Treaties - International Human Rights and Dispute Resolution - Law 373 - LibGuides at University of Victoria Libraries

Sources of International Law

Sources of International Law (see Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice)

international treaties, conventions and their preparatory documents or "travaux preparatoire"
the general principles as codified by the International Law Commission
custom, as found in hansards, government reports, statements at international conferences, national laws
international judicial decisions and decisions of national courts
scholarly writings as found in texts, treatises, articles and commentary

Additional Sources from Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

Articles 53 and 65: peremptory norms (jus cogens), examples include prohibition on genocide and slavery

Featured Resources

United Nations Treaty Collection
Contains full-text of the United Nations Treaty Series, the current status of the Multilateral Treaties deposited with the Secretary-General, and texts of recently deposited multilateral treaties. 1945 to the present, updated weekly

Core International Human Rights Treaties

Treaty	Acronym	Treaty Body
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination	ICERD	Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights See also Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death penalty	ICCPR	Human Rights Committee (CCPR)
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights See also Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights	ICESCR	Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women See also Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women	CEDAW	Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment See also Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment	CAT	Committee against Torture (CAT) Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT)
Convention on the Rights of the Child See also Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure	CRC	Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families	ICMW	Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW)
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities See also Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities	CRPD	Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons From Enforced Disappearances	CPED	Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED)

Declarations and Conventions Contained in General Assembly Resolutions

Conventions & Selected Declarations Adopted by General Assembly Resolutions

Key Declarations

General Comments

Each treaty body publishes General Comments which set out the bodies' interpretations of the provisions of its respective human rights treaty. General Comments may also touch upon broader human rights topics or human rights institutions more broadly.

To locate General Comments use the UN Treaty Bodies Database below and select the relevant treaty body and the publication type as 'General Comment/recommendation'.

UN Treaty Body Database

Travaux Preparatoires (preparatory works)

Travaux Préparatoires are the documents that were created during the negotiating and drafting process of an international treaty and can consist of memoranda, draft treaty provisions, and the minutes of the meetings and conferences leading up to the adoption of the treaty.

International Human Rights and Dispute Resolution - Law 373