Introduction

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Treaties can be referred to by a number of different names: international conventions, international agreements, covenants, final acts, charters, protocols, pacts, accords, and constitutions for international organizations. Usually these different names have no legal significance in international law. Treaties may be bilateral (two parties) or multilateral (between several parties) and a treaty is usually only binding on the parties to the agreement. An agreement "enters into force" when the terms for entry into force as specified in the agreement are met. Bilateral treaties usually enter into force when both parties agree to be bound as of a certain date.

For more information on treaties, see Thomas Buergenthal & Sean Murphy, Public International Law in a Nutshell (3rd ed., St Paul, MN: West, 2002) [Loan Desk KZ3092 .B83 2002] or Encyclopedia of Public International Law, vol. 7, pps. 459-514 (Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1981-) [Reference Desk KJ29 .E54 1992].

U.S. Treaties and Agreements

'Domestically, treaties to which the United States is a party are equivalent in status to Federal legislation, forming part of what the Constitution calls ‘the supreme Law of the Land.’ Yet, the word treaty does not have the same meaning in the United States and in international law.[1] The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties defines a treaty "as an international agreement concluded between States in written form and governed by international law, whether embodied in a single instrument or in two or more related instruments and whatever its particular designation." [2]

Under United States law, however, there is a distinction made between the terms treaty and executive agreement. "In the United States, the word treaty is reserved for an agreement that is made ‘by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate’ (Article II, section 2, clause 2 of the Constitution). International agreements not submitted to the Senate are known as ‘executive agreements’ in the United States." [3] Generally, a treaty is a binding international agreement and an executive agreement applies in domestic law only. Under international law, however, both types of agreements are considered binding. Regardless of whether an international agreement is called a convention, agreement, protocol, accord, etc.; if it is submitted to the Senate for advice and consent, it is considered a treaty under United States law.

For a brief overview of this issue, see Frederic Kirgis, International Agreements and U.S. Law, ASIL Insight, No. 10, May 1997.

[1]Treaties and Other International Agreements: The Role of the United States Senate: A Study, prepared for the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, S. Print 106-71, (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 2001).

[2]Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 1155 UNTS 311 (May 23, 1969), art. 2, s 1(a).

[3]Treaties and Other International Agreements: the Role of the United States Senate: a Study, supra note 1.

Prepared by Marci Hoffman, International & Foreign Law Librarian, UC Berkeley Law Library, October 2003.