Co-published by Oxford University Press and the International Law Institute, and prepared by the Office of the Legal Adviser at the Department of State, this annual compilation of documents and commentary highlighting significant developments in public and private international law, and is an invaluable resource for practitioners and scholars in the field. Each annual edition compiles excerpts from documents such as treaties, diplomatic notes and correspondence, legal opinion letters, judicial decisons, Senate committee reports and press releases. All of the documents which are excerpted in the Digest are selected by members of the Legal Adviser's Office of the U.S. Department of State, based on their judgments about the significance of the issues, their potential relevance to future situations, and their likely interest to practitioners and scholars. In almost every case, the commentary to each excerpt is accompanied by a citation to the full text. The annual volumes of the Digest are a vital resource for international lawyers, be they practitioners, academics or students. State practice is at the heart of the development of international law. And the practice of so important an international actor as the United States is of the greatest importance. The volumes are prepared by the Office of the Legal Adviser at the State Department, following a tradition stretching back over a century. They give an authoritative and systematic treatment of recent US practice, across the whole field of international law. This is simply not available in any other form, despite (or perhaps because of ) the wealth of material available on the web.