Training Workshop on Strengthening Legal Research and Writing Skills in the Area of International Trade Law

1. Legal Research and Online
Resources
Frontpage

2. Training Workshop on Strengthening Legal
Research and Writing Skills in the Area of
International Trade Law
(TW 363E)
Pretoria, South Africa
August 13-16, 2007

3. 1st Module
Techniques of Legal Research
Stefano Mastrocicco
Library Assistant

4. Strategies
of
Legal Research:
The Cartwheel
Approach
Foreign
Jurisdictions
International
Trade Law
WTO Dispute
Settlement System
Topics of Legal Research

5. Strategies
of
Legal Research:
The Cartwheel
Approach
Foreign
Jurisdictions
International
Trade Law
WTO Dispute
Settlement System
Strategies of Legal Research

6. “Cartwheel” Approach
Developed by Professor William P. Statsky.
Aims to identify the number of terms associated to
a given research problem to improve the overall
perception of the issues involved.

7. Case Study: Pollution
The Cartwheel Approach by
William P. Statsky

8. “Cartwheel” Approach
Legal Thesauri identify terms and relationships
exisiting among them:
Printed:
West’s Legal Thesaurus/Dictionary by
William Statsky (West/Wadsworth)
Legal Terminology by Gordon W. Brown
Online:
GLIN Thesaurus

9. Strategies
of
Legal Research:
The Cartwheel
Approach
Foreign
Jurisdictions
International
Trade Law
WTO Dispute
Settlement System
Foreign jurisdictions

10. Legal systems of the world
University of Ottawa
Brief introduction to legal resources on line.
Information services, and academic websites

11. Legal Systems of Civil Law
Derive from Roman Law, and more specifically, the
Corpus Juris Civilis (Emperor Justinian ca. 529AD).
Legislation is the primary source of law. Courts base
their judgments on the provisions of codes and
statutes, from which solutions in particular cases are
to be derived.
Courts reason extensively on the basis of general
legal rules and principles (often drawing analogies
from statutory provisions to fill lacunae and to
achieve coherence).

12. Legal Systems of Common Law
Originally developed in England during the 12th
and 13th centuries.
Cases are the primary source of law. The law is
created and modified by courts, on a case-by-case
basis. The principle of stare decisis (binding
precedent) is a cornerstone of common law
jurisdictions.

13. Online Gateways
• WashLaw Web
School of Law of Washburn University (Topeka, KS, USA).
• Lexadin
The world law guide. More than 30.000 links to legal sites in more than
160 countries.
• Global Legal Information Network (GLIN)
Laws, regulations and judicial decisions - Law Library of Congress.
• Law Library of Congress – Legal guides
Guides of legal resources by countries - Law Library of Congress.
• Federal Research Division – Library of Congress
Historical, social, political and economic information on countries
worldwide.

14. Washlaw

15. Lexadin

16. W
GLIN

17. Law Library of Congress

18. FRD – Library of Congress
Country Studies
Contains full-text and summary databases.
Full text is available for UK legislation and EU
legislation and case law. Recent issues of UK law
journals. Comprehensive information on other
jurisdiction also included.
http://www.westlaw.co.uk/

19. Online Information Services
Contains full-text cases, legislation and articles. In
particular, cases from the United Kingdom and the
European Union, the collection of UK legislation
and a range of regional and national newspapers
(the Times, Guardian, Herald and Independent,
etc.).
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/professional/athens/

20. Lexis Nexis Professional

21. On-line Information Services
Contains full-text and summary databases.
Full text is available for UK legislation and EU
legislation and case law. Recent issues of UK law
journals. Comprehensive information on other
jurisdiction also included.
http://www.westlaw.co.uk/

23. Strategies
of
Legal Research:
The Cartwheel
Approach
Foreign
Jurisdictions
International
Trade Law
WTO Dispute
Settlement System
International Trade Law

24. International Trade Law
International trade law is a very complex and an ever
expanding area. There are basically four levels of
international trade relationships: *
Unilateral instruments (national laws)
Bi-lateral agreements
Plurilateral agreements
Multilateral arrangements (GATT/WTO)
*John Wolff International and Comparative Law Library at the Georgetown
University Law Center

25. International Trade Law
Main Sources
Public international law governs relationships between national
governments and intergovernmental organizations.
– WTO is the only international body dealing with rules of trade
between nations.
– Rules on private law commercial relationships involving
different countries.
– Conventions, model laws, legal guides adopted by international
organizations (UNCITRAL, UNIDROIT, UNCTAD) and the
Hague Conventions on Private International Law related to
contracts, recognition of judgments, commercial arbitration and
sales of goods.

26. International Trade Law
International organizations and institutions involved in
international trade and international economic law:
World Trade Organization
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
International Trade Centre
United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)
World Bank
International Monetary Fund
International Chamber of Commerce
APEC
MERCOSUR
ANDEAN Community
ASEAN

27. Examples of International Trade Law topics:
• International sale of goods
Contract drafting
Agency arrangements
Exclusive sale arrangements
• Negotiable instruments and banker’s commercial credits
• Business activities pertaining to international trade
• Insurance
• Transportation
Carriage of goods by sea, air, road and rail, inland waterways
• Industrial properties and copyright
• Commercial arbitration

28. Strategies
of
Legal Research:
The Cartwheel
Approach
Foreign
Jurisdictions
International
Trade Law:
WTO
WTO Dispute
Settlement System
WTO Dispute Settlement System

29. WTO Dispute Settlement System
In 1994 almost all governments of the world set up new
procedures to resolve trade disputes among them by mutual
agreement backed by international law and legal sanctions.
Unlike business deals where each side usually seeks an advantage
over the other in price, a trade deal to open markets and mantain
fair regulation and competition works because it creates winners
on both sides.
Purpose of the Dispute Settlement System (DSS) of the WTO is to
help governments find the balance between helping firms and
consumers in their own economies and ensuring that this support
doesn’t reduce the gains from trade to economy as a whole.

30. WTO Dispute Settlement System
A WTO dispute starts when a Member informs the WTO
Secretariat with a Notification that the actions, regulations or
policies of another Member are damaging it and in contrast with
the provisions of one or more of the WTO Agreements.
Consultations, confidential talks between the parties to the
dispute, are normally held in Geneva. They can lead to a ruling on
the dispute by the Dispute Settlement Board (DSB) of the WTO,
unless the countries concerned reach an agreement.
A process of Conciliation is also available at the time of the
consultation through the good offices of the Director General of
WTO.

31. WTO Dispute Settlement System
The Dispute Settlement Board (DSB) is involved when Members
cannot agree on the solution of the dispute.
The DSB establishes a Panel of three experts to assess the facts in
light of the provisions of the Agreements. It makes
recommendations for the decision of the DSB and suggests
measures that should be taken to put the situation right.
The Parties to the dispute may ask the Appellate Body to review
the Report and recommendations of the Panel.
The DSB makes the final decision, normally adopting the
recommendations of the Panel and the Appellate Body.

32. wto.org

33. worldtradelaw.net

34. Other websites
British and Irish Legal Court of Justice and Court of
Information Institute First Instance (EU)
www.bailii.org http://europa.eu.int/cj/en/index.
htm
Court Service Judgments
http://www.hmcourts- European Union Law
service.gov.uk/judgments.htm http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm
Current Legal Information
Council of Europe
http://sweetandmaxwell.co.uk/onl http://conventions.coe.int
ine/cli.html
Internet Legal Resource
Index of Law Journals Guide UK
www.washlaw.edu/lawjournal/
www.ilrg.com/nations/uk