Treaties
Treaties are agreements between sovereign states governed by international law. They are sometimes also known as conventions, covenants, charters, protocols, pacts or accords. Treaties can be bilateral or multilateral.
Bilateral Treaties
These are treaties between two sovereign states. Bilateral treaties can be searched in participating countries' websites/ databases. They may also be found in the United Nations Treaties Collection (UNTC) website (assuming they were registered with the United Nations).
Multilateral Treaties
These are treaties between three or more sovereign states. Multilateral Treaties are generally registered with and published by the Secretariats of international organisations (such as the United Nations).
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How to search for treaties
Official full-text version of treaties can be found in the websites of the body or the organisation which performs the role of the Secretariat for that treaty.
There are various collections, indexes and repositories where you can search for treaties. See the end of this page for a list.
When searching for treaties, you can follow this process as a general guideline:
- Find the full-text of the treaty.
- Determine its status - is it currently in force?
- Identify the names of the sovereign states that are parties to the treaty.
- Find if any of the parties made any reservations or objections to any particular section of the treaty.
- Review the drafts (travaux préparatoires - preparatory works) to understand the context of the treaty and how it developed over time.
- Look at the history of the treaty since inception to see if any subsequent amendments have been made.
Treaties can be searched in various online databases and repositories. You can also find the full text of some treaties in Lexis Advance and Westlaw.
United Nations treaties
Bilateral and multilateral treaties, agreements and conventions registered with the United Nations can be searched in the United Nations Treaty Collection (UNTC) website.
This website has 3 separate search interfaces, and they all serve slightly different purposes:
1. United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS) - contains all treaties and international agreements registered with the United Nations since 1945. You can search for the full text as they appeared in the volumes of the UNTS, as well as the texts of treaties yet to be published.
2. Status of Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General (MTDSG) - this section of the UNTC website (also known as the 'Depository') follows the chapter structure of the original publication. For each treaty, you can find information on ratification, accession, signature and texts of any declarations, reservations or objections submitted by parties.
3. League of Nations Treaty Series (LNTS) - this section of the UNTC website contains treaties registered with and published by the Secretariat of the League of Nations (5 July 1920 - 3 October 1948). The League of Nations was replaced by the United Nations after the Second World War, but (unless there is a specific reason) the treaties in the LNTS are normally still in force.
- United Nations Treaty Collection (UNTC) Website Official site for UN treaties.
- United Nations Treaty Collection (UNTC) Website - User Guide A detailed guide on Navigating the United Nations Treaty Collection (UNTC) website.
- United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS) Contains all treaties and international agreements registered or filed and recorded by the Secretariat since 1945. Use the Advanced Search tool to search for a specific treaty.
- Status of Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General (MTDSG) Information on all multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General of the UN. Use this database to verify the status of the UN treaties.
- League of Nations Treaty Series (LNTS) (5 July 1920 - 3 October 1948) A collection of treaties and subsequent treaty actions registered with and published by the Secretariat of the League of Nations (5 July 1920 - 3 October 1948).
Research Guides on UN Treaties
See below for a list of research guides on finding UN treaties, developed by various law libraries and law research institutions around the world.
Explore them as they contain lots of additional information not covered in this guide.
- Georgetown Law Library - Treaty Research Guide A guide on Treaty Research by the Gerogetown Law Library.
- GlobaLex Researching Treaties Deposited with the U.N. Part of GlobaLex's Researching UN Documents website
- United Nations International Law Commission - Analytical Guides on Treaties A research guide on the work of the UN International Law Commission.
- United Nations Human Rights Treaties Provides information on the 9 core human rights treaties. Searchable by subject matter.
- UN Audiovisual Library of International Law - Treaties and other Instruments Links to treaty databases maintained by various countries and organisations.
- UN Audiovisual Library of International Law - Law of Treaties Lecture series on Law of Treaties
- Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights - UN Treaty Body Database Search for documents and information pertaining to the core international human rights treaties.
