Treaties

For non-U.S. multilateral treaties, the research process largely mirrors the process for U.S. treaties: (1) find a citation or link in an index; (2) use the citation to locate the full text of the treaty; and (3) check the current status of the treaty to ensure your information is up to date.

Multilateral treaties will often designate a depository (usually, the United Nations or the country on which the treaty was signed), who then keeps custody of the original text of the treaty, accepts all notifications and documents related to the treaty, registers the treaty, and notifies all relevant acts to the treaty's parties. For more information on the role of a treaty depository, see the Summary of Practice of the Secretary-General as Depositary of Multilateral Treaties and Article 77 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

Many treaties are also separately registered with the United Nations, which then publishes the treaty in its United Nations Treaty Series. This practice is in accordance with Article 102 of the UN Charter, which states that "every treaty and every international agreement entered into by any Member of the United Nations after the present Charter comes into force shall as soon as possible be registered with the Secretariat and published by it."

Reservations are statements made by a nation upon signing or ratifying a treaty that excludes or modifies the legal effect of certain provisions of the treaty for that party. Some indexes like the Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General (MTDSG) will contain a list of reservations made by parties. Others like the Treaties in Force (TIF) will only note that a reservation has been made by the United States. Countries may also object to a reservation if they believe the reservation is incompatible with the object and purpose of the treaty, and further declare that its objection precludes the entry into force of the treaty as between the objecting and reserving states.

The following indices are useful for multilateral treaties:

Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General (MTDSG)

This database provides up-to-date information regarding over 560 major multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Useful information provided by this database include subsequent treaty actions, texts of reservations, declarations, and objections, and a participation table showing each party’s relevant treaty actions.

Cumulative Index to the United Nations Treaty Series [1946 – Current]

Available online through the United Nations Treaty Collection and HeinOnline, this index consists of a Chronological Index and an Alphabetical Index for the treaties in the UN Treaty Series. The index provides relevant dates, parties, Treaty registration number, and subject headings.

Multilateral Treaty Calendar [1648 – 1995]

Also available online through HeinOnline’s Treaty Index, this chronological index provides citations to full-text sources along with the subject, date of entry into force, and parties.

 

The following sources provide full-text multilateral treaties:

United Nations Treaty Series (U.N.T.S.) [1945 – Present]

The United Nations Treaty Series is available online as a fully searchable database. It contains bilateral and multilateral treaties and international agreements registered or filed and recorded by the Secretariat since 1945.

League of Nations Treaty Series (L.N.T.S.) [1920 – 1948]

Also part of the U.N. Treaty Collection, the League of Nations Treaty Series includes bilateral and multilateral treaties registered with the League of Nations from 1920 – 1948.

International Legal Materials (I.L.M.) [1962 – Present]

Organization of American States Treaty Series (O.A.S.T.S.) [1940 – Present]

This collection covers Inter-American multilateral and bilateral treaties from 1940 through the present.

European Treaty Series (E.T.S.) [1949 – 2003] / Council of Europe Treaty Series (C.E.T.S.) [2004 – Present]

The European Treaty Series (and its predecessor Council of Europe Treaty Series) is a searchable database with full text and accompanying reports of treaties dating back to 1949.

International Legislation [1919 – 1945]

Collection of multilateral treaties from 1919 to 1945. Includes treaties never entered into force.

Consolidated Treaty Series [1648 – 1919]

Collection of bilateral and multilateral treaties from 1648 to 1919. All texts are in their original languages. Only available in print from Offsite Clancy, JX120 P35.

To check the current status of multilateral treaties, try the following resources:

Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General (MTDSG)

This database provides up-to-date information regarding over 560 major multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Useful information provided by this database include subsequent treaty actions, texts of reservations, declarations, and objections, and a participation table showing each party’s relevant treaty actions.

Treaties in Force (Section 2: Multilateral Treaties and Other Agreements)

In Section 2 of the latest TIF, you will find depository information for each multilateral treaty listed along with an introductory section titled “Depository Websites” providing links to depository countries and agencies. Going directly to these depositary websites is a good way to check the latest status of relevant treaties.