The Department of State is pleased to announce the release of the 2021 Digest of United States Practice in International Law, covering developments during calendar year 2021. Edited by the Office of the Legal Adviser, the Digest provides the public with a record of the views and practice of the U.S. Government in public and private international law. The official edition of the 2021 Digest is available exclusively on the Department of State website at: https://www.state.gov/digest-of-united-states-practice-in-international-law/. Past Digests covering 1989 through 2020 are also available online.
The Digest traces its history back to an 1877 treatise by John Cadwalader, which was followed by multi-volume encyclopedias covering selected areas of international law. The Digest later came to be known to many as “Whiteman’s” after Marjorie Whiteman, the editor from 1963-1971. Beginning in 1973, the Office of the Legal Adviser published the Digest on an annual basis, changing its focus to developments current to the year. Although publication was temporarily suspended after 1988, the Office of the Legal Adviser resumed publication in 2000 and has since produced volumes covering 1989 through 2020.