Treaty research guides
These are research guides on finding treaties in general.
They are not specifically about finding UN treaties, but they do mention them.
- Peace Palace Library - Research Guide on Treaties A guide on Treaty Reseach by the Peace Palace Library.
- Emory University Law Library Research Guide - Treaties and Conventions A research guide on Treaties and Conventions by the Emory University Law Library.
- Columbia University Law Library - Guide to Treaty Research A guide to treaty research developed by the Arthur W. Diamond Law Library.
- Law and Technology Resources for Legal Professionals (LLRX) - Researching Non-U.S. Treaties and Agreements A research guide on non-U.S. treaties - developed by the International Legal Studies Library at Harvard Law School.
- GlobaLex - An Introduction to Sources for Treaty Research A guide on treaty research by the Hauser Global Law School Program at NYU School of Law.
- The University of Chicago Library - Fundamentals of Treaty Research A dated, but still quite valid guide on treaty research.
Other treaty resources
Australia
- Australian Treaties Database A database from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for researching treaties to which Australia is a signatory, or where Australia has taken other treaty action.
- Australian Treaties Library From AustLII, provides access to treaty texts (Australian Treaty Series), indexes, status lists, and explanatory material.
European Union
- American Society of International Law - Electronic Resource Guide for the European Union Research Guide for the European Union.
- European Union Treaties EU treaties sorted chronologically from latest to oldest.
- Council of Europe Treaty Office The text of all Council of Europe treaties, their explanatory reports, and the status of signatures and ratifications.
- EUR-Lex - Treaties Currently In-force Currently in-force treaties between EU member countries.
South America
United Kingdom
- Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) - Treaties Guidance to the work of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Treaty Section.
United States
- Library of Congress - U.S. Treaties: A Beginner's Guide A research guide on U.S. Treaties by the Library of Congress.
- HeinOnline - U.S. Treaties and Agreements Library From HeinOnline homepage, under 'Browse Databases by Category', choose 'International Treaties and Agreements' - which contains all U.S. treaties.
- United States Department of State - Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS) US Treaties from 1981 - to date.
- United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) - Income Tax Treaties Provides links to tax treaties between the United States and particular countries.
- United States Department of the Treasury - Treaties Provides access to the text of many US income tax treaties, protocols, notes and the accompanying Treasury Department tax treaty technical explanations.
- Congress.Gov - Treaty Documents A database of treaties submitted to the Senate since the 94th Congress (1975-1976).
- Congressional Documents - Senate Treaty Documents This collection consists of House Documents, Senate Documents, and Senate Treaty Documents.
- United States Institute of Peace (USIP) - Peace Agreements Digital Collection Contains the full text of agreements signed by the major contending parties on ending conflicts worldwide since 1989.
Other Useful Treaty Websites
- Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS) - FLARE Index to Treaties Search A database of basic information on the most significant multilateral treaties concluded from the 1600s onwards.
- International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) - Treaties and Customary Law A brief guide on treaties and customary law.
- International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) - Treaties and States Parties A list of current and historical treaties on victims of armed conflicts, methods and means of warfare, cultural property, criminal repression, and other treaties relating to IHL.
- International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) - Treaties and States Parties A list of current and historical treaties on victims of armed conflicts, methods and means of warfare, cultural property, criminal repression, and other treaties relating to IHL.
- University of Minnesota Law School - Frequently-Cited Treaties & Other International Instruments Provides a list of treaties frequently cited in law review articles, along with links to these treaties in PDF format, when available electronically.
- WorldLII - International Treaties Collection Contains a number of international treaties from countries all over the world.
- World Treaty Index (WTI) Provides access to thousands of treaties. Sources include the 'United Nations Treaty Series' to various national indexes, gazettes, and official files.
- Yale Law School - The Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy An excellent resource for ancient/ historical treaties.
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