Research guides: Treaty Research: General Sources

Keep in Mind

There is no single comprehensive source for treaties

Official sources are the most authoritative

Often treaties are known by a popular name or acronym

Countries often have their own official treaty series

Online Sources for Treaties

Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General
Provides current status and ratification information, but is limited to multilateral treaties deposited with the U.N. Secretary-General. Often contains the text of well-known recent treaties which have not yet been published in the United Nations Treaty Series. Provides information on status as well as texts of any declarations, reservations or objections. Can view, PDF versions and CTC (Certified True Copy) of treaties.
United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS)
Contains all treaties registered with the UN Secretariat under Article 102 of the UN Charter. Search by popular name, title, participant, keyword. Provides the treaty text and information about the treaty. Although in practice some nations do not submit their treaties for registration, this remains the most complete source of treaties available.
World Treaty Library (Hein Online)
Coverage 1648 to the present. Full-text of treaties as well as related treaty publications, scholarly articles, and a bibliography of related publications.
Flare Index to Treaties
A database on over 1,500 significant multilateral treaties from 1856 to the present. Has citations & links to full-text where available.
Hein Online Treaties and Agreements Library
Excellent resource for treaties to which the U.S. is a party. Contains official and unofficial treaty compilations as well as indexes, guides, and books, and links to outside sources. Includes the United States Treaties and Other International Agreements set (commonly referred to as the "Blue set"), as well as sets from Bevans, Miller, Malloy and others.
International Legal Materials (ILM)
Law journal, respected unofficial source for select treaty texts and international documents. Also contains draft treaties, recently adopted treaties and unusual treaties. Also available in print at Bora Laskin library, and through Quicklaw and Westlaw Canada for UofT law students and faculty.
League of Nations Treaty Series
Information about the 205 volumes of the League of Nations Treaty Series (LNTS) has been made available in the United Nations Treaty Collection website. During migration of the database, the full text of the League of Nations material was lost. Efforts are underway to recover this data. Basic information about the treaties is available.

Treaty Websites

TIP: Most current treaties have their own website containing the full-text of the treaty and related instruments, as well as information on treaty status and signatories. Search the website of any IGO associated with the treaty, or try a subject-oriented website.

Print Sources for Treaties

Time Period	Treaty Series
1648 - 1919	The Consolidated Treaty Series - Clive Parry (CTS) Use the 'General Chronology' and the 'Special Chronology' indexes to locate treaties by date, and the Party Indexvolumes to search by party. Colonial and Postal/Telegraph Treaties are indexed in the 'Special Chronology' volumes of this set
1920 - 1944	Treaty Series - League of Nations - League of Nations (LNTS) Also located at Bora Laskin Law Library, call no. JX170 .L4
1944 - Present	United Nations Treaty Series - United Nations (UNTS) Also available online, see box above.

Journal Articles

Journal articles are a useful source for treaty citations. Search full-text databases (Hein/Westlaw/Quicklaw-Lexis) for journal articles with the name of the treaty.

Article 102

Article 102 of the UN Charter states that member states cannot rely on treaties in UN proceedings unless the treaty has been registered with the UN. Thus many treaties are registered with the UN and published in the United Nations Treaty Series. The League of Nations Treaty Series performed a similar function.

Treaty Research

Keep in Mind

Online Sources for Treaties

Treaty Websites

Print Sources for Treaties

Journal Articles

Article 102

Library links

Libraries

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