International

Civil Aviation Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work ...

International Labour Law International labour law is the body of rules spanning public and private international law which concern the rights and duties of employees, employers, trade unions and governments in regulating Work (human activity) and the workplace. The Inte ...

International Law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

* International

Migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

Law *

International Organizations An international organization or international organisation (see spelling differences), also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states a ...

* International

Watercourse A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams a ...

s * Law of Armed Conflict * Law of Outer Space * Law of the Sea * Law of

and

* Peaceful Settlement of Disputes *

Regional Organizations Regional organizations (ROs) are, in a sense, international organizations (IOs), as they incorporate international membership and encompass geopolitical entities that operationally transcend a single nation state. However, their membership is c ...

Rule of Law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannic ...

Democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...

and

Good Governance Good governance is the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for th ...

* Specialized Agencies and Related Organizations * States *

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

Research Library

The Research Library consists of an extensive online catalog of

materials. The Library provides links to online collections of

treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pers ...

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning ...

courts A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accorda ...

and

tribunals A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...

, official publications and documents of the

and related

international organizations An international organization or international organisation (see spelling differences), also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states a ...

, scholarly writings and other research materials including international

law journals A law review or law journal is a scholarly journal or publication that focuses on legal issues. A law review is a type of legal periodical. Law reviews are a source of research, imbedded with analyzed and referenced legal topics; they also pr ...

and yearbooks, as well as other training materials.

References

External links

United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law

United Nations Programme of Assistance in the Teaching, Study, Dissemination and Wider Appreciation of International Law

Codification Division of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs

United Nations International Law Fellowship Programme

United Nations Legal Publications
{{authority control United Nations documents Law libraries International law Online archives Lecture series