Status and Ratification Information

Once you have located the text of the agreement, you need to determine the following:

• the parties to the agreement
• the conclusion and the entry into force date
• any amendments to the original agreement.

Since status information is ever changing, locating the current status of treaties and agreements has always been a challenging task for the researcher.

• Treaties in Force (TIF) (1950-). This annual publication lists and very briefly summarizes all U.S. treaties and agreements in force. Includes both bilateral and multilateral treaties and, when available, references to U.S.T. and T.I.A.S. citations. Entries arranged by country and subject. Now available on Westlaw and HeinOnline.
• Treaty Actions. Issued monthly by the State Department, treaty actions contain current information on bilateral and multilateral treaties and agreements. Good way to update TIF.
• Thomas Treaties. This web site provides some information on the status of treaties. Search by Congress, treaty document number, word/phrase, or by type of treaty.
• United States Treaty Index and Current Treaty Index. These indexes are the most comprehensive sources for U.S. treaty information. There are subject, chronological, and country indexes. This index provides citations to various full-text sources: U.S.T., T.I.A.S., Hein's United States Treaties and Other International Agreements. The set is supplemented by Current Treaty Index.
• CCH Congressional Index. Two volume looseleaf set issued for each Congressional session. The Senate volume contains a section on the status of treaties pending before the Senate.
• Shepard's United States Citations. Provides citations to treaties that amend earlier treaties. Pre-1950 treaties are listed by the Statutes at Large citation and after 1950 treaties are listed by U.S.T. or T.I.A.S. citation.