Treaty Research Guide
More extensive coverage of treaty research strategies and resources is provided in the VU Libraries Treaty Research Guide.
Since domestic laws concerning trade sometimes implement treaty obligations, you may, in certain instances, wish to locate the text of relevant treaties and understand how they operate, both in the U.S. and in other state parties. Treaties to which the U.S. is currently a party are listed in the publication U.S. Treaties in Force (TIF), a treaty index updated annually by the State Department. Information provided in TIF concerning in-force treaties can assist researchers in locating an official copy of a treaty's full-text, and necessary information concerning implementation. TIF typically lists the depositary for each treaty.
The depositary organization or government publishes important information concerning the treaty, oftentimes on the web, including the treaty’s full text, lists of contracting parties, reservations lodged by contracting parties, and further reports concerning domestic implementation. Multilateral treaties - agreements to which more than two states are parties - are often administered by intergovernmental organizations, while bilateral treaties – agreements between two states – are typically administered by entities situated within the governments of those states. Since the World Trade Organization administers many multilateral trade treaties, this guide includes a section discussing WTO materials that are available electronically. Information concerning many bilateral trade-related treaties to which the U.S. is a party is available from the site of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, discussed further in the section of this guide concerning U.S. federal agencies.
Treaty information provided by the depositary organization or government for free online will oftentimes be sufficient for researchers, or even more comprehensive or current than the text of or information pertaining to the treaty provided in formal treaty publications. However, researchers who experience difficult locating a treaty’s text or status information from the depositary, or who need to provide a citation from an official publication, may wish to consult HeinOnline’s International Treaties and Agreements Database.
Full-text treaty publications provided in the database include State Department publications such as the Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS) and U.S. Treaties and Other International Agreements (UST), materials presented to the U.S. Senate for treaty ratification purposes, the United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS), and commercial treaty publications.
- HeinOnline This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive legal research database. Extensive coverage of law reviews and historical access to resources such as the Federal Register, the Code of Federal Regulations, and US Supreme Court decisions. Legislative history and select foreign and international materials. Contains specialized libraries: intellectual property, taxation and economic reform, etc.
Domestic Implementing Measures
Though treaties are agreements between states, many such agreements require those states to enact domestic statutes or regulations to implement the agreement. Secondary sources, domestic administrative agency materials, and implementation reports from the treaty depository may direct researchers to relevant domestic law for a state party. Many U.S. trade laws are situated in U.S. Code and Code of Federal Regulations Titles 15 (Commerce & Trade) and 19 (Customs Duties). The U.S.C. and C.F.R. are published in several free (govinfo.gov, ecfr.gov, uscode.house.gov, Cornell’s Legal Information Institute) and commercial sources, and the most relevant trade-related provisions are published on agency websites.
A source compiling a variety of U.S. federal materials concerning trade law, including relevant code provisions, selected legislative history for trade laws, agency materials, and commentary, is HeinOnline’s U.S. International Trade Law Library. accessible from its home page under the U.S. Federal Content, International Resources, and U.S. Treaties and Agreements content headings.
