Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary General (New York: United Nations, 1982- ) [UN Room KZ4992.7 .M85].  This is a good source for citations and a list of the parties to an agreement. Limited to those treaties deposited with the UN. This source is also available on the UN Treaty Collection on the web (Boalt only). For information about treaties registered with the UN Secretariat, see Statement of Treaties and International Agreements Registered or Filed and Recorded with the Secretariat during ... (New York: [Legal Dept. of the Secretariat) [UN Room U.N.Doc ST/ LEG/ SER. A]. This is also available on the UN Treaty Collection web site.

World Treaty Index (P. Rohn ed., Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, 1983) [Reference Desk KJ173 .R6 1983].  Covers bilateral and multilateral treaties from 1900-1980.

Multilateral Treaties: Index and Current Status (Bowman and Harris, eds., London: Butterworths, 1984) [Reference Desk KJ211 .M84] is a good source for citations and status information for multilateral treaties.  It has a vague subject and keyword index and all of the entries are arranged in chronological order.  This is a good source for all multilateral treaties, even if the U.S. is not a party.  There is a cumulative supplement, but it is quite dated.

Wiktor, Christian L., Multilateral Treaty Calendar = Repertoire des Traites Multilateraux, 1648-1995 (The Hague: M. Nijhoff, 1998) [Reference Desk KZ118 .M85 1998].  Very complete for the time period it covers, but it lacks ratification information.

Index to the United Nations Treaty Series (New York: United Nations, 1946-) [North Reading Room KJ179.U58 TS]. This index accompanies U.N.T.S. Some of the index volumes are available on the UN Treaty Collection on the web (Boalt only).

United Nations Cumulative Treaty Index (Buffalo, N.Y.: William S. Hein, 1999-) [North Reading Room KJ179.U58 TS Index].  A 15-volume in the same format as United States Treaty Index and is also supplemented periodically.  This is much more useful than the UNTS Index, mentioned above, however it also suffers from a serious lag time.

Consolidated Treaty Series (cited to as C.T.S.) (Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1969-1986) covers 1648-1918 [KJ173 .P264 CTS].

League of Nations Treaty Series (cited to as L.N.T.S.) ([Geneva, etc.: League of Nations], 1920-1946) covers 1920-1944 [KJ178 .L434].

United Nations Treaty Series (cited to as U.N.T.S.) (New York: United Nations) covers 1944-date [North Reading Room KJ179.U58 TS].  Many of the treaties contained in this source are also available on the Internet at (Boalt only).

International Legal Materials (cited to as I.L.M.) (Washington, D.C.: American Society of International Law, 1962-) covers 1962-date. [KJ5 .I574]. Publishes selective treaties and agreements. Available on LEXIS and WESTLAW.

Since not all treaties are deposited with the UN, there are many regional organizations that publish the treaties done under the auspices of the organization.  For example, the Council of Europe publishes the European Treaty Series (Strasbourg: Council of Europe) and European Conventions and Agreements (Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 1971-).  Other European IGO treaties can be found in European Yearbook (The Hague: Nijhoff).  The Organization of American States publishes a Treaty Series (Washington, D.C.: General Secretariat, Organization of American States) as well.  Many IGOs have web sites that contain the text of these regional treaties, see the Treaty Collections on the Internet below.

Periodicals or looseleaf services or subject compilations, such as International Law & World Order: Basic Documents (Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y. : Transnational Publishers, 1994-) or International Documents on Children (2nd ed., The Hague; Boston: M. Nijhoff; Cambridge, MA: Sold and distributed in North, Central and South America by Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1998).

Country treaty series or official gazettes.  See A Guide to Official Gazettes and their Contents (ed. John E. Roberts, Library of Congress, 1985) for more information.

LEXIS and WESTLAW have selected treaties on various topics (trade, taxation, environment, etc.).

The Internet is a great resource for multilateral treaties, see Treaty Collections on the Internet below and the research guides mentioned above.

The best place to start is with the treaty indexes such as Treaties in Force (Washington, DC: Office of the Legal Advisor, U.S. Dept. of State, 1950-) [Reference Desk KF4651 .A64], Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary General (New York: United Nations, 1982-) [UN Room KZ4992.7 .M85], or Multilateral Treaties: Index and Current Status (Bowman and Harris, eds., London: Butterworths, 1984) [Reference Desk KJ211 .M84].

Depending on the topic of the treaty or agreement, consult relevant looseleafs, periodicals, or series on the topic. For example, for human rights treaties, see the Human Rights Law Journal (Kehl am Rhein; Arlington [Va.]: N.P. Engel, 1980-) [KJ602.A2 H88]; for Hague conventions, see the Netherlands International Law Review (Dordrecht: M. Nijhoff, 1975- ) [KJ5 .N371]. Other more general sources include UN Chronicle (New York: United Nations) and newspapers. These are just a few of the many sources available.

Sometimes a call the U.S. State Department's Treaty Affairs Office can be helpful (202) 647-1345 and the United Nations treaty information office (212) 963-2523 .

The Web has become one of the most important sources for status and ratification information from treaty secretariats and depositories. Some of the useful sites are listed below. Again, this is only a sampling of what is out there on the Web.

• United Nations Treaty Collection (Boalt only)
• ECOLEX
• Environmental Treaties and Resource Indicators
• Council of Europe, European Treaties
• Hague Conventions on Private International Law
• International Humanitarian Law
• International Labour Organization
• WIPO Treaties