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Step 1
Determine if there is evidence of international law. This should include looking for legal responses to questions of international law by the UN General Assembly or looking for evidence in diplomatic correspondence. You can also look through legal manuals that have been written for international organizations and seek out the opinions of international legal advisers.
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Step 2
Consider the importance of the evidence you find and treat it with care. When looking for evidence to support the element of international custom you are researching, you need to consider the importance of the evidence on the entirety of the case. For example, if you find a correspondance document that does not seem to pertain to the case, keep it any way. Later subsequent evidence could tie it in.
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Step 3
Look for inconsistencies which are often a country's or practice's downfall. An example of this may be a company that carries different hiring policies for different countries it operates in. These inconsistencies could lead to a violation of hiring practices. There is no time frame for evidence of international custom and law; therefore it is important to look as far back as you can and as thoroughly as you can for inconsistencies, rejections and contradictions.
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Step 4
Argue that the practice has been accepted as part of the law. This is when something is assumed in practice, or has a commonality among countries, though it may not specifically be represented in a legal statute. Find evidence of this with related or past practices and you will have solid support for this argument.
