Doing research in international law for the countries of Eastern Europe is very often frustrating, time consuming and eventually fruitless. One of the reasons is the language barrier; another is the scarcity of clear, reliable sources, even in the vernacular languages of those countries; finally, there is always considerable delay in receiving legal information for Eastern Europe. In compiling the present research guide I have tried to take into account all these discouraging factors and offer a new perspective to the user, an optimistic one rather than pessimistic one. Therefore, I included only English language sources, produced in the United States and Western Europe, because they tend to be widely available, reliable and generally up to date. By doing so I hope to dispel the reluctance that American lawyers, law teachers and students have about materials in languages other than English.

Due to the rapid changes in the legal systems of Central and Eastern European countries and the republics of the former Soviet Union, the question that researchers and librarians nowadays face is how to get current foreign materials in English in a reliable published form. Only two years ago the problem was that there were no comprehensive, consistent, and current sources in English translations. Today the problem is not so much finding sources as being certain of the reliability and continuity of the available sources. There is a boom in new publications and services (both primary and secondary, both in paper and in electronic format), but one cannot always count on them for timely, regular publication, and consistent scope of coverage.

An essential factor of Finnish legal history and the Finnish legal system is Finland's organic union with Sweden, which lasted for more than 700 years. The result was that the educated class became predominantly Swedish-speaking; Swedish was also the language of the administration and the courts and of higher education. Many of the similarities currently prevailing between Finland and Sweden in cultural life, as well as in their political and legal system, are explained by the two countries having this joint history.

As noted in the last column (IJLI, v. 22, no. 1) a number of organizational changes occurred in major United Nations organs in the summer of 1993 prior to the opening of the 48th session of the General Assembly, September 21, 1993. Even minor changes are likely to affect the Organization's documentation and details are provided to help explain. The preceding column concentrated on changes in the Security Council, but this time concentration is on the General Assembly, the only organ in which all 184 states are members.