|
Library
U.S. Treaties
Treaties are formal written agreements between countries. United States
treaties are ratified by the president but require a two-thirds approval vote
from the Senate. Executive agreements are similar to treaties and are made by
the president but do not require the advice and consent of the Senate. Bilateral
treaties involve two countries, while multilateral treaties involve three or
more.
This research guide focuses on agreements between nations. If you are looking
for the text of statutes for foreign countries, try the Foreign Law Guide which is the
online version of the book Foreign Law: Current Sources of Codes and Legislation
(Reference K38 .R49 1989). Brief descriptions of foreign statutes can be found
in the Martindale-Hubbell International Law Digest (Reserve).
Indexes to Treaties
- Treaties in Force (Reference JX 236.5 T73). On the web at http://www.state.gov/s/l/treaty/treaties.
- A Guide to the United States Treaties in Force (Reference JX 236.5
G94) This index supplements Treaties in Force by providing additional
access points. Part I lists bilateral and multilateral treaties by cite and
includes a subject index and an appendix which lists changes since the prior
edition. Part II covers only multilateral treaties. It also lists them by cite
and additionally includes also a chronological listing and a directory which
alphabetically lists countries with a subject listing within each country.
- Multilateral Treaties Index and Current States (Reference JX 171
B68 1984 & supp) This index chronologically lists the 800 most important
treaties and includes the status of 150 others. Subject and keyword indexes
are included. It is updated by supplements.
- Current Treaty Index (Reference JX 236.5 C87) This is an index of
treaties in pamphlet form that have been assigned a TIAS number, but have not
yet been published in United States Treaties and Other International
Agreements (UST).
To Check Status of a Treaty
- Thomas
Treaty Status Search (1974-). The treaty actions search feature at the
Library of Congress Thomas website (http://thomas.loc.gov)
allows you to track the Senate legislative actions for a particular treaty.
Coverage is back to 1975.
- Department of State
Treaty Actions (1997- )
- Multilateral Treaties Deposited With The Secretary General of the
United Nations (Current edition at Reference). Lists major treaties along
with which countries are currently signatories. Online at the subscription
database http://untreaty.un.org/.
- CCH Congressional Index (Reference KF 49 C6) The "Treaties -
Nominations" section in volume one tracks current action on treaties.
- International Legal Materials (ILM) (print) (Periodicals K 9 .N868)
This bimonthly periodical includes a "Recent Actions Regarding Treaties To
Which the United States Is a Party" section which is reprinted from the
Department of State's Dispatch, as well as its own "Recent Actions
Regarding Treaties To Which the United States Is Not a Party."
Text of Treaties
- United States Treaties and Other International Acts (TIAS) (1945- )
(Gov Docs S 9.10:) This series includes all treaties and international
agreements during calendar year with United States as a party published in
pamphlet form. They are prints of originals with marginal notes and footnotes.
Although they are later bound as United States Treaties and Other
International Agreements (UST), the library itself will now be binding the
pamphlets in numerical order from TIAS 10727, since the GPO is no longer
issuing UST to depository libraries in print.
- United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (UST)
(1950- ) (Gov Docs S 9.12:) This is the official permanent bound edition that
has all of the United States Treaties and Other International Acts (TIAS)
pamphlets. Because the GPO is now longer issuing UST to depository libraries
in print, the library itself is now binding the TIAS pamphlets numerically by
TIAS number beginning with TIAS 10727.
- Hein's United States Treaties and Other International Agreements
Current Microfiche Service (KAV) (Microform Cabinet 20) This is a
relatively new service which is an attempt to be more up-to-date than the
government sources for the text of treaties. It publishes the text of treaties
within eight months of receipt by Congress. It has its own index which is
located near the microform cabinet.
- International Legal Materials (ILM) (print) (Periodicals K 9 .N868)
This bimonthly periodical selectively publishes texts of treaties and is often
the first place for a treaty to appear. In addition its "Recent Actions..."
sections update the status of treaties.
- Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of
America 1776-1949 (Bevans) (Gov Docs S 9.12/2:) This set is valuable for
retrospective treaty research. Volumes 1-4 are a chronological arrangement of
multilateral treaties, while volumes 5-12 contain bilateral treaties arranged
alphabetically by country. Volume 13 includes indexes by subject and country.
- United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS) - Publishes treaties registered
with the United Nations. Online at the subscription database http://untreaty.un.org/. Located in the
library in the lower stacks (KZ172 .T74) and on microform.
- Westlaw USTREATIES database (1778-) (Westlaw password required)
- USTREATIES contains text of treaties to which the U.S. is a party, and
Senate Treaty Documents (the text of the treaty and other documents
transmitted from the President to the Senate).
Other Documents
For more information about treaties online, try the American Society for
International Law (ASIL) Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law at http://www.asil.org/resource/treaty1.htm.
Also, the Restatement of the Foreign Relations Law of the United States is at
the Circulation Desk. (Reserve KF4651 .F685 1987)
Back to the Top
|
