1. The Bluebook (Rule 21) lists official and unofficial sources for treaties
2. Which source you use depends on whether U.S. is a party and the number of parties:
Bilateral
(two parties)
OR
Multilateral
(more than two parties)
United States is a party
OR
United States is not a party
3. Use treaty indexes and databases to get citations
4. Frequently-Cited Treaties and Other International Agreements: Developed as an aid to law review citation-checking, this guide provides a list of treaties frequently cited in law review articles, along with available sources of hard copy as well as links to online sources, where these are available.
5. Treaty research also involves checking the status of a treaty, which usually includes:
ratification status
National implementation legislation
whether it is still in-force
subsequent amendments, protocols, reservations or other devices that may have affected its status
signatories to the treaty
whether there is an international organization that oversees or administers international law in the subject area of the treaty
This collection brings together Rohn, Dumont, Bevans, Martens, League of Nations, United States, and United Nations treaties into one easy-to-use and fully searchable database. Search a comprehensive treaty index by keywords, title, parties, sign date or citation.
Searchable database of basic information on over 2,000 of the most significant multilateral treaties and some bilateral treaties concluded between 1353 and the present, with details of where the full text of each treaty may be obtained in paper and, if available, electronic form on the internet
This library includes all U.S. treaties, whether currently in-force, expired, or not-yet officially published. This is the world's largest and most complete online collection of U.S. treaties and agreements and includes such prominent collections as the United States Treaties and Other International Agreements set (commonly referred to as the "Blue set"), as well as famous sets from Bevans, Miller, Malloy and others.
The Office of Treaty Affairs provides guidance on all aspects of U.S. and international treaty law and practice. It is also responsible for managing the U.S. treaty archives, reporting eligible agreements to Congress under the Case Act, publishing texts of U.S. international agreements in the TIAS series, compiling the annual Treaties in Force publication, and registering U.S. international agreements with the United Nations.
The Treaty Office also serves as the international depositary for certain multilateral treaties for which the U.S. has assumed this role.
Issued annually by the Department of State to provide information on treaties and other international agreements to which the United States has become a party as of January 1st in its most recent publication year.
Also available on Lexis Advance (type “treaties in force” in the search box then select “U.S. Treaties in Force” from the list that appears the search box) and WestlawNex (type United States Treaties in Force into the global search bar).
Congress.gov tracks treaties through the Senate. Unlike bills, which die at the end of a congress if they have not received final disposition, treaties remain in or are re-referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations at the end of each congress until the Senate has completed action by agreeing to the resolution of advice and consent to ratification or by returning the treaty document to the President.
U.S. Treaties on Lexis and Westlaw
You can search for U.S. Treaties in both Lexis and Westlaw. For Lexis, type U.S. TREATIES in the search bar; for Westlaw, type in UNITED STATES TREATIES. Suggested databases will be U.S. Treaties in Force and either U.S. Treaties on Lexis or U.S. Treaties and Other International Agreements (Westlaw). Selecting one or the other will allow you to search within just that database.
Treaties to which the U.S. may or may not be a party
This database brings together works from Rohn, Dumont, Wiktor, and Martens, spanning from 1648 to the present. Also included are hundreds of related treaty publications, scholarly articles chosen by Hein editors, and a bibliography of related publications.
Contains information regarding the activities of the Treaty Section of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, including a Depository of Treaties, Registration and Publication of Treaties, and related Resources and Training.
