602 Locating Non-U.S. Treaties

Major Collections of Multi-Lateral Treaties

1. United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS), 4th Floor, JX170 .U35.
   Covers the period 1946 to the present. Contains all treaties registered with the United Nations. Texts are in their original language along with French and English translations. Each volume includes notifications of ratifications, accessions, successions, extensions, and denunciations concerning published treaties. A cumulative index appears every 50 or 100 volumes. Publication is some years behind.
    
2. HeinOnline's United Nations Law Collection: Provides the complete collection of the United Nations Treaty Series, as well as the League of Nations Treaty Series and others.  (Access Hein Online via the law school network or VPN).
    
3. Treaties and International Agreements (World Legal Information Institute, Australia) http://www.austlii.edu.au/links/2266.html
    
4. United Nations Treaty Collection: http://treaties.un.org. UNTC provides access to the following:  
   • United Nations Treaty Series: See above.
   • Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General: Lists multilateral treaties in force and includes nations' instruments of accession and the text of any accompanying declaration or reservation.
     • Also available in Underwood Law Library on the fourth floor: JX171 .U372a.
   • Texts of Recently Deposited Multilateral Treaties deposited with the Secretary-General. These treaties have not yet been published in the United Nations Treaty Series.  Includes the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court along with Annexes and corrections.
   • League of Nations Treaty Series. Covers the period 1920-1946. Contains treaties of members and non-members registered with the secretariat.
     • Also available on HeinOnline and in print at the Underwood Law Library in Law Storage; ask a librarian to retrieve volumes in Law Storage.


5. Consolidated Treaty Series, 4th Floor, JX120 .P35.
   A collection of world treaties in their original language, sometimes with English or French translations, covering the period 1648-1920. Later modifications or terminations are indicated.
    
6. The Major International Treaties of the Twentieth Century : a History and Guide with Texts (2001), 4th Floor, KZ64 .M35 2001.
   Revision of 2 works originally issued in 1987: The Major International Treaties, 1914-1945 and The Major International Treaties Since 1945.
    
7. International Legal Materials, Periodicals, 3rd floor.
   ILM reprints draft treaties and recently adopted treaties. ILM can be searched in standard periodical indexes such as Legal Resource Index on Westlaw or LegalTrac.
    
8. Multilaterals Project at Tufts University: http://www.fletcher.tufts.edu/multilaterals.html  Selected treaties in various areas, including human rights.  

Locating Treaties Prior to Ratification

1. International Legal Materials, Periodicals, 3rd Floor.
   ILM frequently prints treaties of general interest in draft stage or shortly after adoption prior to their appearance in one of the major collections.
    
2. Internet sites of sponsoring international body: U.N., the Hague Convention, etc.

Indexes to Multilateral Treaties

(U.S. may or may not be a party.)

1. Multilateral Treaty Calendar, Reference, KZ118 .M85 1998.
   Excellent index for multilateral treaties covering the period 1648-1995. Includes all multilateral treaties during the period covered; includes information on location of their printed text, data on duration, depository arrangement, and status, and provides notes on their amendment, modification, extension, and termination. Includes useful appendices on international organizations, international conferences, GATT agreements, and ILO conventions.
    
2. United Nations Cumulative Treaty Index (1999) (Compiled and edited by Igor I. Kavass), 4th Floor, KZ171 .U512 1999.
   Kept up to date by: Current United Nations Treaty Index Supplement.
    
3. Multilateral Treaties: Index and Current Status, 4th Floor, KZ118 .B68 1984.
   Updated by pamphlet supplements. Chronological list of over 800 multilateral treaties in force. Not intended to be complete. Provides date treaty concluded and entered into force, duration, reservation clauses in the treaty, parties, and territorial scope.
    
4. World Treaty Index, 4th Floor, KZ173 .R63 (1st. ed.) and KZ173 .R63 1983 (2nd ed.).
   Indexes UNTS, LNTS, and various national treaty collections. First edition covers treaties issued from 1920 until 1970. The second edition covers 1900-1920, 1970-1980, and treaties from 1920 until 1970 discovered after publication of the first edition. For U.N. and L.N. treaties, provides information on amendments and reservations.
    
5. Index to Multilateral Treaties; a Chronological List of Multi-Party International Agreements from the Sixteenth Century Through 1963, with Citations to Their Text, 4th Floor, KZ 118 .H35 1965.
   Chronological list of multilateral treaties. Supplement for 1963-1966.  

European Union, Council of Europe, & Regional Collections of Treaties

• European Union

  1. Encyclopedia of European Community Law, 4th Floor, KJE926 .E52.
     Part B contains treaties of the European Community in two volumes. (Note: The Underwood Law Library cancelled this subscription in 2000; the last supplement received is dated February 2001.)
      
  2. EU Treaties: http://europa.eu/abc/treaties/index_en.htm.
      
  3. Westlaw Database: EU-TREATIES
      
  4. Lexis EC treaties: EC Treaties
      
  5. Lawtel EU  (This link takes you to Underwood's Research Databases page, which is accessible only from the law quad, where the active link to this subscription database is located.) A database of full text European Union materials, including treaties. Click on International Resources on the Research Databases page of the Underwood Law Library Web site. Use is limited to SMU law students and faculty. Accessible from the law quad or via VPN.
      

• Council of Europe

  1. Council of Europe: European Treaties: http://conventions.coe.int/.  Includes European Treaty Series (ETS).
      
  2. European Treaty Series, 4th Floor, JX626 1954 .E8.
     Title changed to Council of Europe Treaty Series in 2004. This series contains treaties among members of the Council of Europe and the European Communities.
      
  3. European Conventions and Agreements, 4th Floor, JX626 1971 .C68.
     Treaties concluded within the Council of Europe.
      

• Inter-American Treaties

  1. Inter-American Treaties Approved within the Framework of the OAS (Organization of American States)http://www.oas.org/juridico/english/treaties.html
      
  2. Treaty Series (Organization of American States), 4th Floor, KDZ1110 OEA/Ser A.  (Underwood also has a microfiche set entitled OAS Treaty Series which includes 68 treaties signed through 1988.)
     Includes multilateral treaties and other significant instruments in English and Spanish issued since 1957 between countries in the Western Hemisphere.
      
  3. Latin American Trade Agreements, 4th Floor, KG944 .O38

Sources for Determining Status of Treaties

1. Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General, 4th Floor, JX171 .U372a.
   Part of the UN Treaty Collection listed above.
    
2. Multilateral Treaty Calendar, Reference, KZ118 M85 1998.
    
3. Multilateral Treaties: Index and Current Status, 4th Floor, KZ118 .B68 1984.
    
4. Status of Inter-American Treaties and Conventions (annual), 4th Floor, KDZ1110 OEA/Ser. A. 
    
5. European Yearbook (annual), 3rd Floor, Periodicals. Shelved under Annuaire Europeen in Underwood Law Library.
   Contains a chart showing signatories and ratifications of Council of Europe and European Communities conventions and agreements.
    
6. Treaties and Alliances of the World, 4th Floor, KZ 184 .T73 (several editions).
   Attempts to present the state of affairs with regard to groupings of states and their important treaties by noting treaties in force as of 1990. Covers several thousand agreements, mainly bilateral, covering trade, economic and technical aid, cultural relations, and extradition.

Revised September 2010.