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Legal Dictionaries / Words & Phrases

Legal dictionaries and Words and Phrases can help you research the meaning of legal terms and the legal interpretation of legal words and phrases. This can help when you’re trying to interpret a statute for which there is no clear case law or if you’re trying to discern the meaning of a word in a key legal document, such as a contract or a will.

Legal Dictionaries

Canadian

• Barron's Canadian Law Dictionary
  • Available via Lexis+ (law students only), the campus-wide version of Quicklaw (available to all students), and in print on the reference desk and in the reference section (available to all students)
• Dictionary of Canadian Law
  • Available in print on the reference desk (available to all students)

American

• Black's Law Dictionary (American)
  • Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only; click the International tab) and in print on the reference desk (available to all students)

International

• Dictionary of International and Comparative Law
  • Available in print in the reference section (available to all students)
• Dictionary of Public International Law
  • Available via eBook (available to all students)
• The International Law Dictionary
  • Available in print in the reference section (available to all students)
• International Law: A Dictionary
  • Available in print in the reference section (available to all students)
• Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law
  • 2nd ed available in print in the reference section (available to all students)
  • 3rd ed available electronically (available to all students)

Words & Phrases

• Words & Phrases Judicially Defined in Canadian Courts and Tribunals (Canadian Abridgment)
  • Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only and in print in the reference section (available to all students)
• Canadian Legal Words & Phrases
  • Available via Lexis+ (law students only) and the campus-wide version of Quicklaw (available to all students)
• Sanagan’s Encyclopedia of Words and Phrases
  • Available in print on the reference desk (available to all students)

Legal Encyclopedias

Legal encyclopedias contain narrative summaries of the law supported by references to case law and statutes. They are often the best place to start to gain a general understanding of the law in a particular area.

There are two main legal encyclopedias in law: the Canadian Encyclopedic Digest (CED) and Halsbury's Laws of Canada (Halsbury's). CED covers federal, western, and Ontario jurisdictions, and Halsbury's covers all provincial and federal jurisdictions. Both are available in print in the Law Library in the reference section on the first floor.

Electronically, CED is available in Westlaw Edge, while Halsbury's is available in Lexis+.

Canadian Encyclopedic Digest

• Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only) and in print in the reference section (available to all students)
• Helpful titles include International Law (Note: this title hasn't been updated since 1995. Use with caution.)
  • Check other applicable topics for international law subtopics; for example, the Aviation topic has an International Conventions and Protocols subtopic.

Halsbury's Laws of Canada

• Available via Lexis+ (law students only), the campus-wide version of Quicklaw (available to all students), and in print in the reference section (available to all students)
• Helpful titles include Public International Law
  • Check other applicable topics for international law subtopics; for example, the Aviation and Space topic has an International Sources of Air Law subtopic.

There are also encyclopedias specifically on international law. Some titles include:

• Encyclopedia of Public International Law (1992–2000) (5 vols)
  • Available in print in the reference section (available to all students)
• Encyclopedia of Public International Law (1981–1990) (12 vols)
  • Available in print in the reference section (available to all students)
• International Encyclopedia of Comparative Law (1973–2010) (17 vols)
  • Available in print in the reference section (available to all students)
• Max Planck Encyclopedias of Public International Law
  • Available electronically (available to all students)

Journal Articles & Databases

If you already know the journal title, year, volume number and page number for an article, you may be able to access it electronically by searching for the journal's title in the UNB e-journals database. If we have the journal electronically or in print, it will be listed. You can also look up the journal title in UNB WorldCat.

Keep in mind that it can be best to start with an index rather than a full-text database. An index is essentially a list of articles by topic. Sometimes the article will be available full-text, but often you'll just be given a citation that you can use to track it down somewhere else.

Key Resources

• Index to Canadian Legal Literature
  • Available via Lexis+ (non-law UNB/STU use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw)
  • Available via Westlaw Edge (law students only)
• Index to Legal Periodicals & Books Full Text
• Index to Legal Periodicals Retrospective
• LegalTrac
• Lexis+ (non-law students use the campus-wide version of Quicklaw)
  • Click Law Reviews & Journals
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Click Articles and Newsletters
• HeinOnline
  • Click Law Journal Library
• HeinOnline - Harvard Research in International Law
• HeinOnline - Philip C. Jessup Library

If you need help locating an article, contact a librarian for assistance.

Books

To search for books at UNB Libraries, use UNB WorldCat. UNB WorldCat contains records of materials held at the Harriet Irving, Science and Forestry, Engineering, Hans W. Klohn, and Law libraries.

A few key texts:

• Brownlie's Principles of Public International Law, 8th ed, by James Crawford / LAW-STACKS KZ3225 .B76 A37 2012.
• Canadian Yearbook of International Law (1963–2007) / Available via ProQuest eBook Central (search for titles individually)
• Conflict of Laws, 2nd ed, by Stephen GA Pitel & Nicholas S Rafferty / LAW-RESERVE KF411 .P58 2016 and eBook.
• The Development of International Law by the International Court of Justice by Christian J Tams & James Sloan / LAW-STACKS KZ6275 .D48 2013 and eBook.
• Kindred's International Law, Chiefly as Interpreted and Applied in Canada, 9th ed, by Phillip M Saunders & Robert J Currie / LAW-STACKS KZ358 .A2 I57 2019  and eBook.
• Private International Law in Common Law Canada: Cases, Text and Materials, 4th ed, by Stephen GA Pitel / LAW-RESERVE KF410 .P74 2016 and eBook.

