The third Restatement's definition reads. "§301 DEFINITIONS As used in this Restatement, (1)"international agreement"means an agreement between two or more states or international organizations that is intended to be legally binding and is governed by international law. This definition shies away from using the word"treaty"since it is intended to cover both treaties and"executive agreements"which are less formal but equally binding. There are a whole range of words that are used for agreements that are meant to have the force of law. Although treaty is the most common, others include Agreement, Charter, Convention, Covenant, and Protocol Whatever particular designation is used all have the same legal status The treaty-making process is highly analogous to the way contracts are arrived at in private law The process involves negotiation, a signing by representatives of the parties, and ratification by the appropriate national bodies. In an ideal world, this is followed by publication of the text, but publication of treaties is far less regularized than publication of standard domestic law statutes There are two main classes of treaties: bilateral and multilateral, ie, with two parties or many parties. Double taxation and extradition treaties are usually bilateral Multilateral treaties are used to solve global or regional problems and to create global or regional Institutions It is important to remember that treaties do not come into force when they are signed even though date of signing is an important citation element. Most treaties have a clause within them as to when they come into effect. This may be the date of ratification, the date parties have enacted required follow-on legislation, or, with multilateral treaties, the date when a set number of parties have ratified it. Parties who join a multilateral treaty which is already in force for some countries specify the date it comes into effect for themselves A new general treatise on treaties is Anthony Aust's Modern Treaty Law and Practice,( Cambridge University Press, 2000), found on the second floor at JX4160 Au735 2000 Publication of U.S. Treaties The governmental publication of treaties in the US is somewhat irregular. Often the text first appears as a"Treaty Document", distributed when the President submits the treaty to the Senate for ratification. For multilateral treaties that are the result of many years negotiation, the draft treaty is often available from the body that is coordinating the development of the final text. In the early years of the republic, treaties appeared as part of the Statutes-at-Large, but that was not regular. Several compiled editions of treaties were published in the early part of the 20 th century, ulminating in Bevans' Treaties and other international agreements of the United States of America, 1776-1949, (2nd Floor, JX236 1968)
The third Restatement’s definition reads: "§ 301 DEFINITIONS As used in this Restatement, (1) "international agreement" means an agreement between two or more states or international organizations that is intended to be legally binding and is governed by international law;" This definition shies away from using the word "treaty" since it is intended to cover both treaties and "executive agreements" which are less formal but equally binding. There are a whole range of words that are used for agreements that are meant to have the force of law. Although treaty is the most common, others include Agreement, Charter, Convention, Covenant, and Protocol. Whatever particular designation is used, all have the same legal status. The treaty-making process is highly analogous to the way contracts are arrived at in private law. The process involves negotiation, a signing by representatives of the parties, and ratification by the appropriate national bodies. In an ideal world, this is followed by publication of the text, but publication of treaties is far less regularized than publication of standard domestic law statutes. There are two main classes of treaties: bilateral and multilateral, ie., with two parties or many parties. Double taxation and extradition treaties are usually bilateral, involving only two countries. Multilateral treaties are used to solve global or regional problems and to create global or regional institutions. It is important to remember that treaties do NOT come into force when they are signed even though date of signing is an important citation element. Most treaties have a clause within them as to when they come into effect. This may be the date of ratification, the date parties have enacted required follow-on legislation, or, with multilateral treaties, the date when a set number of parties have ratified it. Parties who join a multilateral treaty which is already in force for some countries specify the date it comes into effect for themselves. A new general treatise on treaties is Anthony Aust's Modern Treaty Law and Practice , (Cambridge University Press, 2000), found on the second floor at JX4160 Au735 2000. Publication of U.S. Treaties The governmental publication of treaties in the US is somewhat irregular. Often the text first appears as a "Treaty Document", distributed when the President submits the treaty to the Senate for ratification. For multilateral treaties that are the result of many years negotiation, the draft treaty is often available from the body that is coordinating the development of the final text. In the early years of the republic, treaties appeared as part of the Statutes-at-Large, but that was not regular. Several compiled editions of treaties were published in the early part of the 20 th century, culminating in Bevans’ Treaties and other international agreements of the United States of America, 1776-1949, (2nd Floor, JX236 1968)
