Treaties in International Law

1. Treaties in International Law • Statute of the ICJ, Article 38(1) The Court, whose function is to decide in accordance with international law such disputes as are submitted to it, shall apply: • a.international conventions, whether general or particular, • establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states; • b. international custom, as evidence of a general practice • accepted as law; • c. the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations; • d. subject to the provisions of Article 59, judicial decisions • and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists • of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination • of rules of law.

2. TREATY PROCESS • countries negotiate a treaty • treaty text is signed • countries approve treaty in accordance with domestic law

3. Travaux Préparatoires • ..the preparatory work (in American parlance, the legislative history) of a treaty, as used as a means of interpretation. Parry & Grant, Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (2d ed., 2004) • An omnibus expression which is used rather loosely to indicate all the documents, such as memoranda, minutes of conferences, and drafts of the treaty under negotiation, for the purpose of interpreting the treaty.McNair, The Law of Treaties (1961)

4. Strategies for finding travaux préparatoires: • Key word search in online catalog/journal index: [name of treaty] andtravauxor preparatory orcongress or history or negotiations or negotiating history, etc. • Treaty documents collected and published together by an international organization or researcher. • Treaty documents within the publications of an international organization. • IGO or conference website for recent treaties. • Yearbooks on international law. • Jonathan Pratter, À la Recherche des Travaux Préparatoires: An Approach to Researching the Drafting History of International Agreements (2008), http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Travaux_Preparatoires1.htm

5. TREATY PROCESS:National Practice • Implementing legislation • Sources of State Practice in International Law • Book series: National Treaty Law and Practice

6. TREATY PROCESS: U.S. Practice Thomas website National Treaty Law & Practice, http://www.asil.org/files/dalton.pdf

7. UNPERFECTED TREATIES • Signed but not ratified • CCH Congressional Index • Unperfected Treaties of the United States of America, 1776-1976

8. RESERVATIONS & UNDERSTANDINGS • Senate treaty documents contain the reservations and understandings attached by the U.S. Senate. • Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General includes the texts of reservations for UN treaties. • Martindale Hubbell International Law Digest includes reservations and declarations to some Hague Conventions.

9. EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS: • made by the executive branch without Senate approval • enter into force when signed • cannot change existing domestic law • published in UST and TIAS (in theory) or in commercial publications (e.g. looseleaf services) or on web

10. TREATIES IN FORCE (TIF) Answers question: does US have a treaty? • published annually by the Department of State • Department of State website • Lexis, Westlaw, HeinOnline

11. U.S. TREATIES: STATUS • Treaties in Force • updated by: • "Treaty Actions" section of the Department of State website: http://www.state.gov/s/l/treaty/c3428.htm • Thomas

12. U.S. TREATIES:TEXTS • Statutes at Large (Stat.) (to 1950) • United States Treaties and other International Agreements (UST) (1950-): text of treaties in the language of each signatory • Treaties and other International Acts Series(TIAS) (1946-): advance sheet for UST (formed by merger of Treaty Series and Treaties and Other International Act Series) • Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States, 1776-1949 (Bevans) • Lexis: treaties since 1776 • Westlaw (USTREATIES): treaties since 1778

13. U.S. TREATIES: RECENT • Lexis (1776-), Westlaw (1979-) • Thomas • Hein's United States Treaties and other International Agreements (microfiche and online) • International Legal Materials (I.L.M.) • State Dept— TIAS page and Case Act listings -http://www.state.gov/s/l/treaty/caseact

14. U.S. TREATIES: IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION • index to printed code, or keyword search in code databases:name of thetreaty • keyword search in full-text periodical databases: [name of thetreaty] /s implement! or enabl!

15. Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General • status information for about 500 multilateral treaties, including parties, dates of ratification, texts of reservations, etc. • updated weekly • links to text

16. International Treaties: Indexes • Wiktor, Multilateral Treaty Calendar (1648-1995) • Bowman & Harris, Multilateral Treaties: Index and Current Status (1856-1994) • World Treaty Index (to 1980) • search full-text law review database in Lexis/Westlaw using name of the treaty

17. International Treaties: Status • Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary General /call the U.N. treaty section • web sites and publications of other international organizations, e.g. OAS, Red Cross, Council of Europe, Hague Conference, IMO • government web site (e.g. foreign ministry) • international law yearbooks • subject approach: specialized periodicals, looseleafs • “Treaty and Agreements” section of ILM • State Department: Treaties in Force/ Treaty Office / “country officer”/ Legal Adviser for Private International Law

18. International Treaties: Texts • Treaty series (e.g. U.N.T.S.) International Legal Materials • American Journal of International Law • subject compilations: keyword searches such as double taxation and treaties • separately published: search by name of treaty or subject • Treaty research guides • websites of governmental and non-governmental organizations • Multilaterals Project

19. UN Treaties database • free • numerous technical problems • may have to use IE, not Firefox • http://treaties.un.org/Home.aspx

20. Non-U.S. Bilateral Treaties • national treaty series (e.g., U.K. Treaty Series, Recueil des Traités et Accords de la France ): subject search [country]–foreign relations–treaty or keyword search [country] andtreaties • UNTS • World Treaty Index (through 1980) • national gazettes • ILM • Base Pacte (in French), http://www.doc.diplomatie.gouv.fr/pacte/ • yearbooks or reviews of international law • legal periodicals • government web sites (e.g. foreign ministry) • Topic-specific sites; e.g., investment treaties on http://www.unctadxi.org/templates/DocSearch____779.aspx