Research Guides

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.

Indexes to Treaties

• Treaties in Force (print) (Reference JX 236.5 T73)
• 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

• CCH Congressional Index (Reference KF 49 C6)  The "Treaties - Nominations" section in volume one tracks current action on treaties.
• Dispatch (print)(1990-1999) (Gov Docs S 1.3/5:)
• Dept. of State Archives (1993-1997)  This weekly publication of the Department of State includes a section called "Treaty Actions" in its third issue each month. It was discontinued in December 1999 and past issues are available at the Department of State website.
• Department of State Treaty Actions (1997- ) 
• 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."

• Lexis (INTLAW;ILM, 1980- ) 
• Westlaw (ILM, 1980- )

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.

• Lexis (INTLAW;ILM, 1980- ) 
• Westlaw (ILM, 1980- )

• 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.

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