In the late 1940,s the federal government developed a sy stematic way of publishing treaties and executive agreements that lasted until the grim budget cuts of the early 1980s. This involved initial publication in slip form known as TIAS, which stands for Treaties and other International Acts Series. These are compiled and republished as chronological hard-bound volumes known as UST, or United States treaties and international agreements, (2nd Floor, JX2359 A5). This system still exists in a withered, almost parodic, form, with texts published in a desultory manner. The most recent volume of the UST was received by the Diamond Law Library in April 1998 and covered treaties ratified in 1984. We have received some TiAs pamphlets in 2000, covering agreements from 1995, but there are many in the numbered series which have not been published going back to the 1980s As mentioned above, often treaty texts can be found as a Congressional"Treaty Document These are published by the Government Printing Office(GPO)in support of the ratification process during the period between the President's transmission of the treaty for ratification and the actual ratification by the Senate. This format was adopted in 1980 and the paper versions are found at on the 2nd floor at JX231 Se54. Before that they were part of a set known as the Senate " Executive Document"series( JX231 Se53). The current electronic form of these texts for the last three Congresses can be found in the GPo website at http://www.access.gpogov/congress/cong006.html Private and Electronic Sources While this may induce despair, the Internet and private publishing act to improve the picture apidly for current American information The leading private publishers are all electronic including leXis Westlaw. and TIara The best current tool is a non-governmental computer system known as TIARA, an acronym for U.S. Treaties and International Agreements Researchers Archive". It is accessible at http://www.oceanalaw.com/(accesslimitedtoColumbiaComputersselect"u Treaties Researcher"in the dropdown menu). As with most electronic systems, it is both an index and a source of the text of current treaties. TIARa is a product of Oceana, a small publisher which has specialized in international law for years, and which is responsible for the grand historical set, the Consolidated Treaty Series The LEXIS treaty database (Library INTLAW, File USTRTY) has treaties from 1776 through 2000, with some UST volumes not yet loaded. It also faces the problem of irregular sources material, and has its own numbering system, paralleling the official citations if there are any. It seems to be licensed version of the TiaRa system using the LEXIS front end. The Westlaw file nown as USTREATIES, covers tias from 1979 and Senate Treaty Documents and State department documents starting in the 1990,s. Both systems are undercut by a lack of certainty as to their comprehensiveness Another small private competitor for TIARA is Hein s United States treaties and other international agreements current service which publishes treaties in microform. It is at JXI Un349
In the late 1940's the federal government developed a systematic way of publishing treaties and executive agreements that lasted until the grim budget cuts of the early 1980's. This involved initial publication in slip form known as TIAS, which stands for Treaties and other International Acts Series . These are compiled and republished as chronological hard-bound volumes known as UST, or United States treaties and international agreements, (2nd Floor, JX235.9 A5). This system still exists in a withered, almost parodic, form, with texts published in a desultory manner. The most recent volume of the UST was received by the Diamond Law Library in April, 1998 and covered treaties ratified in 1984. We have received some TIAS pamphlets in 2000, covering agreements from 1995, but there are many in the numbered series which have not been published, going back to the 1980's. As mentioned above, often treaty texts can be found as a Congressional "Treaty Document". These are published by the Government Printing Office (GPO) in support of the ratification process during the period between the President's transmission of the treaty for ratification and the actual ratification by the Senate. This format was adopted in 1980 and the paper versions are found at on the 2nd floor at JX231 Se54. Before that they were part of a set known as the Senate "Executive Document" series ( JX231 Se53). The current electronic form of these texts for the last three Congresses can be found in the GPO website at http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/cong006.html . Private and Electronic Sources While this may induce despair, the Internet and private publishing act to improve the picture rapidly for current American information. The leading private publishers are all electronic, including