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Best resources to learnInternational Law

Study sheet

International law governs relations between states. You will learn treaties and customary law, the UN system, international courts, laws of war and human-rights law, and how enforcement actually works.

8 resources · · How we curate

📹Videos(1)

video

UN Audiovisual Library of International Law: Lecture Series

A permanent UN Office of Legal Affairs collection of recorded lectures by leading judges, scholars and practitioners across roughly 38 subject areas, including treaties, the UN system, courts and tribunals, human rights and armed conflict, with outlines and readings. Primary-source, free, and covers every branch the topic note lists; each lecture is by a top authority in that subfield, so it works as a modular reference course.

intermediate🇬🇧

🎓Courses(3)

course

International Humanitarian Law in Theory and Practice

Six-module Leiden University course on the law of armed conflict: conflict classification, conduct of hostilities, protection of persons, and implementation and enforcement, taught through a running case scenario and interviews with ICRC and US Naval War College experts.

intermediate🇬🇧
course

International Law in Action: A Guide to the International Courts and Tribunals in The Hague

The best structured, accessible entry point on how international courts actually operate and how far their jurisdiction depends on state consent. Leiden University course on international dispute settlement, covering the International Court of Justice, arbitration and international criminal courts through selected cases and interviews with judges and lawyers, with themes of state consent and law versus politics.

beginner🇬🇧
course

International Law

Graduate-level UCLouvain course on public international law: how rules arise from treaties and custom, who its subjects are, including states and international organizations, and how the law is applied and enforced, drawing on International Court of Justice judgments. Learners can analyse interstate legal disputes.

intermediate🇬🇧

📚Books(3)

bookPaid

The Internationalists: How a Radical Plan to Outlaw War Remade the World

Covers the 'how enforcement actually works' part of the topic note better than any textbook, in accessible prose. A history of the 1928 Peace Pact that outlawed war and how it reshaped the international legal order. It argues that international law is enforced mainly through 'outcasting', meaning exclusion and sanctions, not through a world police.

beginner🇬🇧
bookPaid

Brownlie's Principles of Public International Law (9th edition)

The standard one-volume doctrinal treatise on public international law, cited by courts and practitioners. It covers sources, statehood, territory, the law of the sea, jurisdiction, immunities, state responsibility, human rights and dispute settlement.

advanced🇬🇧
bookPaid

International Law (4th edition)

The best readable single-volume introduction to the logic of the field. A single-author textbook of about 410 pages covering sources, treaties, statehood, jurisdiction, state responsibility, the UN, the use of force, human rights and dispute settlement. It explains why the system works as it does, not only what the rules are.

intermediate🇬🇧

🌐Websites(1)

website

How Does Law Protect in War? (ICRC Online Casebook)

ICRC's online casebook on international humanitarian law: a 15-chapter outline of the law, more than 450 case studies and documents with discussion questions, and model course outlines, written by Marco Sassòli and co-authors. Practice-based cases show how the rules apply in real conflicts.

advanced🇬🇧
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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best free resources to learn International Law?

Dantes has curated 8 resources for International Law, including 1 videos, 3 books, 3 courses, 1 websites. All resources are hand-picked for quality — no algorithmic filler. Browse the full list above to find the format that works best for you.

Is International Law hard to learn?

International Law is approachable at the beginner level — there are resources here specifically for those starting from scratch. As you progress, intermediate and advanced material is also available to take your skills further.

What types of International Law learning resources are available on Dantes?

For International Law, Dantes has curated 1 videos, 3 books, 3 courses, 1 websites. Each resource type serves a different learning style: videos and YouTube for visual learners, books for depth, courses for structured progression, and websites for quick reference.

How does Dantes select International Law resources?

Dantes is an algorithm-free learning directory. Resources are hand-curated based on quality, accuracy, and usefulness — not engagement metrics or paid placements. The goal is to surface the best learning material for International Law, whether it's a free YouTube series, a classic textbook, or an open courseware from a top university.

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