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Researching Treaties in the UGA Law Library: Worldwide Treaty Collections

UGA Law Library Reference

Worldwide Treaty Collections

This section includes resources providing the text of treaties as well as indexes for locating treaties, regardless of whether the U.S. is a party - see US Treaties tab above for additional resources exclusive to treaties including the U.S. as a party; see note below about finding treaties to which the U.S. is not a party)    

Texts of Worldwide Treaties

Consolidated Treaty Series. Edited by Clive Parry. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana, 1969-81 [location: KZ 120 .P35 - Base]. Compiles treaties from 1648 to 1919. Includes chronological and party indexes.

International Legal Materials. Washington, D.C.: American Society of Int'l Law, 1962- [location: KZ64 I58 - Base]. Bimonthly collection of current international documents, including selected current treaties. Reproduces official documents by photo offset when possible. November issue includes an annual table of contents and annual index. Cumulative indexes for 1962-69,1970-79 and 1980-89 are shelved with the bound copies. [also available on Lexis from 1962 and Westlaw from 1980 - for law school students and faculty only].

League of Nations Treaty Series. Geneva: League of Nations, 1920-46 [location: KZ170.5.T45 - Base]. Contains treaty texts from 1920 to 1945. Includes some index volumes, although no overall cumulative index is available.

United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS). New York: United Nations, 1946/47- [location: KZ 172 T74 - Base]. Contains all treaties registered with the United Nations (but note that not all member countries comply with the UN Charter requirement to register). Arranged by date of registration with the UN, not by date of ratification or signature. Cumulative indexes covering a span of volumes are published occasionally, but there is no overall cumulative index. Expect major delay (more than 10 years) in publication. Note: UNTS is also available online.

Indexes and Other Finding Aids for World-wide Treaties

Index to Multilateral Treaties. Edited by Vaclav Mostecky. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Law School Library, 1965 & Supp. 1968 [location: JX171 H35 1965 - Base].Lists multilateral treaties from 1596 to 1966. Includes index.

List of Treaty Collections. United Nations Office of Legal Affairs. Moorestown, NJ: Symposia Press; Holmes Beach, FL: Gaunt & Sons [distributor], 1981 [location: KZ172.U53.1981 - Base].Divided into General Collections, Collections by Subject Matter, and Collections by States. Includes indexes, chronological lists, and bibliographies. The titles of the books are reproduced in their original languages.

Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General. New York: United Nations [location: KZ 171 M86 - Base]. Provides the status of multilateral treaties deposited with the United Nations. Includes information on signatures, accessions, and notifications. Also provides reprints of reservations and declarations by individual countries. Also available online through the United Nations Treaty Collection, linked from the Law Library's Foreign/International Resources page.

Multilateral Treaties: Index and Current Status. Edited by M.J. Bowman & D.J.Harris. London: Butterworths, 1984 (supplement compiled and published by Nottingham Treaty Centre, currently to 1994 with the Eleventh supplement) [location: KZ 118 B68 1984 - Base]. Arranged chronologically, but also includes subject and word indexes for major multilateral treaties. Provides dates of conclusion, signing, entry-into-force, parties, and reservations.

World Treaty Index, 2d ed.. Edited by Peter Rohn. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, c1983 [location: KZ 173 R64 - Base]. Indexes treaties from 1900 to 1984. Includes party, keyword, and main entry indexes. Provides thesaurus.   

Suggested Sources for Bilateral Treaties to which the United States is Not a Party

  •  yearbooks of international law for the relevant jurisdictions(e.g., German Yearbook of International Law)
  • United Nations Treaty Series
  • International Legal Materials
  • TIARA Treaties & International Agreements Online (although mostly U.S. treaties, TIARA does include a number of bilateral tax treaties to which the U.S. is not a party)
  • collections of treaties by jurisdiction (see tab above)
  • collections of treaties by subject (see tab above)
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