General background
Treaties are initiated, drafted and negotiated to agreement by the Executive Branch but require two- thirds approval by the Senate. The Senate refers treaties to its Foreign Relations Committee. After Senate approval, the treaty is ratified and proclaimed by the President. Executive Agreements are made with other countries by the President under the authority to conduct foreign affairs. While similar in form and effect to treaties, Executive Agreements do not require the advice and consent of the Senate. For more information on this process, see Treaties and Other International Agreements: The Role of the United States Senate: A Study [US DOCS Y4.F76/2:S. PRT.103-53] or The Making of International Agreements: Congress Confronts the Executive (1984) [KF5055.J63 1984].
Treaties are referred to by TITLE (the title is usually created from general terms relating to subject matter). A complete citation includes: title, date of signing, parties (if 3 or fewer), and references to main sources of publication. See The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation [Reserve KF245.B58x].
Forms of Publication
Until 1950, U.S. treaties appeared regularly after proclamation in Statutes at Large [Primary KF50.U6]. Pre-1950 treaties can also be found in Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America, 1776-1949 (a 13 volume set commonly cited by the compilers' name: Bevans) [US DOCS S9.12/2:]. In 1950, United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (UST) [US DOCS S9.12:] became the official source for all U.S. treaties and agreements. Several volumes are published annually, each with a noncumulative subject and country index. Note that the last United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (UST) bound volume is dated 1984. U.S. treaties first appear in slip form in Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS) [US DOCS S9.10:], a set of individually paginated pamphlets, consecutively numbered. In print this series has a lag time of about 20 years. Starting in 1996, it is available online from the State Department.
After ratification, but still well before treaties appear in slip form, selected treaties (after they are cleared for publication by the Senate) are published in the Senate Treaty Document Series (Congressional Information Service) [Law Storage/Basement] (formerly the Senate Executive Document Series).
Locating the Text of U.S. Treaties
If you have a complete citation, go to UST or TIAS. If the treaty is relatively recent (last 8 years) or you do not have a complete citation, see below.
Treaty Indexes/Finding Tools
MNCAT subject headings: Treaties Indexes or United States Foreign relations Treaties Indexes.
Treaties in Force (TIF). This annual publication lists and very briefly summarizes all U.S. treaties and agreements still in force, arranged by country and subject. Includes both bilateral and multilateral treaties and gives references to UST cites and TIAS numbers (if one exists). The primary use of TIF is verification of the existence of a treaty.
A Guide to the United States Treaties in Force ed. by I. Kavass and A. Sprudzs, annual [Ref KZ235 .G85x]. An alternative to TIF, access is by a combined subject index for both bilateral and multilateral treaties, as well as by numerical and country index.
Current Treaty Index [Ref KZ235 .C87x ]. This annual cumulative index lists current treaties and agreements published in slip form in TIAS as well as those treaties without TIAS numbers.
Congressional Record Index [until 1995, located at US DOCS X/a: after 1995, located at US DOCS X1.1/A 1995]. Provides a listing of treaty actions and discussion appearing in the Record under the heading "Treaties" and occasionally under the name of a particular treaty or its subject matter. Good source for legislative history of a treaty.
United States Treaty Index: 1776-1990 Consolidation [Ref KZ235.U55x 1991] (13 vols). This set is supplemented by Current Treaty Index; see above. This is one of the best sources for recent treaty information. There is a subject, chronological, and country index. The treaties are available on microfiche; see below.
Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary General. http://treaties.un.org/pages/ParticipationStatus.aspx This is a good source for citations and a list of the parties to an agreement. Limited to those treaties deposited with the UN.
Periodicals can be a very good source for citations to and information about treaties. Search the full-text files on both LexisAdvance (Browse Sources > Secondary Legal > Law Reviews & Journals) and WestlawNext (JLR).
Full-text Sources
MNCAT subject headings: United States Foreign relations Treaties.
Treaties and Other International Acts of the United States of America (H. Miller ed., 1931) [US DOCS S9.5/1:1-8]. Has text of treaties from 1776- 1863; eight volumes; good for treaties before TS #489.
Treaties, Conventions, International Acts, Protocols, and Agreements Between the U.S.A. and Other Powers (Malloy ed., v.1-2; Redmond & Trenwith eds., v.3-4). Contains text of treaties from 1776-1937; v.4 has cumulative index and chronological list of treaties [KZ235 1910x].
Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States, 1776-1949 (C. Bevans ed.) [US DOCS S9.12/2]. Supersedes Miller and Malloy; v.1-4 have the text of multilateral treaties and agreements in chronological order by date of signature; v.5-12 includes bilateral treaties and agreements in alphabetical order by country; v.13 has a cumulative country and subject index Treaty Series (TS) (#489-#812) (1908- September 1929) Contains treaties and executive agreements through 9/29.
Treaty Series (TS) (#813-#994) (October 1929-1945), contains treaties only [US DOCS S9.5/1].
Executive Agreement Series (EAS) (-#506) (October 1929-1945) [US DOCS S9.8].
Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS) (#1501- )(1946-date) [US DOCS S9.10]. Combines and continues numbering of Treaty Series and Executive Agreement Series.
Statutes at Large (1789-1950) (Stat.) Treaties were published irregularly in Statutes at Large from 1789 to 1903; with volume 47 (1931-32), international agreements were also included.
United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (1950-) (U.S.T.) [US DOCS S9.12].
Treaties and Other International Acts Series (T.I.A.S.) (slip treaty--later bound in U.S.T.) [US DOCS S9.10].
CIS Index and microfiche [Law Storage/Basement]. Treaties appearing in the Senate Treaty Document Series are indexed by CIS. Access is through subject matter of the treaty, title of the treaty, as well as through the heading "Treaties and Agreements," and the treaty document number (assigned by the Senate). The index gives a cite to the CIS microfiche set where the full text of the treaty is located.
International Legal Materials (1962-) [Per .I577]. Selected treaties appear in full-text, often the first and only place they are published until the treaties come out officially. ILM is also available on LexisNexis (Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > International Law > Treaties & International Agreements) from 1975 on and WESTLAW (ILM) from 1980 to present.
Looseleaf Services - Prentice-Hall's Federal Tax Treaties [Tax Serv KF6306.P74] publishes tax related treaties.
Hein's United States Treaties and Other International Agreements Current Service [Mfiche Room JX235.9 .H45x]. Use the United States Treaty Index [Ref KZ235.U55x 1991] and the Current Treaty Index [Ref KZ235.C87x] to locate the correct microfiche. Or use HeinOnline. This set is one of the best sources for recent treaties.
Consolidated Treaties and International Agreements (CTIA) [JX235.9.U95x]. This set is a continuation of the 231 volume set Consolidated Treaty Series [KZ120 .P35x 1969] which covers 1648-1918. The continuation set covers from January 1990 to present (about a 6 month lag).
Both LexisNexis and WestlawNext have treaties on various topics. Treaties can be located in the USTREATIES database on WestlawNext and in Legal > Area of Law - By Topic > International Law > Treaties & International Agreements on LexisNexis (not yet available on LexisAdvance). Both of these systems have major trade agreements (GATT and NAFTA), Environmental Law Reporter, International Economic Law Documents, and International Environmental Law Documents, and tax treaties.
Senate and House Treaty Documents (94th Congress forward).
Collections of multilateral treaties accessible full-text through the Internet. See section IX below for a list of treaty collections on the web. Not all of the listed collections contain treaties where the U.S. is a party.