ESIL Interest Group History of International Law

ESIL Interest Group History of International Law

Thursday 4 February 2021

RESEARCH GUIDE: Eliav LIEBICH, How to Do Research in International Law? A Basic Guide for Beginners (Harvard International Law Journal LXII (2021), OPEN ACCESS)

 

(image source: Wikimedia Commons)

First paragraph:

So, you want to do research in international law? Good choice. But it can be difficult, especially in the very beginning. In this brief guide for students taking their first steps in legal research in international law, I will try to lay down the basics—just enough to nudge you towards the rabbit-hole of research. This guide is about how to think of and frame research questions, primary sources, and secondary sources in the research of international law. Or, to be precise, it is about how I think about these things. It is not about how to write in the technical sense, how to structure your paper, or about research methods (beyond some basic comments). This guide also focuses mostly on questions that are especially pertinent when researching international law. For this reason, it does not address general questions such as how and when to cite authorities, what are relevant academic resources, and so forth.

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