This document provides resources and search strategies for researching international commercial arbitration for the VIS East Mooting Competition. It outlines databases for finding primary sources, cases, monographs, and journal articles on topics like the CISG and ICSID Convention. Search techniques for databases like Kluwer Arbitration, Westlaw, and LexisNexis are described. It also discusses using library subject guides and contacting reference librarians for additional research help.

1. latrobe.edu.au CRICOS Provider 00115M
VIS East Mooting Competition
Kate Freedman, Clare O’Hanlon
Senior Learning Advisor (Library) Law.
2016

2. 2La Trobe University
The VIS International Arbitration Moot
 The Problem:
̶ https://vismoot.pace.edu/site/24th-vis-moot/the-problem
 Research Help:
̶ VIS Moot subject guide (This is your best starting place)
̶ Research in International Commercial Arbitration: Special Skills, Special
Sources article by SI Strong.
̶ Electronic Resource Guide to International Commercial Arbitration

3. 3La Trobe University
Finding Monographs (Ebooks)
 Library Search
 CCH Ebooks- Texts from Kluwer Law International and Lexis Nexis Australia
 Oxford Public International Law (Max Plank Encyclopaedia)
Coming Soon-
 Collected Courses of the Hague Academy of International Law (Brill)
̶ (now available)
 Brill International Law E-Books
̶ (purchase notes will not show, and will be able to be found via Library Search)

4. 4La Trobe University
Finding Primary Source Materials
 CISG (United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods of
1980)
̶ Pace's CISG database brings you text and annotations organized by CISG
article.
̶ UNCITRAL CISG database links to the purpose, text, and explanatory notes of
CISG by article number.
 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral
Awards
̶ Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards: A Global
Commentary on the New York Convention, Kronke, Nacimiento, et al. (ed)
(Book from Kluwer Database)
 Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals
of Other States (ICSID)
 UNILEX on CISG & UNIDROIT Principles: International Case Law and Bibliography

5. 5La Trobe University
Cases and Arbitral Awards
 Databases: Kluwer, Westlaw etc…
 Permanent Court of Arbitration – Cases (browse or search)
 Contracts for the International Sale of Goods - cases and arbitral awards:
̶ 2012 Digest of Case Law on the UN Convention on CISG
2012 Digest of Case Law on the Model Law on International Commercial
Arbitration These digests explain each article of the based on case
interpretation (and gives case citations).
̶ CLOUT database. Search by article number, date, parties, case number, and/or
CLOUT number.
̶ Pace database. Search by article number or by word descriptor.
̶ UNIDROIT Principles - cases and arbitral awards:
o Unilex database. Search under "cases" by "articles & issues" OR search
under "subjects“

6. 6La Trobe University
About Kluwer Arbitration
 World Leading Online Resource for International Arbitration Research
 Categories include:
̶ Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs)
̶ Conventions
̶ Countries
̶ Legislation
̶ NY Convention Decisions
̶ Organizations and Rules
 Primary Materials:
̶ BITs – almost 1700 treaties
̶ Case Law – over 5,000 court decisions and 1,750 awards
̶ Conventions - 25 multilateral treaties

7. 7La Trobe University
About Kluwer Arbitration
̶ Legislation - almost 500 laws for key jurisdictions
̶ Model clauses: close to 100 model clauses from major arbitral institutions
̶ Rules – over 400 rules from major arbitral institutions
 Analytical Content:
̶ 88 books & 5 journals e.g. Arbitration International and Journal of International
Arbitration
̶ Blog Posts
̶ ITA Reports
̶ Practice Tools

8. 8La Trobe University
Searching Kluwer Arbitration
 General Search Principles:
̶ Asterisk (*) for arbitra* will find arbitration, arbitrations, arbitrability
̶ Boolean Operators: AND / OR / AND NOT / NEAR
̶ Phrase Search (“commercial arbitration”)

9. 9La Trobe University
Searching Kluwer Arbitration
 Practice Questions:
̶ Convention Establishing the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA
Convention, 1985)
̶ Dafina Atanasova, ‘The Legal Framework for Counterclaims in Investment
Treaty Arbitration’ (2014) 31 Journal of International Arbitration 357.
̶ Indlekofer, Manuel, ‘International Arbitration and the Permanent Court of
Arbitration’ (2013) Kluwer Law International
̶ Ascendi Beiras Litoral e Alta, Auto Estradas das Beiras Litoral e Alta SA v.
Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, Court of Justice of the European Union
(CJEU), C-377/13 Case Date 12 June 2014
”

10. 10La Trobe University
Secondary Sources: Journal Articles and Databases Coverage
AGIS
APAIS
Westlaw US, Lexis.com:
US & Canada Westlaw UK,
Lexis.com: UK
Index to Legal Periodicals (Ebsco)
Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (Hein)

