Skip to Main Content

Public International Law

Finding International Cases

International cases may be found on the UN Documents website, the websites of the various courts and in several law report series.  Cases may be differently named in each source. For example, you may see the SS Lotus case cited as:

As there is no 'official' or 'authorised' international report series, any of the above versions can be used for citation purposes.

Finding International Cases on a Topic

For excellent summaries of cases by topic heard in the PCIJ and ICJ up until 1974, see:

International Courts

There are many international courts, tribunals and arbitral bodies created by treaty. Many are specialised while some, such as the International Court of Justice, have general jurisdiction. International adjudicative bodies tend to fall into seven categories:

Disputes between States concerning international law can be heard in the International Court of Justice (provided the dispute is between States that have declared that the ICJ has compulsory jurisdiction), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Appellate Body and the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). Inter-State litigation is based on the remedial principle of State Responsibility or international tort law. These courts are permanent institutions established by multilateral treaties and in general only determine disputes between States: individuals and other non-state actors are not generally able to be parties to a dispute (although there have been some notable exceptions). The decisions of these courts are final and binding on the parties. 
Source:

This page of the international law research guide focuses on the ICJ, and its forerunner, the Permanent Court of International Justice. 

Decisions of the ICJ & PCIJ

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) 

The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It was established and began delivering judgments, orders and advisory opinions in 1946. The ICJ has a twofold role: to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States (Contentious cases ) and to give advisory opinions (Advisory proceedings) on legal questions referred to it by duly authorised United Nations organs and specialised agencies.

ICJ decisions, orders and opinions

  • Reported decisions from 1946 to the present are contained in the International Court of Justice Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders - available on HeinOnline (UniMelb staff & student access)
  • Unreported decisions- all decisions from 1946 to the present are available in full text on the ICJ's Cases database on the official ICJ website (open access)

Note: unreported decisions appear much faster than the reported version, with the reported version currently being published about two years after the date of the decisions. Unreported decisions and opinions typically appear within weeks of the decision on the ICJ's decision database.

The Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ)

The PCIJ was the predecessor of the International Court of Justice. It held its inaugural sitting in 1922 and was dissolved in 1946. The work of the PCIJ, the first permanent international tribunal with general jurisdiction, made possible the clarification of a number of aspects of international law, and contributed to its development. Between 1922 and 1940 the PCIJ dealt with 29 contentious cases between States, and delivered 27 advisory opinions.

  • All decisions and opinions of the PCIJ are available in full text freely on the WorldCourts website and on WorldLII
  • All publications of the PCIJ, including all decisions and opinions, are available freely on the official PCIJ website.

Databases and law report series containing judgments from multiple international courts

Noting up - subsequent consideration of international law decisions

Books on international courts & cases

Open Access Articles on International Courts

International Court and Tribunal Research Guides

Finding International Court of Justice Opinions - Online Tutorial

You must register to access this tutorial.


Library Twitter

Library Instagram

Library Blogs

Library Contacts