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RESEARCHING REFUGEE AND ASYLUM LAW

RESEARCHING REFUGEE AND ASYLUM LAW. Margaret Clark, Reference Librarian FSU College of Law Library February 2008. Refugee & Asylum Law Research. Step 1: Choosing a topic Step 2: Pre-emption check Step 3: Background research Step 4: Focused research. Step 1: Choosing a Topic.

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RESEARCHING REFUGEE AND ASYLUM LAW

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  1. RESEARCHING REFUGEE AND ASYLUM LAW Margaret Clark, Reference Librarian FSU College of Law Library February 2008

  2. Refugee & Asylum Law Research • Step 1: Choosing a topic • Step 2: Pre-emption check • Step 3: Background research • Step 4: Focused research

  3. Step 1: Choosing a Topic

  4. Step 1: Choosing a topicInterpreter Releases • Interpreter Releases (West) • Weekly publication • Summarizes fed & admin opinions • Legal articles • Proposed regulations; pending legislation • Establish WestClip account • Also in print KF 4802 .I68

  5. Step 1: Choosing a Topic Specialized current awareness BNA U.S. Law Week

  6. Step 1: Choosing a Topic Blogs • Online publication tools for posting commentary, news, opinions and debating issues • Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog • Immigration Prof Blog • Human Rights Blog • UN Dispatch

  7. Step 1: Choosing a Topic Other sources • Immigration Law in the Ninth Circuit: Selected Topics, Jan 2008 • Immigration Portal www.ilw.com • 300+ page document • Summarizing important cases • Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 110th Congress, Nov 2007

  8. Step 2: Pre-Emption Check • Determine that nobody else has published on same thesis as yours • Use step-by-step handout • Consult cutting-edge resources • Scholarly papers

  9. Step 2: Pre-Emption CheckScholarly papers Social Science Research Network (SSRN)

  10. Refugee and Asylum law Research is challenging! • Field is multidisciplinary • Research is found primarily in reports and working papers • Need for current information

  11. Step 3: Background ResearchResearch guides Use research guides that organize the primary and secondary sources By Elisa Mason • Guide to Forced Migration Resources on the Web • Guide to International Refugee Law on the Web By others • Research Guide to Aliens and the Law • Asylum Case Research Guide

  12. Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources • News sources • Books and treatises • Journal articles • Reports • Statistics • Country Reports

  13. Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources Important Treatises • Texts • AILA’s Asylum Primer, 3rd ed. • The Refugee under International Law • Rights of Refugees under International Law • Loose-leafs • Immigration Law and Procedure, Matthew Bender • Immigration Law Service, West

  14. Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources • Online Catalog • WorldCat • IndexMaster • Digital Libraries • Westlaw & Lexis TOOLS FOR LOCATING TREATISES

  15. Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources DIGITAL LIBRARIES • UNHCR Library (17,000 records) • Forced Migration Digital Library(9,000 full-text documents) • Refugee Studies Centre Library(36,000 records)

  16. Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources

  17. Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources

  18. Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources LOCATE ARTICLES, after 1980 • Westlaw • Lexis • Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals • Index to Legal Periodicals (ILP) • Public Affairs International Service

  19. Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources LOCATE ARTICLES PRE-1980 • ILP Retrospective • Hein Online • JSTOR

  20. Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources

  21. Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources LOCATING REPORTS • CIAOColumbia International Affairs Online • PAIS Public Affairs • UNHCR REFWORLD • Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports

  22. Step 3: Background ResearchSecondary Sources • Scholarly papers • CIAO database

  23. STEP 4: Focused ResearchPrimary sources • Treaties and conventions • Domestic legislation • Case law • Declarations, recommendations, resolutions

  24. STEP 4: Focused ResearchPrimary sources FINDING TEXT OF TREATIES • Refugee Treaties – • RefWorld Legal Collection • U Minn Human Rights Library • Recent Treaties • International Legal Materials ILM • Hein Online

  25. STEP 4: Focused ResearchPrimary sources DOMESTIC LEGISLATION • Search Westlaw or LexisNexis • REFLEG - UNHCR • Foreign Law Guide

  26. STEP 4: Focused ResearchPrimary sources CASE LAW • US Law • Handout • Westlaw and Lexis • International law • Refugee Caselaw U. of Michigan • Gender Asylum Case Law UC Hastings • Annotated Refugee Convention • International Law in Domestic Courts

  27. Final Words Give yourself plenty of time. Review published research guides or review Pathfinder. Develop a research strategy and keep a journal of what you’ve searched and where. Lots on the Web but NOT EVERYTHING. ILL process may take a week or more Please ASK for help from Librarians!

  28. Questions?

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