Arthur W. Diamond Law Library Research Guides

Top Resources for Treaty Research

Written by Silke Sahl Last Updated October, 2008

Getting Started

It’s always a good idea to start with a research guide, like the law library’s Guide to Treaty Research on the Law Library Web Page

US Treaties

Status

• US Treaties in Force — available in paper, Lexis, Westlaw, and Hein online, but most up-to-date on the State Department’s website

• Need more up-to-date information? Try Treaty Actions, Thomas or the Congressional Record

Text

• UST and TIAS are official sources, but they are out-of-date (often 20 or 10 years behind)

• If you can’t find an official source, use unofficial sources like ILM or KAV, or foreign and international sources…

• See Bluebook rule 21.4.5 for a list of sources in order of preference

• Commercial databases: Westlaw, Lexis, Hein and TIARA available through the library’s Electronic Resources Page will have the text of most, but not all current U.S. treaties

Non-US Treaties

Status

The Status of Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary General available through the U.N. Treaty Collection

Text

United Nations Treaty Series available through the U.N. Treaty Collection

Other Treaties

See our Guide to Treaty Research for many other treaties and resources not covered by these U.S. and U.N. sources, such as bilateral treaties, out-of-date treaties, pending treaties, foreign resources, subject-specific resources and more…

Secondary Sources

Use secondary sources as a research tool. See the library guide, Finding Books and Articles on International and Foreign Law available on the library’s website

Still can’t find what you are looking for? Come to the Reference Desk for help!