What is the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law?

The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (MPEPIL or EPIL) is available in print and online versions.

MPEPIL is an excellent starting point for research on UN matters as it gives a brief, authoritative overview of complex topics, with citation to key resources for further research. The bibliographies and documents lists are especially useful.

MPEPIL contains:

• 1600+ peer-reviewed articles on international law issues, concepts, and cases, including:
  • articles about the UN
  • articles about topics of concern to the UN

Each article has:

• Article Title
• Author
• Date of most recent update of article
• In-depth analysis of subject
  • May include: definition of key concepts, historical development, relevant cases, etc.
• References to related MPEPIL articles
• Select bibliography
• Select documents

Tips for Researchers:

• Links within articles may go to
  • other MPEPIL articles
  • other Oxford University Press (OUP) online content
  • OUP citations.
  • In general, links do not go to the full text of UN documents.
• MPEPIL uses its own citation style and abbreviations for publications.
  • To find the full title for an unfamiliar publication
    • check the print MPEPIL which has a table of publication abbreviations
    • an online search for the abbreviation or the full citation may help
• For UN documents, MPEPIL often cites to the Official Records (e.g. GAOR, SCOR, ESCOR) and may not give a UN document symbol. For those who do not have physical access to print collections of UN Official Records, it can become challenging to locate the document.

Print: Wolfrum, Rüdiger. The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012, 10 volumes + index. UN Call Number: LSA 341(03) E562