International Law Research Canons

As I noted a few weeks back, PrawfsBlawg is hosting a research canons series, where readers can post thoughts on the most useful resources within a given discipline for new scholars seeking to gain a foothold in that field. Today, they’re seeking input on international law.

I’ve posted a few of my general public international law favorites over there (e.g., Brownlie, Oppenheim (both the 8th and 9th editions), Akehurst, Cassese, Shaw) and I’d invite Opinio Juris readers to offer their own contributions as well.

Peter’s post on International Economic Law suggests, however, that the project might benefit from further specialization. Thus, we could seek to identify what texts are useful for someone looking to write in a particular area of international law, such as international economic law (with or without a trade focus), international criminal law, international environmental law, human rights, etc. For example, in my own subject area–treaties–I’d recommend the following basic texts:

Anthony Aust, Modern Treaty Law & Practice (Cambridge, 2000)
Samuel Crandall, Treaties – Their Making and Enforcement (Byrne & Co., 1916)
Lord McNair, The Law of Treaties (Oxford, 1961)
Paul Reuter, Introduction to the Law of Treaties (Pinter, 1989, trans. by Mico and Haggenmacher, although the original French is preferable if you’ve got the language skills)
Sir Ian Sinclair, The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (2d ed. 1984)