11. 11La Trobe University
Secondary Sources- Journal Articles via Databases
Index to Legal Periodicals (Ebsco)
Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (Hein online)
 Use general search principles:
̶ Quotation marks: “united nations” for phrase searching
̶ Asterisk: fixed pric* for truncation- finds fixed price, fixed pricing, etc.
̶ The Near operator (N#): finds words near each other regardless of word order.
o E.g.. legal N5 principles will find legal principles as well as principles of
legal reform.
̶ The Within Operator: (W#) - finds words in the order in which you entered
them.
o In the above example using W4 would find legal principles but not
principles of legal reform.
̶ Subject headings of articles help you gather related articles on a particular
topic or concept

12. 12La Trobe University
Additional Secondary Sources
Databases
 Westlaw
 Lexis.com
 Proquest Central
Business Databases
 Business Source Complete (EBSCO)
 EconLit Full Text (EBSCO)
 ABI/INFORM Complete (Proquest)
Newspapers
 Factiva
 The Age
 Australian Financial Review
 Sydney Morning Herald
NOTE: We may not hold all the articles in these indexes in Full Text.
Clicking on the Full Text Finder link next to the article may bring it up or check if we
hold the article by looking for the Journal in the Library Search Journals Tab.

13. 13La Trobe University
 Databases Tab- Westlaw
̶ Once in Westlaw, go to Arbitration Materials and then (on the right)
International Arbitration Materials.
̶ To search all US Law Journals, Reviews etc.. Select Secondary Sources
 Browse by Area or search.
 Journal Articles in Westlaw
 Browse by journal or
Click all International Arbitration
Journals to search the list.
 Once in a title, browse recent
articles or search within the
journal.
Westlaw

14. 14La Trobe University
Secondary Sources- Lexis.com
 Lexis.com (Select
International Arbitration Tab)
 Lexis.com (UK Law Reviews)
 Lexis.com (US & Canadian Law
Reviews)
 Lexis.com Search Tips:
̶ To find a journal with a specific title / author:
o title(new players on the international stage)
o author(spiro)
̶ To find articles with terms within a certain distance of each other, and
Truncation
o criminal responsibility w/5 state!

15. 15La Trobe University
Search Strategy: Extra Hints
 Reformulate a query based on documents identified as relevant
̶ Example:
Find a key paper and look at how it has been indexed…
̶ Choose to search terms by Subject to pick up articles that may be missed by a
key word search.
̶ Google Scholar

16. 16La Trobe University
Google Scholar
Set your preferences to retrieve La Trobe resources: scholar.google.com
 Select Settings > Library Link > add La Trobe University Library > Save
 Google Scholar vs. Library Databases
̶ International arbitration AND fixed pricing
̶ The AND is needed in Library Databases.
̶ Google Scholar does NOT index everything.
̶ Use as another tool WITH the library databases.

17. 17La Trobe University
Scholarly Articles: Practice: Find 2 of the following
 6 Asper Rev. Int'l Bus. & Trade L. 419
 James M. Klotz, Peter J. Mazzacano and Antonin I. Pribetic, ‘All Quiet on the CISG Front: Guiliani v.
Invar Manufacturing, the Battle of the Forms, and the Elusive Concept of Terminus Fixus’ (2008), 46
C.B.L.J. 430.
 Joshua D. H. Karton and Lorraine de Germiny, ‘Has The Cisg Advisory Council Come Of Age?’ (2009) 27
Berkeley Journal of International Law 448.
 Ugo Draetta, ‘The 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods
and arbitration’ (2012) 2 International Business Law Journal 193
 Won-Mog Choi, ‘The Present and Future of The Investor-State Dispute Settlement Paradigm’ (2007)
10 Journal of International Economic Law 725
 Zachary Elkins, Andrew Guzman and Beth Simmons, ‘Competing for Capital: The Diffusion of Bilateral
Investment Treaties, 1960-2000’ (2006) 60 International Organization 811–27
 Gus Van Harten and Martin Loughlin, ‘Investment Treaty Arbitration as a Species of Global
Administrative Law’ (2006) 17 European Journal of International Law 121
 Joshua Meltzer, ‘Investment’ in Simon Lester and Bryan Mercurio, Bilateral and Regional Trade
Agreements: Commentary and Analysis (2009) Ch 9, 215–273
 UNCTAD, 'Latest Developments in Investor―State Dispute Settlement', (2009) IIA Monitor No. 1,
UNCTAD/WED/DIAE/IA/2009/6
 Marcia J Staff, United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods: Lessons
Learned from Five Years of Cases (2009) 6 South Carolina Journal of International Law & Business 1

18. For more help and information:
 Law Libguide
 Vis Moot Libguide and Mooting Resources
Contact
 Kate Freedman: k.freedman@latrobe.edu.au
 Clare O’Hanlon: c.ohanlon@latrobe.edu.au

19. Thank you
latrobe.edu.au CRICOS Provider 00115M
Any Questions?