Which Treaty Source Should I Cite?
- For treaties to which the U.S. is a party, Bluebook Rule 21.4(a) requires citation to one of the following if available, in order of preference: "U.S.T. (or Stat.); T.I.A.S. (or T.S., or E.A.S.); U.N.T.S.; Senate Treaty Documents or Senate Executive Documents; the Department of State Dispatch; Department of State Press Releases."
- For treaties to which U.S. is not a party, Bluebook Rule 21.4(b) requires citation to a "source published by an international organization... [including] U.N.T.S., L.N.T.S., O.A.S.T.S., Pan-Am. T.S., O.J., E.T.S., or C.E.T.S." If a treaty has not been published in one of these publications (or a similar publication from an international organization), Rule 21.4(b) requires citation to "the official source of one signatory."
- If a treaty is not published in any of the above sources, Bluebook Rule 21.4(c) requires citation to International Legal Materials (I.L.M.), an unofficial treaty publication. If a treaty isn't available in I.LM., Rule 21.4(c) allows citation to "another unofficial treaty source... [including] websites of governments and intergovernmental organizations, electronic databases, and sources such as the Foreign Relations of the United States series, Parry’s Consolidated Treaty Series, Hein’s microfiche treaty service, and Martens Nouveau Recueil."
To determine whether the U.S. is party to a treaty, and, if so, which U.S. treaty source it was published in, use the U.S. State Department publication U.S. Treaties in Force.
Alternatively, refer to the University of Minnesota's list of frequently cited treaties, search for journal articles that have cited your treaty of interest, or try searching HeinOnline's World Treaty Index.
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U.S. Treaties
For treaties to which the U.S. is a party, Bluebook Rule 21.4(a) requires citation to one of the following if available, in order of preference: "U.S.T. (or Stat.); T.I.A.S. (or T.S., or E.A.S.); U.N.T.S.; Senate Treaty Documents or Senate Executive Documents; the Department of State Dispatch; Department of State Press Releases."
Most of these sources are available via HeinOnline's World Treaty Library.
| Treaty Source | Bluebook Citation | Date Coverage | Where to Find |
|
United States Treaties and Other International Agreements Note that although Bluebook Table 4 lists this series as ongoing, publication ceased in 1984. |
U.S.T. | 1950-1984 | HeinOnline |
|
Statutes at Large Note that although this series is still ongoing, treaties have not been published in the Statutes at Large since 1949. This publication includes Indigenous American treaties from 1778-1904. |
Stat. | 1778-1949 | |
|
Treaties and Other International Acts Series Most major modern multilateral treaties to which the U.S. is a party are published here. |
T.I.A.S. |
1945-present | HeinOnline |
| Executive Agreement Series | E.A. | 1928-1945 | HeinOnline |
| United States Treaty Series | T.S. | 1795-1945 | HeinOnline (1922-1945) |
|
United Nations Treaty Series This is the world's most comprehensive treaty publication, including all treaties registered with the U.N. |
U.N.T.S. | 1946-present | treaties.un.org |
| Senate Treaty Documents | S. Treaty Doc. No. | 1981-present | |
| Senate Executive Documents | S. Exec. Doc. No. | 1778-1980 | Library microfiche collection (1818-1969 only) |
| Department of State Dispatch | 1990-1999 | HeinOnline | |
|
Department of State Press Releases This guide assumes Bluebook Rule 21.4(a) refers to the formal publication Department of State Press Releases, published from 1929 to 1939, though contemporary press releases are available on the Department of State website. |
1929-1939 |
HeinOnline |
International Treaties
For treaties to which U.S. is not a party, Bluebook Rule 21.4(b) requires citation to a "source published by an international organization [if available]... [including] U.N.T.S., L.N.T.S., O.A.S.T.S., Pan-Am. T.S., O.J., E.T.S., or C.E.T.S." The Bluebook does not indicate that these are the only acceptable sources published by international organizations, so this is a non-exhaustive list of official international treaty sources. HeinOnline's World Treaty Library includes some other sources published by international organizations not specifically named in the Bluebook.
| Treaty Source | Bluebook Citation | Date Coverage | Where to Find |
|
United Nations Treaty Series This is the world's most comprehensive treaty publication, including all treaties registered with the U.N. Most major modern treaties are published here. |
U.N.T.S. | 1946-present | treaties.un.org |
|
League of Nations Treaty Series |
L.N.T.S. | 1920-1948 | |
|
Official Journal of the European Union Formerly "Official Journal of the European Communities" (1958-2003) and "Official Journal of the European Coal and Steel Community" (1952-1957). |
O.J. | 1952-present | EUR-Lex |
|
Organization of American States Treaty Series Bluebook Table 4 lists series as ongoing, but this guide's author cannot find evidence of publication after 1995. The OAS website features more recent treaties, but without indication that they were published in the Organization of American States Treaty Series. |
O.A.S.T.S. | 1948-1995(?) | HeinOnline (1948-1992) |
|
European Treaty Series Includes treaties between member states of the Council of Europe (an intergovernmental organization distinct from the European Union). Preceded the Council of Europe Treaty Series. |
E.T.S. | 1948-2003 | Council of Europe website |
|
Council of Europe Treaty Series Succeeded the European Treaty Series. |
C.E.T.S. | 2005-present | Council of Europe website |
If a treaty is not available in one of these publications (or a similar publication from an international organization), Rule 21.4(b) requires citation to "the official source of one signatory:"
- Bluebook Table 2 lists official treaty publications for some (but not all) jurisdictions. The Greenbook is a series in the library's reference collection that indicates official treaty publications for most countries. Alternatively, NYU's Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations indicates some official treaty publications not mentioned in the Bluebook, but its coverage is less comprehensive than the Greenbook. Country-specific research guides also sometimes indicate official treaty publications.
- Once you've determined the name of the official publication, the next step is to search it for your treaty of interest. Try searching Google and the library catalog for the official publication, consult a country-specific research guide, or ask a librarian for help.
Unofficial Treaty Sources
If a treaty is not published in any of the above sources, Bluebook Rule 21.4(c) requires citation to International Legal Materials (I.L.M.), an unofficial treaty publication. If a treaty isn't available in I.LM., Rule 21.4(c) allows citation to "another unofficial treaty source... [including] websites of governments and intergovernmental organizations, electronic databases, and sources such as the Foreign Relations of the United States series, Parry’s Consolidated Treaty Series, Hein’s microfiche treaty service, and Martens Nouveau Recueil."
Some of the unofficial sources mentioned in the Bluebook are obscure or difficult to search. Usually the easiest to find unofficial treaty sources are the websites of governmental or intergovernmental organizations, which typically appear when you google the name of a treaty. HeinOnline's World Treaty Library also features a variety of official and unofficial sources, including several sources specficially named in the Bluebook.
| Treaty Source | Bluebook Citation | Date Coverage | Where to Find |
|
International Legal Materials Note that for law review source checking purposes, only HeinOnline and cambridge Core provide exact PDF copies of I.L.M. as it exists in print. |
I.L.M. | 1962-present |
HeinOnline (last 2 years not available) Westlaw (1980-present) Cambridge Core (limited access) |
| U.S. Treaties on Lexis | Lexis | 1776-present | Lexis |
|
Hein's United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (also known as KAV Agreements) Note that this is just one publication in HeinOnline's larger database of treaty sources. Hein also features many other unofficial and official treaty sources. |
Hein's No. KAV | 1984-present | HeinOnline |
