Secondary sources provide detailed background information on a country's history, political system, culture, and legal system. Secondary sources also contain citations to relevant primary sources, including cases and legislation. 

Start your search for books by using NUsearch, the library catalog for Northwestern University, to see what books we have available in the campus library system. You can conduct basic keyword searches or use the Advanced Search function to search for specific books.

If you need additional books or if you are looking for a particular title that we don't own, you can search for the item in WorldCat and submit an interlibrary loan request for it.

Journal articles can be found through various subscription databases or in print. Articles on international law topics may be published in law or law-related journals as well as in multidisciplinary journals. Conduct full-text keyword searches for journal articles in NUsearch or on Google Scholar.

Publications and reports from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and state governments are useful sources to help you understand international law topics and situations in specific countries. Examples of NGOs include Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Examples of IGOs include the United Nations (UN) and the Council of Europe (COE). 

Country reports refer to documents produced by governments, IGOs, or NGOs that describe the human rights situation in a country. Some country reports summarize a wide range of human rights issues within a country, while others focus on specific issues. 

Google Advanced allows you to run targeted searches across regular Google and limit your results to certain file types (e.g., .pdf) and/or search across a particular website (e.g., https://www.hrw.org) or domain (e.g., .edu, .org, .gov). The .int domain is reserved for international treaty-based organizations, UN agencies, and organizations or entities with observer status at the UN. The .org domain is often used by non-profit organizations, but can now be used by anyone. Using Google Advanced is particularly helpful when searching across government or NGO websites because these type of websites often lack great search functions.

Practical guidance can help you quickly familiarize yourself with substantive and procedural legal concepts in other countries and provide an overview of the current state of the law. Practical guidance is typically very up-to-date and written in an easy-to-read format, such as a Q&A format.