TMLL Research Guide - Chapter 11

SELECTED SOURCES FOR RESEARCHING UNITED STATES TREATIES

Indexes

Treaties in Force (U.S. Department of State) (JX236.1929c, Level 4)
Published since 1964, this is an annual publication listing all treaties and other international agreements in force and of which the United States is a party. Part 1 lists bilateral treaties by country and includes subdivisions by subject. Part 2 lists multilateral treaties by subject. Electronic version: http://www.state.gov/s/l/treaty/treaties/.

A Guide to the United States Treaties in Force (JX236.5 G84, Level 4)
Published since 1982, this annual publication supplements Treaties in Force by providing additional access points.

United States Treaty Index: 1776-1990 Consolidation and Current Treaty Index. (JX236.5 C87, Level 4)
Edited by Igor I. Kavass, this is "a comprehensive index of all documented treaties and agreements entered into by the United States from 1776 through 1990." It has been updated by 1995 and 1998 revisions and is further updated by the Current Treaty Index that is issued twice each year.

Congressional Index (J69 C6, Current–Level 2, Reference; Older–Level 1)
Unlike bills, treaties can be held over from year to year in the Senate. Volume 1 has a "Treaties" tab that can be used for locating summaries and status information on pending treaties. A subject index is included.

Treaty Texts

International Legal Materials (American Society of International Law) (Periodicals Stacks, Level 1)
This is a bi-monthly publication that contains a wide and well selected range of documents long before they are available in official sources. Included are treaties and agreements, judicial proceedings, legislation and regulations, and reports. Each issue includes tables of "recent actions regarding treaties to which the United States" is and is not a party. Electronic versions: Lexis (Directory path: Area of Law By Topic/International Law/Treaties & International Agreements; Westlaw (ILM)

Treaties and Other International Acts Series (T.I.A.S.) (JX231 A341, Level 4)
This is the first official publication in slip form of all treaties and international executive agreements. The pamphlets are published somewhat chronologically with a lag time usually between four and six years.

United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (U.S.T.) (JX231 A34, Level 4)
Since 1950, the U.S. Department of State has published official bound volumes containing all treaties and international executive agreements. The set follows the numerical order of documents as first published in pamphlet form in T.I.A.S. The current lag time in publication is about ten years.

Charles I. Bevans. Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America 1776-1949 (JX236.1968 A5, Level 4)
This is the most comprehensive collection of pre-1950 treaties and agreements. Volume 13 is the general index.

Databases containing treaties on WESTLAW

On Westlaw, the USTREATIES database contains agreements as released by the U.S. Department of State. USTREATIES is more current than the official T.I.A.S., although it may not be as complete as the print versions. Westlaw also provides several subject-specific treaty databases, such as RIA-TAXT (RIA International Tax Treaties) and INTLENVL (International Environmental Law Documents).

Databases containing treaties on Lexis

On Lexis, the “U.S. Treaties on Lexis” database (Directory path: Area of Law - By Topic > International Law > Treaties & International Agreements > U.S. Treaties on Lexis) is equivalent to Westlaw’s USTREATIES database. Lexis also provides several subject-specific treaty databases, such as “Basic Documents of International Economic Law” (Directory path: Area of Law - By Topic > International Law > Treaties & International Agreements > Basic Documents of International Economic Law) and “Tax Analysts Worldwide Tax Treaties Combined Files” (Directory path: Area of Law - By Topic > International Law > Treaties & International Agreements > Tax Analysts Worldwide Tax Treaties Combined Files).

Internet sites containing treaties

You should begin by checking the Thurgood Marshall Law Library International and Foreign Law research page http://www.law.umaryland.edu/marshall/researchguides/specialtypages/internationalresources.html.