Resource of the Week: United National Audiovisual Library of International Law
By Shirl Kennedy, Senior Editor

Our friends at UN Pulse — a perpetually useful blog by the staff at the UN’s Dag Hammarskjöld Library — tipped us off to this unique, new resource from the UN Office of Legal Affairs.

The Audiovisual Library is a unique, multimedia resource which provides the United Nations with the unprecedented capacity to provide high quality international law training and research materials to an unlimited number of recipients on a global level. The Audiovisual Library consists of three pillars: (1) the Historic Archives containing documents and audiovisual materials relating to the negotiation and adoption of significant legal instruments under the auspices of the United Nations and related agencies since 1945; (2) the Lecture Series featuring a permanent collection of lectures on virtually every subject of international law given by leading international law scholars and practitioners from different countries and legal systems; and (3) the Research Library providing an on-line international law library with links to treaties, jurisprudence, publications and documents, scholarly writings and research guides. The Audiovisual Library is available to all individuals and institutions around the world for free via the Internet.

This is a very rich resource, but there is plenty of helpful information on how to access the content — for example, this detailed page on what is in the Historical Archives and how to navigate this section of the site. Topics included here: Criminal Law, Decolonization, Diplomatic and Consular Relations, Disarmament, Education / Science / Culture, Environmental Law, Health, Human Rights, International Economic Law, International Organizations, Law of Outer Space, Law of the Sea, Law of Treaties, Peace and Security, Refugees and Stateless Persons, Succession of States.

About the Lecture Series section:

A series of lecture cards lists the lectures given by each lecturer under a particular subject matter heading. Each lecture card includes the name, professional affiliation, photograph and a brief biography of the lecturer; the title, a brief summary and the recorded lecture; and related materials such as a lecture outline, power point slides or recommended reading, to the extent provided by the lecturer.

You’ll need RealPlayer to watch the lecture videos. Topics here include: Arctic, Boundary Delimitation Courts and Tribunals, Criminal Law and Procedure, Cultural Heritage Development, Diplomatic Protection, Disaster Prevention and Relief, Environmental Law, Health and Science, Human Rights, International Civil Aviation, International Economic Law, International Labour Law, International Law, International Migration Law, International Organizations, International Watercourses, Law of Armed Conflict, Law of Outer Space, Law of the Sea, Law of Treaties, Peace and Security, Regional Organizations, Rule of Law / Democracy / Good Governance, Specialized Agencies and Related Organizations, States, United Nations.

And then there’s the site’s Research Library:

The research library contains links to other web-based resources providing international law-related materials of interest to the researcher and practitioner alike. The library is divided into four components: resources relating to treaties and treaty status information; materials concerning the jurisprudence of international courts and tribunals; access to selected United Nations publications and to repositories of official documentation; and selected scholarly writings in international law, including publications and journal articles as well as information on research guides presently available on the Internet.

The collection of scholarly writings in the library is a joint pilot project with HeinOnline. It includes:

• Scholarly Writings of Faculty members
• Scholarly Writings on Legal Instruments in the Historic Archives
• Scholarly Writings on Lectures in the Lecture Series
• Selected Classics in International law

According to UN Pulse, “The Audiovisual Library aims to provide free, scholarly resources to students and practitioners around the world, particularly in regions where there are few resources for the study of international law.”

This entry was posted on Monday, November 3rd, 2008 and is filed under Archives and Special Collections, New Websites and Resources, Resource of the Week, Resources for Educators, Source File. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.