Article VI, section 2 of the Constitution says that treaties have
the force of law and must receive the advice and consent of the Senate.
This does not apply to executive agreements.
Cohen, Morris, Robert C. Berring and Kent C. Olson, How to
Find the
Law.
Chapter 15 on "International Law" has a good introduction to treaty
research.
Jacobstein, Myron J. and Roy M. Mersky, Fundamentals of
Legal
Research.
Chapter 20 on "International Law" has a good introduction to treaty
research.
Buergenthal, Thomas and Harold Maier, Public International Law in a Nutshell.
There are several good sources on the web. The best is Treaties
and Other International Agreements by the Government Information
Unit at Lockwood Library, SUNY Buffalo.
Another excellent site by the American Society of
International Law provides an excellent introduction to treaties
and treaty research.
The
Duke Law Library Treaty Guide is clear and helpful.
Another good
academic library guide is Treaty Research:
Sources and Tips at Michigan State.
Researching U.S.
Treaties and Agreements by Marci Hoffmanis comprehensive with many
good links.
A companion guide is Researching
Non-U.S. Treaties by Stefanie Weigmann. It includes many useful
links.
Fundamentals
of Treaty Research (electronic resources) is probably the most
comprehensive list of web resources available. Covers both U.S. and non
U.S. treaties.
Treaties are agreements negotiated between sovereign countries. Act, charter, concordat, covenant, convention, pact, agreement, accord, and protocol are synonyms. Treaties may be between two governments (bilateral) or between more than two (multilateral). Treaties are implemented when they "enter into force." treaties are agreements made by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Article VI of the Constitution declares treaties to which the U.S. is a party to be the "Supreme law of the land." Treaties require the "advice and consent" of the Senate. This makes treaties of considerable domestic importance. Increasingly, treaties have become less important than executive agreements which do not require Senate approval. Congressional problems and difficulties are the likely explanation. This can be a cumbersome process.
Executive agreements are a special sort of treaty and there is some controversy about them. Here, the President, usually a representative, enters into an international agreement without Senate involvement. Executive agreements may be used when treaty approval seems unlikely in the Senate. Some interesting aspects:
Expressing its displeasure over the dramatic increase in these agreements, Congress enacted the Case-Zablocki Act (1972) requiring all international agreements to be sent by the Secretary of State to Congress. In 1978, an amendment extended this requirement to oral agreements which must be "reduced to writing." However, little seems to have resulted from this initiative.
Executive agreements may be made when:
There are also non-binding agreements and making an international commitment via an executive action. Non-binding agreements represent a political or moral rather than a legal commitment. They may be called declarations or understandings. As you might imagine, this is a murky area. The State Department argues that to be an "international agreement" a commitment must have a "legally" binding effect.
Executive action in international relations may result in declarations or proclamations.
Congress may also get into the treaty business vis legislation or resolution. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is a good example.
Typically, reference questions will ask you to identify a particular treaty. More particularly, is the United States a party to this treaty? Is the treaty in force? Has it been amended? What are its provisions?
In order to answer these questions, you need to understand the treaty process.
Negotiation begins, normally, with representatives from the State Department authorized by the Secretary of State. The Foreign Affairs Manual, Circular 175 contains details on the treaty process beginning with negotiation. Often, this stage takes a long time and some negotiations are never satisfactorily concluded.
If the negotiations are successful and approved by the Secretary of State, the President or other senior Executive Branch official participates in a signing ceremony, often with some media attention. If an executive agreement, the process stops here.
The signed treaty is then presented to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee where it is transformed into a bill. If the leadership of the Committee is willing, the next step will be public hearings. There may also be executive hearings. These hearings are often not published. If all goes well, the bill is reported from the committee in Senate Executive Reports. These reports may be found in:
The bill must be approved by 2/3 of the senators present. About 90 percent of the treaties are approved, but that depends on the leadership of the Foreign Relations Committee. Treaties, unlike bills, do not die at the end of Congress if not ratified.
When the proposed treaty, plus the presidential cover letter, arrives at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a Senate Treaty Document (Y1.1/4) is created which will eventually appear in the Serial Set. This document includes the presidential rationale for ratification and the text of the treaty. Treaties are numbered by the Congress they are introduced in, for example 102-12). These have been included in the Serial Set since 1981.
