About i.lex

Welcome to i.lex: The Legal Research System for International Law in U.S. Courts. This online database of select U.S. court cases and related materials is designed to serve as a practical resource for members of the judiciary and other legal professionals to identify and understand how international law is interpreted and applied by U.S. courts at both the federal and state level.

Core data and the main content included in the i.lex database are:

  • Select decision by U.S. federal and state courts.
  • Summaries of holdings and applications involving international law.

The main content is supplemented by:

  • Texts of international treaties.
  • Domestic statutes.
  • Implementing legislation.
  • Decisions by international courts and tribunals.
  • International law commentary and other explanatory materials.

i.lex's primary audience is judges and their clerks and assistants, but it also has been developed for lawyers and other advocates who rely on international law in domestic litigation and legal scholars whose research, analysis, and teachings contribute to the development of a subsidiary means of identifying basic rules of law.

The i.lex database provides landmark decisions and case law for judges to consider when confronted with cases involving similar issues and provides a starting point from which scholars and others can acquire a basic understanding of the domestic application of international law.

i.lex is not intended to serve as a comprehensive source of case law incorporating international law into the U.S. legal system. Rather, it offers users access to the most important cases involving particular areas of international law such as human rights, refugee and asylum law, diplomatic and consular relations, transportation and communication, trade and transactions, and more.

ASIL has developed i.lex as part of its longstanding mission to promote greater awareness and understanding of international law and as a resource to educate judges and other members of the legal profession about how international law appears in US courts.

Development of the i.lex database has benefited from the input of judges, lawyers, legal scholars. Contributors to the i.lex database include: Craig Berry, Theresa Bailey, Julie Broome, Carson Clements, David Hall, Scott Lyons, Susan Notar, Eileen Simpson, Andrew Solomon, Melysa Sperber, Tara Van de Mark, and Karen Welch.

ASIL also wishes to thank the JEHT Foundation for its generous support of i.lex and ASIL's judicial programs.