Subject & Research Guides: Government Information: Treaties

About Treaties and International Law

Digest of International Law as Embodied in... (Moore, 1906)
Full title: A digest of international law as embodied in diplomatic discussions, treaties and other international agreements, international awards, the decisions of municipal courts, and the writings of jurists, and especially in documents, published and unpublished, issued by presidents and secretaries of state of the United States, the opinions of the attorneys-general, and the decisions of courts, federal and state.
Digest of International Law (Hackworth, 1940-1944)
Covers the documents and files accumulated in the Dept. of State since 1906.
Digest of International Law (Whiteman, 1963-1973)
Description forthcoming.
Digest of United States Practice in International Law (1973-1988, 2000-)
An historical record of the views and practice of the government of the United States in public and private international law. Following a hiatus from 1989-1999, publication of the Digest recommenced with calendar year 2000.
Cumulative Digest of United States Practice in International Law (1981-1988)
Continues the annual publication: Digest of United States Practice in International Law. Continued by Digest of United States Practice in International Law (2000).
Guide to the United States Treaties in Force (Kavass, 2020)
Designed to be used in conjunction with Treaties in Force (TIF) and provides access points well beyond those found in Treaties in Force. Professor Kavass' career-long indexing of treaties and agreements greatly expands upon the rather simplistic approach of the U.S. Department of State's indexing in Treaties in Force. The Guide contains three parts and a supplement: Part 1 is a numerical list of bilateral and multilateral treaties and agreements listed in TIF; Part 2 provides expanded subject lists of the treaties and agreements; and Part 3 provides a chronological index to U.S. multilateral treaties and agreements in force.

Finding Treaties

Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General
Provides up-to-date information regarding over 560 major multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Treaties and Other International Acts Series
The first official publication of U.S. treaties and international agreements is through the Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS), which is a series of consecutively numbered, individually paginated pamphlets containing the texts of agreements in English and other official languages of the agreement. After appearing in TIAS in slip form, U.S. treaties and international agreements are published in bound volumes of United States Treaties and Other International Agreements. HeinOnline Coverage: TIAS 11060 to TIAS 13179, 86-911 - 21-929 (1982-2021).
Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America, 1776-1949 (Bevans)
Compiled by Charles Bevans, a 13-volume set is considered to be the most complete collection of treaties and other agreements entered into by the United States from 1776 to 1950. Volumes 1-4 of this collection contain the text of multilateral treaties in chronological order and by date of signature. Volumes 5-12 contain the text of bilateral treaties in alphabetical order by country. Volume 13 contains indexes by country and subject.
Treaties in Force
Treaties in Force is an indexing tool for starting research on in-force treaties and agreements. Published annually by the Department of State since 1955, TIF provides a brief summary of all treaties and other international agreements, both bilateral and multilateral, which are considered to be in force for the United States as of January of the respective year. Bilateral treaties are arranged by country and grouped into subjects under each country, while multilateral treaties are arranged by subject. HeinOnline includes all previously published volumes of TIF.
United Nations Treaty Series
Available online as a fully searchable database containing bilateral and multilateral treaties and international agreements registered or filed and recorded by the Secretariat since 1945.
United States Treaties and Other International Agreements
Until 1950, U.S. treaties appeared regularly in Statutes at Large. Beginning in 1950, treaties and executive agreements have been published in a chronological series called United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (UST). UST includes the text of each treaty in the languages of the signatories. Although several volumes are typically published each year, at present UST is well-behind schedule in publishing the most-current treaty actions of the United States. HeinOnline includes all published volumes of the UST series.
US Statutes at Large
From 1776 to 1950, treaties and international agreements that entered into force were published in the Statutes at Large.
US Treaties and Agreements Library (HeinOnline database)
This library includes all U.S. treaties, whether currently in-force, expired, or not-yet officially published. It includes prominent collections such as the United States Treaties and Other International Agreements set, as well as famous sets from Bevans, Miller, Malloy and others.

Other Guides

Additional Sources

Try a subject search for Treaties in our library catalog OneSearch. Use this example and try filtering by date, adding other keywords, or employing the search filters at left.

The United Nations Treaty Collection glossary is a handy source for clarifying definitions of treaty-related terms.

Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy
Includes a substantial 25 page entry on Treaties which contains the following sections: Definitions - Creating a Framework for Making Treaties - To Enter Treaties Or Not to Enter Treaties? - Treaties Acquiring Territory - Treaties and Native Americans - Nineteenth-Century Commercial Treaties - Collective Treaties at the Turn of the Twentieth-Century - Treaties Acquiring Overseas Territory - The Caribbean and Central America - The Treaty of Versailles - Unilateralism or Multilateralism? - World War II and Security Agreements - Nuclear Arms Limitation Treaties - Human Rights Treaties - Environmental Treaties - Post-World War II Collective Trade Agreements - Conclusion - Bibliography.
Supreme Law of the Land?: Debating the Contemporary Effects of Treaties within the United States Legal System
This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the current status of treaties in American law.