The Legislative calendar of the Foreign Relations Committee has a useful section on treaties, especially for legislative history.
Copies of current treaties may be available from the Senate Executive Clerk and the Senate Document Room
Following Senate approval, the treaty is ratified by the President. Copies are then deposited and exchanged with the signatories. When all parties to the treaty have ratified it, a Presidential proclamation follows to announce that the treaty has been approved and when it will be in force. Finally, the terms of the treaty are implemented--become the law of the land. The treaty is then published. It will also be registered with the Secretary-General of the United Nations so that it may be included in the U.N. Treaty Series after a notable time lag.
Since treaties are Senate documents, LexisNexis Congressional is your best way to find them. For the beginner, the basic search works fine. Search variables include keyword, title, subject, geographical index term, bill number, and SuDoc number. You will find abstracts for all treaty documents from 1970. If your library subscribes to the optional historical indexes, you will find annotated indexes for treaties from 1825 to 1969.
Treaty queries typical involve:
The Senate's Legislative Activities webpage lists treaties received from the President, treaties on the Executive Calendar (reported out of the Foreign Relations Committee, and treaties approved. Senate treaty documents are the first place where a treaty is published (Y 1.1/4)
The State Department Office of the Legal adviser maintains a treaty webpage with links to the monthly Current Treaty Actions, Treaty Actions, and Treaties in Force. This is the same information found in the Dispatch before it ceased in 1999. Good for current treaties. Updates Treaties in Force [TIF].
The CQ Weekly Report (JK 1 .C15) covers the treaty process well.
Congressional Index (CCH) [Z 1223 .Z7C6) volume 1 includes a status table on treaties pending before the Senate. Arranged chronologically by session. this is the best source for information on treaties before the Senate.
U.S. Department of State includes treaties status on its website. This may be the best source of information about the major "non-binding" agreements. There is no comprehensive site or publication for these. Selected international treaties and agreements are provided via the infoUSA site. Treaties in force 2003 is also available at this site.
The LexisNexis CIS Index indexes and abstracts treaty documents and the committee reports for them. LexisNexis CIS also issues an American Foreign Policy Index with excellent intellectual access and a companion fiche collection (not held locally).
Hein's United States Treaties and Other International Agreements is a service that provides the full text of pending international agreements and treaties. Hein Online [available at UT] includes the Treaties and Agreements Library [in-force, expired, or yet to be published]. This is your best treaty source for recent treaties.
Systematic publication of treaties began in 1845 when treaties from 1776 to 1845 were published in volume 8 of Statutes at Large. Executive agreements were added with volume 47 (1931-1933). In 1949, treaty publication was moved to the new series, United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (UST). From 1908, treaties have been issued in slip [pamphlet] form before appearing in a bound volume.
Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of American, 1776-1949 by Charles Bevans [often cited as Bevans] is the standard work. Reprints full text of treaties and executive agreements. Volume 13 is a subject and country index.
Treaties and International Act Series (TIAS). First official publication [slip format]. Later bound in U.S.T. Time lage lag of about five years.
United States Teaties and Other International Agreements [U.S.T.] 1950 -. The official source, but often 12 years or so late.
United States Statutes at Large (STAT) [Docs KF 50]. Volume 64 inclues the full text of treaties from 1776 through 1949. Some executive agreements are not included.United States Treaties and Other International Agreements continues this series.
Index to International Treaties and Agreements. Issued by Oceana, a digital version is available via its TIARA service. Covers in-force treaties and agreements from 1783.
United States Legislation on Foreign Relations and International Commerce: 1789-1969. Issued by Hein [be familiar with this publisher], this is the standard work for "legislative treaties." Other volumes follow from time to time.
Codification of Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders. Good source of information on executive orders and Presidential actions affecting international relations.
Unperfected Treaties of the United States of America: 1776-1976. Contains the text and annotations of treaties that did not go into force [normally failed Senate approval].
