It's happening again, war in Europe, and with it possible human rights violations and war crimes. In this case, Russia's invasion of Ukraine may have included intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, a possible violation of Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Court (PDF).
Soon after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor made a statement regarding actions taken by Russia against Ukraine : Statement of ICC Prosecutor, Karim A.A. Khan QC, on the Situation in Ukraine: "I have decided to proceed with opening an investigation."/a>
If you would like to begin your own investigation on the topic of human rights, war crime violations, or read the documents of past war crimes trials, the library is here to help you with your research.
Listed below are introductory legal resources on this important topic.
First, you can browse research guides created by academic librarians that link you to specific resources on human rights and international law. These guide include publicly available indexes & bibliographies, link to organizations and centers dedicated to human rights, as well as including links to subject specific legal databases.
Legal Journals & Indexes
- HeinOnline - Full-text legal periodicals, historical texts, foreign & international materials, and primary legal materials in PDF, including the Federal Register, U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Reports & attorney general opinions, state session laws, and more.
- Index to Legal Periodicals - Index to legal periodicals, court decisions, legislation and more. Full text coverage for selected periodicals is also available. Law books are indexed beginning in 1993. Covers all areas of law from the United States and Commonwealth countries. Searches both Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Full Text and Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective: 1908-1981.
Foreign & International Law Databases & Guides
- International Law: A Legal Research Guide to Public International Law : Introductory Works and Other Texts -This UW Law Library Research guide has a tab that provides resources at the law library on, Criminal Courts and War Crimes
- Foreign & International Law Resources Databases on HeinOnline
Research Guides
- American Society for International Law Guide on International Criminal Law (PDF)
- Bodleian Library's Human Rights Guide
- Human Rights Law - UW Law Research Guide
- Human Rights Law Research Guide - Georgetown Law Library
- Human Rights: Getting Started - Northwestern Library
- Peace and Justice Studies: Human Rights - Michigan State Library Research Guide
War Crimes Tribunal Collection
At the UW Law Library
International Courts
- European Court of Human Rights
- International Court of Justice
- International Criminal Court - Trying individuals for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression.
Organizations & Centers
- Carter Center
- Center for International Human Rights
- Center for Information Resistance
- Human Rights Initiative - University of Wisconsin Law School
- United Nations Human Rights
- United Nations Human Rights Law
- United Nations War Crimes
- University of Minnesota Human Rights Center
Submitted by Jenny Zook, Reference Librarian on April 20, 2022
This article appears in the categories: Law Library