Introduction to US Treaty Research
In the United States, the term "treaty" is used specifically to refer to the small number of international agreements that require the advice and consent of the Senate before entering into force. In contrast, "executive agreements" do not require Senate consent. Both types of agreements are binding under international law. For more information on the distinction between the two, consult this helpful guide from the Georgetown Law Library.
With the majority of current and historical treaties and agreements now available in online databases, it's much easier to locate the full text of a treaty or an agreement, using citations, search templates, and full text searching. Please note that this guide focuses on current treaties and agreements. For older or historical treaties, please refer to Treaty Publications, in HeinOnline's U.S. Treaties and Agreements Library.
Finding a Citation in Treaties in Force (TIF)
Use the following online sources to find the citation to a U.S. treaty or agreement. Most prefer using HeinOnline's U.S. Treaties and Agreements Library because it also links directly to the full-text, official version. No subscription? Try the State Department's website.
- Treaties in Force (TIF)An index of many of the treaties and international agreements currently in force in the United States. Divided into Bilateral and Multilateral sections, this publication is updated annually by the State Department, most recently in January 2020. Firefox and Chrome browsers recommended.
- U.S. Treaties and Agreements LibraryThis database includes all publicly available U.S. treaties and agreements, whether currently in-force, expired or not-yet officially published. The search results link to both official and unofficial sources.
- Lexis Plus: Treaties in ForceFill in the resulting template with any terms. The results will list basic information with links to html versions of treaties in Bevans and UST only. May be out of date.
- Westlaw This link opens in a new window
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Type US Treaties in Force in the search box. As the suggestions arise, select the content: United States Treaties in Force. Enter treaty terms or numbers in the search box. Results will link to the full text of the treaty. Difficult to search. May be out of date.
Updating TIF with Pending/Recent Treaties and Agreements
- Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS) 1981-2020The first place where treaties and some international agreements are officially published. For more current information, use the HeinOnline database above.
The treaties were numbered consecutively until 2002, when the system changed to a year-month/day system, e.g., 07-217. - Treaty Actions (1997-2012)A monthly compilation of treaties and international agreements from the Department of State. Suspended in 2013.
- U.S. Treaties and Agreements Library This link opens in a new window
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Use this source to update TIF, or begin your research here.
Treaties and agreements not yet published in the official T.I.A.S. series are included in this Hein database. Assigned a "KAV number," named after Prof. Kavass, originator of the print version of this publication, these documents are updated annually with the TIAS number when it's assigned.
- Westlaw: United States Treaties and Other International AgreementsU.S. Treaties and Agreements from 1778 - present. Can search by official citation number, country, topic and keyword. Can sort results by date, relevance.
- U.S. Treaties on LexisMany U.S. Treaties dating from 1776 to present, both in force and not in force. HTML format, no time sorting.
- Treaties Pending in the SenateTreaties submitted to the Senate by the State Department which have not received Senate advice and consent to ratification. Includes links to PDFs of the listed Senate Treaty Documents.
- Treaty Documents from Congress.govTreaty documents are available on Congress.gov for all treaties submitted to the Senate since the 94th Congress (1975-1976).
Congress.gov tracks treaties through the Senate. Unlike bills, which die at the end of a congress if they have not received final disposition, treaties remain in or are re-referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations at the end of each congress until the Senate has completed action by agreeing to the resolution of advice and consent to ratification or by returning the treaty document to the President. - U.S. Senate, Treaties Received & ApprovedLists treaty actions in the current Congress.
Drafting and Ratification History of U.S. Treaties
- GovInfo: Senate Executive ReportsSenate Executive Reports: Reports of the Committee on Foreign Relations relating to treaties between the United States and foreign nations which have been submitted to the U.S. Senate for ratification. Select the congress, then expand the Executive Reports by clicking on the + sign.
Individual Government Agencies Websites
Several federal agencies post ratified, in force U.S. Treaties that are relevant to their area of concern. Some agencies will also include treaties that are pending ratification or entry into force.
- Environmental
- Investment
- Security
- Taxation
- Trade
U.S. Treaty Citations
Rule 21.4 of the Bluebook sets out the citations for treaties and international agreements. Georgetown's Treaty Guide provides a quick overview.
Three things to note about treaty citations:
- Use the English language version of a treaty name in full, whenever possible.
- In a bi-lateral treaty, abbreviate the country names according to Table 10 and order them alphabetically: Japan - U.S.
- In a multilateral treaty in which the U.S. is a party, cite to an official U.S. treaty sources, such as UST, TIAS, etc. A parallel citation to an international source may be added afterwards: UNTS, OASTS, etc.
Other Research Guides
- U.S. Treaties & Agreements (Georgetown Law Library)Extensive, current guide, with detailed information.
- Brooklyn Law School Treaty Research GuideIncludes Bluebook citation rules and location guide to official sources.
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