LEXIS, Westlaw, and TIARA . The best current tool is a non-governmental computer system known as TIARA, an acronym for "U.S. Treaties and International Agreements Researcher's Archive". It is accessible at http://www.oceanalaw.com/ (Access limited to Columbia Computers: select "U.S. Treaties Researcher" in the dropdown menu). As with most electronic systems, it is both an index and a source of the text of current treaties. TIARA is a product of Oceana, a small publisher which has specialized in international law for years, and which is responsible for the grand historical set, the Consolidated Treaty Series . The LEXIS treaty database (Library INTLAW, File USTRTY) has treaties from 1776 through 2000, with some UST volumes not yet loaded. It also faces the problem of irregular sources material, and has its own numbering system, paralleling the official citations if there are any. It seems to be licensed version of the TIARA system using the LEXIS front end. The Westlaw file, known as USTREATIES, covers TIAS from 1979 and Senate Treaty Documents and State department documents starting in the 1990's. Both systems are undercut by a lack of certainty as to their comprehensiveness. Another small private competitor for TIARA is Hein's United States treaties and other international agreements current service which publishes treaties in microform. It is at JX1 Un349
2nd FI m'fiche Cabinet 49 Other countries have done better at maintaining their treaty publication, but they tend to have fewer treaties. Some, such as Australia, have started serious web publication of treaties Another informal source of current information it is al ways useful to check is International Legal Materials,(JX60 In8), a journal produced by the American Society of International Law which eprints primary materials related to International Law, including treaties Treaty Indexing The United States The best current tool is the privately published database known as TIARA, described above The Department of State publishes a number of tools, the most important of which is the Treaties in Force(TiF)which is published in paper form as well as in PDF format. PDF is quite awkward for a document of this size. so the web version is not a useful search tool. the call number of the paper form is JX236 1955, but it is used so heavily that it is kept at the reference desk. The addressofthePdfdocumentishttp://www.state.gov/www/global/legalaffairs/tifindex.html The tiF covers both bilateral and multilateral treaties. It has a section on countries, listing all bilateral agreements between those countries and the United states. the other main section covers multilateral treaties listed by subject The last issue of the tif published is current through January I st, 1999. To stay up-to-date with later actions in regard to treaties, the Dos maintains web pages called"Register of Current Treaty Actions.(www.state.gov/www/global/legalaffairs/treatyactions2000.html http://www.state.gov/www/global/legalaffairs/treatyactions1999.html The Department of State maintains another website which provides information on the treaties and othersourcesoflaw(www.state.gov/www/global/legalaffairs/privateintllawhtml)whichaffect private international law Treaty citations are found in Shepards United States Citations: Statutes The United Nations The American researchers key source for treaty information outside the United States is the United Nations. Besides being the umbrella organization for many multilateral treaties, the UN acts as a depository for all treaties of any kind between or among its members. These are published in a set known as the United Nations Treaty Series(2nd Floor, JX1976A21 T71)
2nd Fl M'fiche, Cabinet 49. Other countries have done better at maintaining their treaty publication, but they tend to have fewer treaties. Some, such as Australia, have started serious web publication of treaties. Another informal source of current information it is always useful to check is International Legal Materials , (JX60 In8), a journal produced by the American Society of International Law which reprints primary materials related to International Law, including treaties. Treaty Indexing The United States The best current tool is the privately published database known as TIARA , described above. The Department of State publishes a number of tools, the most important of which is the Treaties in Force (TIF) which is published in paper form as well as in PDF format. PDF is quite awkward for a document of this size, so the web version is not a useful search tool. The call number of the paper form is JX236 1955, but it is used so heavily that it is kept at the reference desk. The address of the PDF document is: http://www.state.gov/www/global/legal_affairs/tifindex.html . The TIF covers both bilateral and multilateral treaties. It has a section on countries, listing all bilateral agreements between those countries and the United states. The other main section covers multilateral treaties listed by subject. The last issue of the TIF published is current through January 1 st , 1999. To stay up-to-date with later actions in regard to treaties, the DoS maintains web pages called " Register of Current Treaty Actions ." (www.state.gov/www/global/legal_affairs/treaty_actions_2000.html) and its 1999 equivalent at http://www.state.gov/www/global/legal_affairs/treaty_actions_1999.html . The Department of State maintains another website which provides information on the treaties and other sources of law (www.state.gov/www/global/legal_affairs/private_intl_law.html) which affect private international law. Treaty citations are found in Shepard's United States Citations: Statutes The United Nations The American researcher's key source for treaty information outside the United States is the United Nations. Besides being the umbrella organization for many multilateral treaties, the UN acts as a depository for all treaties of any kind between or among its members. These are published in a set known as the United Nations Treaty Series (2nd Floor, JX1976.A21 T71)
