13. Approach International, Foreign, and Tribal Sources

13.1 Begin with the issuing legal system

Do not force every legal source into a United States reporter pattern. Identify the jurisdiction or institution, the type of instrument, the official identifier, the date, and the source's own locator. Preserve native citation information in the research record before adapting its display for an American reader.

This chapter is an orientation for unfamiliar sources. It is not a complete citation system for every country, international institution, or Tribal jurisdiction. A useful unfamiliar-source citation should make its limits visible while giving the reader enough information to find the actual document.

13.2 Separate treaty text from treaty status

A treaty text and a party-status record answer different questions. The text identifies the terms. Status information can identify participation, reservations, declarations, or relevant dates. If the proposition depends on whether a treaty bound a particular state at a particular time, obtain the necessary status material instead of relying only on the treaty's text.

Citation Code example: U.N. Charter art. 2, para. 4. The United Nations publishes the Charter's full text with article and paragraph divisions. This example locates a provision. It does not decide how the provision applies to a particular dispute.

For another treaty, record its full title, date, official registration or publication identifier where available, and provision. Distinguish signature, entry into force, accession, and domestic implementation. If the argument turns on one of these events, cite the source establishing that event.

13.3 Identify international decisions by proceeding and document

An international proceeding can produce orders, judgments, advisory opinions, separate opinions, and later compliance materials. Identify the particular document, not just the case's short name. Use the institution's document date, identifier, and paragraph or page numbering.

The International Court of Justice's decisions collection is a starting point for locating the relevant judicial document. A press release about a judgment is a separate source. If the proposition concerns the judgment's reasoning, read and cite the judgment itself.

Pattern only: [Proceeding], [document type], [official citation or identifier], para. [number] ([institution/date as needed]). Identify a separate opinion and its author when that is the source of the passage.

13.4 Preserve foreign court identifiers and translations

For foreign judgments, preserve the issuing court's identity, neutral citation or official report information, decision date, and paragraph or page locator. The United Kingdom National Archives' Find Case Law service illustrates a public institutional access route. Its collection should not be treated as a statement that every judgment from every UK court is available there.

When relying on a translation, identify the version and translator or institution if available. Distinguish an official translation from your own translation or a third-party rendering. If a translated term is central to the argument, explain the choice rather than silently replacing it with a supposedly equivalent domestic legal term.

Keep the original-language title in the source record. An English short title can assist navigation, but it should not erase the information needed to find the original document.

13.5 Research Tribal sources on their own terms

Identify the Tribal nation, court or legislative body, source publication, provision or decision identifier, and applicable version. Do not assume that a neighboring state's rules govern a Tribal court or that all Tribal jurisdictions use the same code structure.

Use the issuing nation's public legal resources where available and check the receiving tribunal's instructions. A third-party collection may provide access without establishing completeness or official status. If a needed source is unavailable publicly, record the access limitation and seek an appropriate authorized copy.

Do not infer customary law or institutional practice from an incomplete database entry. Cite the actual material that supports the proposition and state the scope of what you inspected. The absence of an item from a general legal database is not proof that no relevant Tribal authority exists.

Sources and convention notes

United Nations Charter text; International Court of Justice decisions; UK National Archives Find Case Law. The source-identification and translation practices are Citation Code recommendations. No jurisdiction-specific Tribal citation rule is asserted here.