Treaties and International Agreements

Treaties are highly complex and can be difficult to find. This guide focuses on the issuing body: United States, United Nations, other countries. Some distinctions are important:

• Official texts: issued by a country or international organization after treaty has been ratified.
• Unofficial texts: issued by private parties, usually available more quickly than official text.
• Draft texts: may be the same as official texts, but not necessarily. Often includes letters of transmittal, but may not include reservations or amendments.
• Unperfected treaties: treaties no longer in force.
  

Locating Treaties (contents of this page)

• Chart: United States Treaty Sources
• Same chart as Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file
  
• United States Treaty Text Sources
• United States Treaty Finding Aids
  
• United Nations Treaty Text Sources
• United Nations Treaty Finding Aids
  
• Other World Treaties
  
  

  United States Treaty Text Sources

  Official Texts

  United States Statutes at Large Denver Locations

  Through 1949 the United States published ratified treaties in US Statutes at Large. Of special interest are two early volumes of this set: v. 7 contains early Indian treaties; v.8 contains other early US treaties.

  United States Treaties and Other International Agreements Denver Locations

  Beginning in 1950 the US State Dept. began this series, known as "UST." It includes both treaties proper and executive agreements. It cumulates the slip treaties which are issued through the Treaties and Other International Acts series (TIAS) (see below).

  Treaties and International Acts Series Denver Locations

  These are known as "slip treaties" because they are issued individually as slips of paper or small pamphlets.

  Treaty Series Denver Locations

  Slips treaties of treaties proper from 1908 through 1945.

  Executive Agreement Series Denver Locations

  Slip treaties of executive agreements from 1930 through 1945.

  Unofficial Texts

  Draft Texts

  Unperfected Treaties

  United States Treaty Finding Aids

  Indian Treaties

  University of Colorado, Boulder
  University of Washington

  United Nations Treaty Text Sources

  United Nations Treaty Database

  United Nations Treaty Finding Aids

  Other World Treaties

  Treaty Guides from other places

  University of California, Davis
  University of California, Berkeley
  Environmental Treaties and Resource Indicators (ENTRI)

http://www.virtualref.com/ -- Revised: June 14, 1998
© 1997 Christopher C. Brown
chris@virtualref.com