United States Treaty Index: 1776-1990. (JX 231 .A34 DocsMic) Indexes about 16,000 treaties and agreements. Good numerical, chronological, country, subject, and geographic subject indexes. Updated by Current Treaty Index. Treaties included are available on fiche.
Early American Indian Documents: Treaties and Laws: 1607 - 1789. Includes treaties and some background material.
Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. Compiled and edited by Charles J.Kappler, this is the standard work. A seven volume compilation of the treaties between the US and the Indian Tribes.
The text of treaties concluded between 1778 - 1868 is available on the WWW via the Yale Law School Avalon Project.
Executive Agreement Series.
Seven volumes issued from 1929 to 1946 cover agreements 1-506. Later agreements are in the Treaties and Other International Acts.
Department of State Bulletin [S 1.3:].
The official State Department periodical was issued from 1939 until 1989 and included presidential addresses, news conferences, and proclamations about foreign affairs, including treaties. Continued by the Dispatch which then ceased in 1999. Today, this information is only available via the Department website.
Foreign Relations of the United States (S1.1:).
The documentary record of all U.S. foreign relations activities. Includes background documents, some dealing with treaty negotiations. There is a 25 year interim before publication to let the passions cool. Some historians have voiced concerns about integrity and completeness. Some content not included because of security issues.
World Treaty Index.
Covers the period from 1920-1980. Includes multi-lateral and bi-lateral agreements. Provides citations and brief annotations. Indexes allow access by signatory and key word.
The subscription based United Nations Treaty collection provides access to the League of Nations Treaty Series, and the United Nations Treaty series. Citations to the UN Treaty Series include many multi-lateral treaties where the U.S as well as bi-lateral ones. All U.S. treaties are registered with the UN for inclusion in this series. There is a considerable time lag before treaties are published.
Some treaties are known by a popular name. Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Name is often helpful. Legal periodicals are also helpful. The Avalon Project has an alphabetical list of treaty titles which is good for older treaties.
Thomas provides access to some full treaty text from the 90th Congress.
Treaties and Other International Acts (TIAS) (S 9.10:1501-nos) (Stx JX 235.9 .A22.Currently, this the first official publication of new treaties. Began in 1945. Before then, treaties were issued in the Treaty Series and executive reports in the Executive Agreement Series (1929-1945).
United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (UST) (Stx JX 231 .A34) [S 9.12:]. This the bound edition of TIAS and is arranged by treaty number. Most volumes appear in several physical parts and each has its own index.
Treaties in Force (S 9.14) (JK 236 1929c DocsMic) [also on web via the Department of State Office of Legal Affairs]. 1950 - . Includes bi- and multi-lateral treaties. Available in LexisNexis, Westlaw, and HeinOnline. This will answer many treaty questions.
The Monthly Catalog. Since 1977, entries have appeared for treaty texts, Senate treaty documents, and Senate Executive Reports. Recent treaties are available from the GPO website via Thomas beginning with the 104th Congress. Good search options.
Trade treaties are found on the Trade and Related Agreements database[TARA] maintained by the Trade Compliance Center of the Department of Commerce.
Since the official sources are so slow, the unofficial sources are more frequently used.
Hein's United States Treaties and Other International Agreements Current Service. 1990 -. Available as a digital collection at UT. Hein publishes A Guide to Treaties in Force which provides better indexing than the official version.
Westlaw.Treaties from 1979 and the Senate treaty documents (103d Congress - ) are found in the USTREATIES file.
Lexis.Treaties are found in the INTLAW library in the USTRTY file from the 104th Congress (not available on educational discounts). LexisNexis Congressional also includes treaties.
Oceania's Consolidated Treaties and International Agreements [CTIA] is issued in two print volumes per year to cover that year (also available in their U.S. Treaties Researcher. Oceana is a major publisher in this area. Its TIARA U.S. Treaties Researcher and the TIARA U.S. Treaties Index provide full text and access to more than 10,000 bi- and multi-lateral treaties signed by the U.S. from 1783. A "Quick U.S. Treaties Index" is available free (but with registration), and is a good starting point.
Commerce Clearing House issues a loose-leaf service for Tax Treaties. The Internal Revenue service summarizes U.S. tax treaties with appropriate citations.