Treaties & UN Documents

A treaty is a formal agreement between two or more countries. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, pact, convention, protocol, or covenant.

Treaties can be bilateral, multilateral, or plurilateral:

• Bilateral: treaties between Canada and one other country
• Multilateral: treaties between three or more countries
• Plurilateral: treaties between one State and a group of States

Canadian Treaties and Documents

• Canada Treaty List   (via Global Affairs Canada)
• Canada Treaty Series  (via Global Affairs Canada)
• UN Declarations and Statements (via Global Affairs Canada)
• Human Rights Treaties (via Government of Canada)

United Nations

• United Nations Treaty Series  
• United Nation Treaty Handbook  
• United Nations OHCHR Databases  
• Conventions & Selected Declarations Adopted by General Assembly Resolutions
• Overview of UN Documentation
• United Nations SHERLOC (Sharing Electronic Resources and Laws on Crime) Database (via UN Office on Drugs and Crime)
• United Nations Official Documents System (ODS)
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
• Drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (research guide from the UN's Dag Hammarskjöld Library)

International, Foreign, and U.S. Treaties

• EUR-Lex  
  • Provides access to European Union case law and treaties
• LLMC-Digital
  • Contains historical international treaties, arbitrations and conventions
• Treaties and International Agreements Research Guide (via University of Chicago Library)

Cases & Decisions

• African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights  
  • A continental court established by African countries to ensure the protection of human and peoples’ rights in Africa. It complements and reinforces the functions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
• European Court of Human Rights  
  • An international court established by the European Convention on Human Rights. Search the HUDOC database for case law.
• EUR-Lex  
  • Provides access to European Union case law and treaties
• Inter-American Court of Human Rights  
  • An autonomous legal institution whose objective is to interpret and apply the American Convention. The Inter-American Court exercises a contentious function, in which it resolves contentious cases and supervises judgments; an advisory function; and a function wherein it can order provisional measures.
• International Court of Justice  
  • The principal judicial organ of the United Nations, established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations.
• International Criminal Court  
  • Investigates and tries individuals charged with genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression.
• United Nations Case Law Database
  • A gateway to the jurisprudence of the ICTR, ICTY, and IRMCT Appeals Chambers
• Westlaw Edge (law students only)
  • Click the International tab for materials
  • Browse the International Materials Index to see what's available

Websites & Blogs

The following sites may be helpful for your research:

• Child Rights International Network  
  • A creative think tank with a focus on children’s rights. Their work is grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Includes reports, data, legal case studies, case law, and more.
• CODICES  
  • A database of constitutional case cases based on Venice Commission from the Council of Europe.
• Customary International Humanitarian Law Database  
  • An online version of the International Committee of the Red Cross's study on customary international humanitarian law, originally published by Cambridge University Press in 2005.
• European e-Justice Portal  
  • Provides information on justice systems and improving access to justice throughout the EU, in 23 languages.
• EUROTORT  
  • A comprehensive database of European cases on tort law.
• Find-eR: European Commission Libraries Catalogue  
  • Access to records of collections in the European Commission's libraries. Principal subjects are European law, policies, and integration; works about members states; international affairs; and some European cultural topics.
• Global Health and Human Rights Database  
  • A free online database of law from around the world relating to health and human rights.
• Hague Conference on Private International Law  
  • Provides the full text of conventions, conference proceedings, publications and studies, and more.
• International Law Chiefly as Interpreted and Applied in Canada: Links to Documents  (via Emond Montgomery)
  • Links to the full text of treaties and cases that supplement the 7th ed of Prof. H. M. Kindred's textbook.
• Institute of European and Comparative Private Law  
  • Organizes workshops and seminars with national and international specialists and takes part in international research groups studying the harmonization of private law and the relationships between the development of law and national cultures. Maintained by the University of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.
• Ius Commune Research School Casebooks  
  • Collates case law, legislation, doctrinal writings, and other relevant source materials from the main European legal systems for each main field of the law. Excerpts from these materials are accompanied by introductory comments, explanatory notes and comparative overviews that put them in context.
• Jumpstart Your Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Research  (via American Association of Law Libraries)
  • A guide to conducting foreign, comparative, and international legal research.
• Legal Reports: Foreign, Comparative & International Law Collection  (via Law Library of Congress)
  • Research reports and other publications on a wide range of legal topics prepared by the Law Library of Congress in response to requests or recurring interest from Congress and other federal government entities on issues concerning foreign, comparative, and international law
• Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)  
  • An international organization that works to build better policies for better lives. Includes reports and documents covering international finance, development, environmental issues, and more, as well as OECD proceedings and press releases.
• World Trade Organization (WTO)  
  • Operates the global system of trade rules, helps developing countries build their trade capacity, and provides a forum for its members to negotiate trade agreements and to resolve the trade problems they face with each other.

There are many blogs maintained by lawyers and law firms, and you can find many of them at lawblogs.ca. There are several blogs listed in the international & cross-border law category that may be helpful.