The main index published by the United Nations is Multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-general.(http://untreaty.un.org/)LiketheUsTreatiesinForcebecauseofhigh demand, it is kept at the reference desk. The current issue is up-to-date to December 31 st, 1999 This very rich website is known as the United Nations Treaty Collection. To use its own terms This collection includes five categories of treaty-related data Status of Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General The United Nations Treaty Series Texts of Recently Deposited Multilateral Treaties Photographs of Treaty Signature Ceremonies Titles of the Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General in the U N Official Languages. Thereisalsoanexcellentwebsite(www.un.org/depts/dhL/resguide/iltreat.htm)thatreviewsthe role of the UN in the international treaty process and publication Other private publication and indexing International Legal Materials(JX60 In8, 2 nd Floor) is a bi-monthly publication of the American Society of International Law which reprints a wide range of current primary sources. It is often the first place major treaties are published However it is selective, so a researcher cant count on a particular treaty being chosen for publication An older, very handy multilateral treaty index is Bowman, M.J. and D.J. Harris. Multilateral Treaties: Index and Current Status. London: 1984. Unfortunately, it has not been updated since 1994. It has a simple chronological arrangement independent of the un or other subject arrangements starting with the Paris"Declaration Respecting Maritime Law "of 1856 The most comprehensive treaty index ever attempted was published in the early 80s, but has never been updated. It is Peter Rolm's World Treaty Index, and can be found in our 2nd Floor International Law Finding Aids section at JX171 R631 1983 It is based on an enormous number of sources and is a good last chance tool for older treaties Igor Kavass has developed the United States current treaty index(at JXI Un349)which is"A cumulative index of recent treaties and agreements. not yet published in TIAS; TIAS treaties treaties and agreements not yet published in UST. "He assigns items without TIAS numbers a KAV number This is tied to the hein item mentioned above Subject-Oriented Treaty Publication In some areas of law, the applicable treaties have been gathered together into sets aimed at practitioners. Examples of this include Lillich, Richard, International human rights instruments: a compilation of treaties, agreements, and declarations of especial interest to the United States, Buffalo, N.Y., 1983-(3rd Fl REFERENCE, JX4263 P3 In958)
The main index published by the United Nations is Multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General . (http://untreaty.un.org/) Like the US Treaties in Force , because of high demand, it is kept at the reference desk. The current issue is up-to-date to December 31 st , 1999. This very rich website is known as the United Nations Treaty Collection. To use its own terms... "This collection includes five categories of treaty-related data: Status of Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General The United Nations Treaty Series Texts of Recently Deposited Multilateral Treaties Photographs of Treaty Signature Ceremonies Titles of the Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General in the U.N. Official Languages." There is also an excellent website (www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/iltreat.htm) that reviews the role of the UN in the international treaty process and publication . Other Private Publication and Indexing International Legal Materials (JX60 In8, 2 nd Floor) is a bi-monthly publication of the American Society of International Law which reprints a wide range of current primary sources. It is often the first place major treaties are published. However it is selective, so a researcher can’t count on a particular treaty being chosen for publication. An older, very handy multilateral treaty index is Bowman, M.J. and D.J. Harris. Multilateral Treaties : Index and Current Status. London: 1984. Unfortunately, it has not been updated since 1994. It has a simple chronological arrangement independent of the UN or other subject arrangements starting with the Paris "Declaration Respecting Maritime Law " of 1856 The most comprehensive treaty index ever attempted was published in the early 80's, but has never been updated. It is Peter Rolm’s World Treaty Index, and can be found in our 2nd Floor International Law Finding Aids section at JX171 R631 1983. It