Treaty Research

Susan Goard
goard@un.org
Training Content
• Travaux preparatoires / Negotiating History
– Audiovisual Library of International Law
– Diplomatic Conferences
• UN Treaty Website
– Multilateral Treaties deposited with the
Secretary-General ( “Status of Treaties” database)
– UN Treaty Series
• Secondary sources
Audiovisual Library of International Law

http://legal.un.org/avl/intro/introduction.html?tab=2
Audiovisual Library of International Law

Historic Archives
• Each entry devoted to a specific legal instrument
• Each entry includes:
– An introduction written by a prominent legal scholar
– A procedural history
– A list of related documents
– Link to the status of the treaty
– Audio and visual material
Audiovisual Library of International Law

Lecture Series
• Lectures given by legal scholars and
practitioners on International law matters
• A number of lectures on the Law of Treaties
are available:
http://legal.un.org/avl/ls/lawoftreaties.html
Audiovisual Library of International Law

Research Library
• Under the treaty section, links to treaty
collections available online
• Includes:
– Collections maintained by the UN and other
International Organizations
– Collections maintained by States
– Collections maintained by other entities
Diplomatic Conferences
http://legal.un.org/diplomaticconferences/
• Official Records of diplomatic conference held under
the auspices of the United Nations

https://library.un.org/content/training
UN Treaty Website
https://treaties.un.org/
UN Treaty Website
Includes
• A Glossary of terms and FAQs
• Resources for Practitioners
• Status of Treaties database
• UN Treaty Series database
• League of Nations Treaty series
• The ability to register for alerts
Status of Treaties
Status of Treaties
• Over 560 Multilateral Treaties deposited with
the Secretary-General
• Latest consolidated status
• Includes information about:
– Participants
– Declarations, reservations, communications
• Arranged by chapter
Status of Treaties

Browse by chapter
Status of Treaties
Status of Treaties

The Certified True Copy

(CTC) is available here.

Here you can find the

number of signatories
and parties

Here you find when a

country has signed
and/or ratified a treaty
Status of Treaties

Under Title Search,

you can find a treaty
by name
Status of Treaties
UN Treaty Series
• Over 250,000 treaties and treaty actions
• Treaty text available in English, French and
the authentic language(s) of the treaty
• Includes the entire UN Treaty Series and
other treaties that have been registered but
not published
UN Treaty Series
UN Treaty Series
UN Treaty Series
UN Treaty Series
Type in Country
name here

When you select your

country here, it will be
added to the column
on the right.
UN Treaty Series
UN Treaty Series
UN Treaty Series
UN Treaty Series
Online (Freely Available) Resources
• Globalex: http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/
– Research guides for international law and the legal systems of countries
throughout the world.
– Contributions from experts, updated frequently
• WorldLII: http://worldlii.org/
– Free access to laws of various countries
– Some countries’ LIIs are more extensive than others
• AfricanLII: https://africanlii.org/
– Same concept as WorldLII but includes only African countries and has more
African coverage than WorldLII
• World Treaty Index: http://db.lib.washington.edu/wti/wtdb.htm
– The online version of the famous print volume. Covers 20 th Century
Subscription Resources
• Foreign Law Guide
– Research guides on the legal systems of various countries.
– Online Sources link you to where you can find information on
the internet
• Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law
– Excellent encyclopedia with peer-reviewed articles on various
topics of public international law
• Oxford Scholarly Authorities on International Law (OSAIL)
– Full text of Oxford University Press commentaries on various
conventions and treaties
Subscription Resources
• HeinOnline
– US Treaties and Agreements library
– Foreign and International Law Resources database,
including yearbooks of international law by various
countries
– Law Journal Library, including International Legal
Materials (ILM)
– United Nations Law Collection, including the
publications of the Treaty Section
Subscription Resources
• DAG Discovery
– Allows you to search:
• Our print catalogue
• Academic articles in our subscription databases
• Our ebook collection
– Hint: Look for name of convention or agreement
and “commentary or analysis”. If you are looking
for a particular article,
Print Resources
• Commentaries
– Example: Corten, O and P. Klein (eds.), The Vienna
Conventions on the Law of Treaties: A Commentary,
Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2011. (also available via
OSAIL)
• Treaty Indexes
– Example: Rohn, Peter H. World treaty index. Santa
Barbara, Calif. : ABC-Clio Information Services, 1983-1984.
5 vols
• Treaty Series of various countries
THANK YOU!
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phone : 212-963-3000

website : library.un.org

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