Treaty Citation

Treaty Citation

Finding Treaty Citation: How to Find a Treaty When You Have a Citation

Common Abbreviations

This is a list of the most common abbreviations used in treaty citations. The full title of the work is also given, as well as the call number. In most cases, the number preceding the abbreviation refers to the volume and the number following indicates the page.

  • Bevans, Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America, 1776-1949. ILS RR JX 236 1776 .B48 1968
  • BGBlBundesgesetzblatt der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. GER 201
  • CTIAConsolidated Treaties and International Agreements. ILS RR JX 235.9 .C66
  • E.A.S.– Executive Agreement Series. ILS RR JX 236.1929
  • ETSEuropean Treaty Series. ILS RR JX 625.9 .E97
  • I.L.M.– International Legal Materials. 1962-to date reprints important draft treaties and international agreements. ILS RR JX 68.I5
  • JOFJournal Officiel de la République Française. ILS FRA 202 and Mic FRA 202
  • KAVHein’s United States Treaties and Other International Agreements Current Microfiche Service. This is a microfiche set of current international agreements and treaties. Mic JX 235.9 .H45
  • L.N.T.S.– League of Nations Treaty Series pamphlets: ILS RR JX 170.L4
  • Malloy, Treaties, Conventions, International Acts, Protocols, and Agreements Between the United States of America and Other Powers. ILS JX 236.1910
  • Miller, Treaties and Other International Acts of the United States of America. ILS RR JX236 1931a
  • O.J.Official Journal of the European Communities. Current issues: ILS RR KJE 908 .L43. Previous years: Mic KJE 908 .L43a
  • S. EXEC. DOC.– Senate Executive Documents.
  • S. TREATY DOC.– Senate Treaty Documents. These are best accessed through the CIS Index. KF 49 .C62 Go to the “Index of Document Numbers” in the back of the Index volume. Treaty documents are the last heading in this section. Along with the Treaty Document number there is a CIS accession number. For an abstract of the document, go to the Abstracts volume for the corresponding year and look up the accession number. For years prior to 1991, the “Index of Volume Numbers” is the last volume of the “Subject Index” in the section “Supplementary Indexes.”
  • About the above, if the treaty document is too recent to be included in the latest issue of the CIS Index in the black binders, check the CCH Congressional Index (the last two Congresses has the call number KF 49.C6). There is a red tab marked “Treaty Documents.” This source will only give an abstract of the document, current status, and the numbers of any Senate Reports to do with the treaty.
  • Stat.– United States Statutes at Large. RR KF 50 .U5
  • T.S.— Treaty Series ILS RR JX 235.9 .A3
  • T.I.A.S.– Treaties and Other International Acts Series continues the Treaty Series and Executive Agreement Series. ILS RR JX 235.9 .A32
  • UKTSUnited Kingdom of Great Britain Treaty Series. ILS 53 500
  • U.N.T.S.– United Nations Treaty Series (1946-47 to date). ILS RR JX 170 .U35 Also available from HLS public terminals under “Selected International Law Resources” or online through HOLLIS Digital Resources.
  • U.S.T.United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (1950 to date) ILS RR JX 235.9 .A34
  • Vert.Verträge der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Series A. Multilaterale Verträge. ILS 51 1.7.9.3

Updating Treaties, Reservations, Parties

Bowman and Harris, Multilateral Treaties Index and Current Status. This work, along with the annual supplement, gives the current status, parties to a treaty, a note as to reservations and any denunciations. First, by using either the chronological table, subject or word index, locate the treaty number in the hard-bound volume. The information there will give the status of 1984. Using the same number, look up the treaty in the latest cumulative supplement. ILS RR JX 171 .B68x

Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General. This annual UN publication gives the current status of all multilateral treaties deposited there. The reference numbers obtained from the index at the back of the volume correspond to chapters and their subdivisions. Parties, dates of signature and ratification, as well as declarations and reservations are given. ILS RR JX 236.5 .M84

Treaties in Force. This publication lists all treaties in force to which the U.S. is a party. In addition, all other states which are parties are given. Treaties in Force can further be updated by theState Department Dispatch ILS RR JX 232 .A34. In addition, the Dispatch can be searched online on Lexis: INTLAW;DSTATE

Finding Treaties No Citation: How to Find a Treaty When You Don’t Have a Citation

Since there exists no complete collection of treaties in print or online, you must often conduct your research with a certain amount of creativity and perseverance. It is important to note that treaties may be referred to by variety of names (Agreements, Conventions, Protocols, Memorandums of Understanding, Exchanges of Letters, et cetera). This section is an outline designed to aid you in your treaty research.

See in this Legal Encyclopedia:

  • Recent & Draft Treaties
  • Comprehensive Treaty Indexes
  • Indexes and Collections of Older Treaties
  • Specialized Treaty Collections
  • Online Treaty Resources

Correct Citation Form in Bluebook

Section 21.4 “Treaties and Other International Agreements” of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (ILS RR KF 245 .B58) indicates how to cite various treaty sources. Note that for treaties to which the U.S. is a party, “cite to one of the following sources, listed in the following order of preference: U.S.T. or Stat., T.I.A.S. or T.S. or E.A.S., Senate Treaty Documents or Senate Executive Documents, the Department of State Dispatch, or Department of State Press Releases.” If the treaty hasn’t yet been published in one of these sources, you may cite to an unofficial source (e.g. ILM or KAV). Foreign treaties are discussed by country in Section “R20: Foreign Jurisdictions.”

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *