Treaty Research Module


Content:

This module contains materials related to treaty research. These materials include:

Treaties

Ballentine’s Law Dictionary defines a treaty as: A written contract between nations executed with the formality customary in dealings and transactions between nations, although not necessarily in a particular and prescribed form. A contract between nations for which the consent of the contracting parties is given expressly or tacitly, verbally or in writing. Treaties may be bilateral (between two parties) or multilateral (between several parties). Negotiation of treaties and agreements is the responsibility of the Executive branch. The Foreign Affairs Manual contains instructions for this negotiation and also defines the constitutional requirements for determining whether an international agreement should be considered a treaty or an agreement. Once a treaty is entered into force it becomes like a federal statute, and is considered the supreme law of the land.

The general outline of the U.S. Treaty Making Process:
The Agreement Making Process is slightly different in that the agreement (executive agreement) is NOT made “by the advice and consent of the Senate.” Generally, treaties are binding international agreements and executive agreements apply in domestic law only.

When researching treaty information, the researcher usually needs to find one or more of three types of information:

I. U.S. Treaties on Lexis

Provides treaties from 1776 through current. U.S. Treaties on Lexis is a unique electronic compilation of full-text ratified and unratified treaties and international agreements, where the United States is a party or signatory. This includes not only treaties signed by the President with the advice and consent of the US Senate, but also international agreements from the U.S. Government. Documents are obtained directly from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Senate, as well as authoritative U.S. government publications, including:

- Treaty Documents: Treaties transmitted to the Senate for consideration, usually including transmittal messages from the President and the Secretary of State.
- Slip Documents: Treaties and international agreements released by the US Department of State, but not yet printed in TIAS.
- Treaties and Other International Acts Series (T.I.A.S) from 1985 - official slip treaty publication from the Government Printing Office (GPO).
- US Treaties and Other International Agreements (U.S.T.) 1949-1984 - permanent form of official treaty publication.
- Bevan's Treaties and Other International Agreements 1776-1949 - the definitive retrospective compilation of US treaties and agreements.

In addition to treaties that are "in-force", this compilation includes older terminated, superseded, or abolished treaties for your historical research needs. To determine if a particular treaty or international agreement is still in force, please refer to the latest edition of the U.S. Department of State's publication, Treaties In Force (available on LexisNexis).

· To locate a treaty by subject matter:
SOURCE: Area of Law - By Topic / International Law / Treaties and International Agreements / U.S. Treaties on Lexis
SEARCH: chemical or biological /15 weapon or warfare

· To locate a treaty with a specific country (or countries) that signed as a party to the agreement:
SOURCE: Area of Law - By Topic / International Law / Treaties and International Agreements / U.S. Treaties on Lexis
SEARCH: country (bolivia)

· To locate a treaty with a specific country and dealing with a particular topic:
SOURCE: Area of Law - By Topic / International Law / Treaties and International Agreements / U.S. Treaties on Lexis
SEARCH: country (peru) and extradition


II. U.S. Treaties in Force

U.S. Treaties in Force is a unique electronic product containing the text of the current volume of Treaties in Force plus direct links to full-text treaties on the LexisNexis services bearing a Bevans or UST citation. Treaties in Force is published annually by the Department of State for the purpose of providing information on treaties and international agreements to which the United States has become a party and which are carried on the records of the Department of State as being in force as of January 1 of each year. It includes those documents that have not expired by their own terms, been denounced by the parties or replaced or superseded by other agreements, or otherwise definitely terminated. According to the Department of State, the absence of a listing for a particular agreement in Treaties in Force should not be regarded as a determination that it is not in force.

US Treaties in Force is divided into three parts:

(1) Bilateral Treaties and Other International Agreements listed by country or other international entity with subject headings under each entry. Territorial possessions of a country appear at the end of the entry for that country. Each subject heading is a document, and countries and subject headings display in alphabetical order

(2) Multilateral Treaties and Other International Agreements to which the United States is a party, arranged by subject with a listing of the parties to that agreement. Information is based on the most recent data available from the government or organization that serves as the depositary for that agreement. Each subject heading is a document and they display in alphabetical order

(3) Appendix contains a consolidated tabulation of documents affecting international copyright relations of the United States. It includes proclamations by the United States with respect to copyright relations. The appendix is one document. For those treaties and agreements having citations to the Bevans or UST series, links are provided to full-text documents in U.S. Treaties on Lexis. For all other treaties and agreements, one can find the full-text version by conducting a TITLE or NUMBER search in U.S. Treaties on Lexis. For treaty legislative histories, please see CIS Legislative Histories. For selected treaties and agreements where the US is not a party, see the publication, International Legal Materials (ILM), from the American Society of International Law. For tax treaties, please see IBFD and Tax Analysts Tax Treaties.

· To determine whether a particular treaty is still in force:
SOURCE: Area of Law - By Topic / International Law / Treaties and International Agreements / U.S. Treaties in Force
SEARCH: TIAS 12410

· To locate all bilaterial treaties between the U.S. and Paraguay that are still in force:
SOURCE: Area of Law - By Topic / International Law / Treaties and International Agreements / U.S. Treaties in Force
SEARCH: country (paraguay)

· To locate all multilaterial treaties where the U.S. is one of the parties and Chile is another:
SOURCE: Area of Law - By Topic / International Law / Treaties and International Agreements / U.S. Treaties in Force
SEARCH: part (multilateral) and chile


III. Treaties and Agreements from ILM

The treaties and international agreements are taken from International Legal Materials, a publication of the American Society of International Law. Materials are selected by ASIL for their usefulness to scholars, practitioners, business and government officials, both in the United States and abroad.

· To locate treaties where both Argentina and Brazil are signatories:
SOURCE: Area of Law – By Topic / International Law / Treaties and International Agreements / Treaties and Agreements from ILM
SEARCH: title (argentina and brazil)

· To locate treaties dealing with oil exportation where the U.S. is NOT a party:
SOURCE: Area of Law – By Topic / International Law / Treaties and International Agreements / Treaties and Agreements from ILM
SEARCH: oil /20 export! and not u.s.


Click HERE to go to Treaty Research Practice Questions.