is based on an enormous number of sources and is a good last chance tool for older treaties. Igor Kavass has developed the United States current treaty index (at JX1 Un349) which is "A cumulative index of recent treaties and agreements ... not yet published in TIAS; TIAS treaties treaties and agreements not yet published in UST." He assigns items without TIAS numbers a KAV number. This is tied to the Hein item mentioned above. Subject-Oriented Treaty Publication In some areas of law, the applicable treaties have been gathered together into sets aimed at practitioners. Examples of this include: Lillich, Richard, International human rights instruments : a compilation of treaties, agreements, and declarations of especial interest to the United States, Buffalo, N.Y. ,1983- (3rd Fl REFERENCE, JX4263.P3 In958)
International protection of the environment: treaties and related documents Dobbs Ferry, NY (This is an ongoing looseleaf in two series. WIPO: Intellectual property laws and treaties, Geneva: 1998 International tax treaties of all nations containing English language texts of all tax treaties between two or more nations in force on. Dobbs Ferry. N.Y.: 1975 Sometimes they appear as sections within looseleafs Shawcross, Christopher N, Air law. 4th ed /[ed by] Peter Martin..[et al. I Publication and Indexing Provided by Other International Organizations Organization of American States Treaty Series: texts and ratification information (www.oas.org/en/prog/juridico/english/tReatIes.html Hague Conference on Private International Law, including treaty texts and current ratification status(www.hcch.net/e/index.html Tufts/fletcherMultilateralsProject(www.tufts.edu/fletcher/multilaterals.html Other National Sources Most of the industrialized nations produce some sort of treaty series. Examples include Great Britain, Treaty series, at JX636 1892 Tradados celebrados por Mexico, at JX366 1992 Vertrage der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, at JX6961955 Recueil des traites et accords de la france. at JX686 1961 AustralianTreaties(www.austlii.edu.aw/au/other/dfat/ If the country has a"gazette" or"official journal", that is often the location of the first publication Historical Treaty Sources Bevans, Charles, Treaties and other international agreements of the United States of America, 1776-1949,(2 nd floor,JX236198) Parry, Clive, The Consolidated treaty series, Dobbs Ferry, 1969-1985,(2nd Floor, JX120 P35 This compilation of al most 300 volumes reprints all treaties from all nations from 1648 through 1919. In 1648 the two Treaties of Munster and the Treaty of Osnabruck(collectively known as the Peace of Westphalia) ended the Thirty Years War, and are perceived as a key point in the development of modern international relations. In 1919 the registration of all treaties with the League of Nations went into effect, creating the League of Nations Treaty Series. The LNTS is continued by the UNTS. These three sets are the core sources for treaty texts in the pre-electronic
International protection of the environment : treaties and related documents Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. . (This is an ongoing looseleaf in two series.) WIPO: Intellectual property laws and treaties , Geneva : 1998- International tax treaties of all nations : containing English language texts of all tax treaties between two or more nations in force on ..Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. : 1975- Sometimes they appear as sections within looseleafs : Shawcross, Christopher N., Air law . 4th ed. / [ed. by] Peter Martin ... [et al.] Publication and Indexing Provided by Other International Organizations Organization of American States Treaty Series : texts and ratification information (www.oas.org/EN/PROG/Juridico/english/treaties.html) Hague Conference on Private International Law , including treaty texts and current ratification status (www.hcch.net/e/index.html) Tufts/Fletcher Multilaterals Project (www.tufts.edu/fletcher/multilaterals.html) Other National Sources Most of the industrialized nations produce some sort of treaty series. Examples include: Great Britain, Treaty series , at JX636 1892 Tradados celebrados por Mexico , at JX366 1992 Vertrage der Bundesrepublik Deutschland , at JX696 1955 Recueil des traites et accords de la France , at JX686 1961 Australian Treaties (www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/) If the country has a "gazette" or "official journal", that is often the location of the first publication. Historical Treaty Sources Bevans, Charles, Treaties and other international agreements of the United States of America, 1776-1949, (2nd Floor, JX236 1968). Parry, Clive, The Consolidated treaty series, Dobbs Ferry, 1969 - 1985, (2nd Floor, JX120 P35 This compilation of almost 300 volumes reprints all treaties from all nations from 1648 through 1919. In 1648 the two Treaties of Munster and the Treaty of Osnabruck (collectively known as the "Peace of Westphalia) ended the Thirty Years War, and are perceived as a key point in the development of modern international relations. In 1919 the registration of all treaties with the League of Nations went into effect, creating the League of Nations Treaty Series. The LNTS is continued by the UNTS. These three sets are the core sources for treaty texts in the pre-electronic