International Law: Other Organizations

The Commonwealth is composed of 53 member states, headed by HM Queen Elizabeth II. The Commonwealth Secretariat works to promote human rights, good governance, democracy, rule of law, and social and economic development.

The Law Library holds old volumes of case law from Commonwealth countries in the sub-basement, including the general title Law Reports of the Commonwealth (SB-24). For more about researching the law of various Commonwealth countries see the Foreign Law Guide.

An independent international organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands.  The court tries cases concerning the most serious crimes of international concern, including genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The Rome Statute, signed by 124 member states, governs the court.

The WTO is a global organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments.