If you have a broad research question in international law, (e.g. the historical development of international asylum law), the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (online) is an excellent starting point.

The database is organized like any encyclopedia, with scholarly essays on international law topics that explain broad concepts, discuss the signigance of a case or treaty, and offer insight into the context of an event. Because it is online, it can easily be browsed by topic (e.g.  "Abuse of Rights," "Prisoners of War" ) and searched (e.g. by subject, author, title or full text)

In addition, the researcher can access the full text of documents such as treaties, cases and other relevant primary materials. Articles are cross referenced and linked to other articles in the database.

And, if the discussion contained within a particular article is not enough, each entry includes a bibliography with full text links to the sources mentioned.  

For more help in using the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law , contact Sunil Rao, Foreign and International Law Librarian, at sunil.rao@wisc.edu.

Submitted by Sunil Rao, on November 30, 2022

This article appears in the categories: Law Library