The United Nations has a complex and sophisticated method of publishing materials. There are different types of publications, and each type is published according to its own system. It is important to understand the different types of publications, so that one can determine which documentation system applies.
The most basic type of UN publication is a UN Document. Not all items published by the UN are considered UN Documents. "A document is a text submitted to a principal organ or a subsidiary organ of the United Nations for consideration by it, usually in connection with item(s) on its agenda." Source: ST/AI/189/Add.3/Rev.2, para. 2. UN Documents are governed by the sophisticated numbering system described in the next section of this guide.
There are also UN Publications that are not considered UN Documents. UN Publications is a broader category. "The term 'United Nations publication' refers to any written material which is issued by or for the United Nations to the general public, normally under the authorization of the Publications Board."Source: ST/AI/189/Add.3/Rev.2, para. 4. For example, sales publications and press releases are UN publications, but not UN Documents.
The distinction between UN Documents and UN Publications is important because they follow different documentation systems. Also, depository libraries provide access to UN Documents, but they usually do not have a complete collection of other UN publications. The United Nations facilitates the distribution of UN Documents by using a system of depository libraries. Depository libraries are given UN Documents in exchange for making them available to the public. The Diamond Law Library is a depository library.
The UN Document Symbols System governs all UN Documents. Within the category of UN Documents, research strategy requires that one consider UN Documents in two distinct categories: 1) Official Records and 2) Parliamentary Documents. The distinction is important for two reasons. First, when a document is in the Official Record, the Bluebook requires citation to the Official Record (Rule 21.7). Second, the Official Record is almost always available in paper, whereas other documents may not be. See "Finding Documents" below, for further information.
Official Records are the major, final records of the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, and the Trusteeship Council. They are commonly referred to by their abbreviations: GAOR, SCOR, ESCOR and TCOR respectively. One can look at these records as a year-end report of each organ, reproducing the major documents of the year. Official Records are always identified explicitly with "Official Record" on the title page.
Each organ's Official Record is somewhat different. In general, the Official Records are made up of three main types of documents: meeting records, resolutions and decisions, and reports of all major committees. As they are UN Documents, they are governed by the UN Documents Symbol System.
Resolutions and decisions are important and heavily used documents. The main organs use the term resolutions for their long, substantive statements. Decisions are less substantive involving only a few lines, and are often about appointments, deferrals, etc. Resolutions and decisions of the main organs are published in supplements to the Official Record. Resolutions and decisions are in the last supplement of the General Assembly's Official Record and the first of the Economic and Social Council's Official Record. Note that the subsidiary organizations often use these terms in the reverse, and their more substantive statements are called "decisions."
The Official Record also includes reports of all major committees to the main organs. Some subsidiary organs report to the Economic and Social Council, while some report to the General Assembly. These reports are published as supplements to the Official Record. The supplement numbers have been inconsistent historically, although recently some have become more consistent. For example, the report of the International Law Commission is now always Supplement No. 10 of the Official Record of the General Assembly. UNIQUE (described below) is the best source for a list of these reports.
Parliamentary Documents consist of a variety of documents of the UN. These documents go by several different names, and are sometimes referred to as working documents, mimeodocuments, sessional documents, or masthead documents. They can be thought of as documents "other" than the Official Record. Of this huge system of parliamentary documentation, a small fraction is then compiled in the Official Record. Because parliamentary documents are official UN Documents, the UN Document Symbols System governs them.
The Official Record is a compilation of some of the documents of the main organs. Thus, documents can appear in both places: as a UN parliamentary document and later as a part of the Official Record. Therefore, there will be two versions and two document numbers. For example, a report of the Commission on Human Rights to the Economic and Social Council will have one document number reflecting its number in the Commission on Human Rights documents (ex: E/CN.4/1982/30) and a second number reflecting its appearance in the Official Record of the Economic and Social Council (ex: E/1982/12).
In legal research, this distinction is particularly important. The Bluebook requires that documents in the Official Record should be cited to the Official Record. The document symbol is not enough for proper citation. For example, a correct Bluebook citation to a report would be: "Commission on Human Rights, Report on the Thirty-Eighth Session, U.N. ESCOR, 38th Sess., Supp. No. 2, UN Doc. E/1982/12 (1982)."
Note that the Bluebook calls for citation information to include the supplement number, which is on the front page of the Official Record document, but is not reflected in the parliamentary document number. Also, the Bluebook does not call for a parallel citation to the parliamentary document E/CN.4/1982/30. Thus a copy of the E/CN.4/1982/30 document may be insufficient, and the Official Record version required for citation purposes--both because this is the preferred source of the Bluebook and in order to get the supplement number.v
Not considered UN Documents, sales publications are publications of general interest that the United Nations offers for sale. Sales publications include many monographs about the United Nations. For example, the Yearbook of the United Nations is a sales publication. Sales numbers, based on a system distinct from the UN Document Symbols System, identify them.
Information about sales publications can be found at the Shop.Un.org website. Sales publications are not part of the depository system. However, the Diamond Law Library receives some sales publications. These can be found by using the catalog, Pegasus. Other sales publications can be ordered through Inter-Library Loan.
Press releases are not considered UN Documents. Their use is considered only informational. However press releases are important research tools because they are produced in advance of the UN Documents.
United Nations News is the best place to find UN press releases. Press releases have their own documentation symbol system. The United Nations Documentation: Research Guide provides more information on researching press releases.
Press releases before October 13, 1995 are difficult to find. In rare cases, older press releases may be found on the websites of various organizations. Use Internet search engines to look for them. Alternatively, news articles or journal articles may provide citations for web site addresses or paper reproductions.