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Researching Environmental Justice and Human Rights in the Americas: Getting Started

This guide was created specifically to accompany the 2022 Braun Memorial Symposium, held on November 18. For more information on this event, see https://law.uic.edu/events/braun-symposium-environmental-justice-and-human-rights-in-the-americas-and-the-cari

Braun Memorial Symposium

This guide was created specifically to accompany the 2022 Braun Memorial Symposium, held on November 18 at the UIC School of Law. The Braun Memorial Symposium is a signature event held annually at the law school. The following resource was also created to accompany the 2022 Braun Memorial Symposium: 

UIC Law School International Human Rights Clinic & Santa Clara University International Human Rights Clinic, Escazú Toolkit: Using the Escazú Agreement in Cases Before the Inter-American System (Nov. 2022, updated Mar. 2023), https://repository.law.uic.edu/whitepapers/25/.

Environmental Justice and Human Rights in the Americas

This topic touches on two major areas within international law: international human rights law and international environmental law. To learn more about each of these areas as well as the international legal system and international legal research in general, please see our International Legal Research LibGuide. 

In addition, this topic involves a regional intergovernmental organization (IGO), the Organization of American States (OAS), which includes the Inter-American Human Rights System and the nations within this region.

 

Research Guides

High quality librarian-authored research guides, like this one, are often a good way to start research on a new topic. GlobaLex is a collection of research guides on international and foreign law topics. The following are selected guides from GlobaLex and other academic websites that may be helpful in researching environmental justice and human rights in the Inter-American context. 

UPDATE: A Basic Guide to International Environmental Legal Research (May/June 2022) authored by Heidi Frostestad Kuehl

UPDATE: Researching International Human Rights (Jan./Feb. 2021) authored by Susan M. Boland

Environmental Law, International Env't Law, and EJ Research Guide: International Environmental Law Resources (Vermont Law School)

UPDATE: The Inter-American System of Human Rights: A Research Guide (Nov/Dec. 2022) by Francisco A. Avalos

UPDATE: Researching the Law of Latin America (Nov./Dec. 2022) by Julienne E. Grant

International Environmental Law: A Basic Guide to Researching International Environmental Law (Jacob Burns Law Library, George Washington University)

Law & the Environment: International Environmental Law (Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford)

Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law

The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law is one of the most authoritative resources in its field.  Contributors to the Encyclopedia include scholars and practitioners from around the world, and articles are edited by a team from the prestigious Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law. The articles cover all areas of international law, including important treaties, cases, and concepts. There are over 200 entries under the general heading of "International Environmental Law." Following is just one such article that relates to the concept of international environmental justice.

Citations

For assistance citing to foreign and international materials in U.S. legal publications and documents, see the most recent edition of The Bluebook (the 21st). Note that Table 2 on Foreign Jurisdictions is now posted on The Bluebook's webpage (no fee).  See also the Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations indicated below for assistance interpreting foreign and international legal citations. It is located in our Reference collection, 6th floor K89 .G84 2009.