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Background Information

The researcher may need to find information related to the negotiation history and treaty interpretation. Negotiation histories are generally not available for bilateral U.S. treaties and agreements because the documents are never released to the public. A la Recherche des Travaux Préparatoires: An Approach to Researching the Drafting History of International Agreement is a very useful guide to finding the negotiating histories ( “travaux préparatoires”) of multilateral treaties.

• U.S. government documents, especially hearings, reports and prints, contain valuable history and intent information. Some of the most important documents are Senate Treaty Documents and Senate Executive Reports. These documents are only available for treaties and not agreements. These and other documents can be located using legislative history research tools, see a Legislative History tutorial for assistance in using these sources.
• Other excellent sources for background information are journal articles and books. Start with a subject search using the name treaty or agreement.
• Shepard’s United States Citations. Provides citations to cases and statutes that cite or affect treaties.

Research Tip
When looking for status and ratification information for multilateral treaties where the U.S. is a party, consult the sources in the Multilateral Treaties section of this tutorial.

Major Websites

Generally speaking, the U.S. does not provide comprehensive access to large collections of treaties on the web. Here are a few notable websites.

• International Agreements Collection. Contains about 1,500 recent (from1998-) international agreements.
• Private International Law Database. Provides access to agreements and other documents related to trade and commerce transactions, family law, and international judicial assistance.
• Trade Agreements. Contains the texts of bilateral and regional agreements.
• U.S. Income Tax Treaties. Provides the full text of many bilateral income tax treaties.