Skip to Main Content
site header image

International Law: General Sources: Official treaty sources

This guide lists essential sources for researching general aspects of international law. For specialized topics, such as human rights and international arbitration, see the guide International Law: Specialized Sources.

Choosing the right official source: Rule 21.4.5(a)(i) & (ii)

To find a citation to an official treaty source, use Treaties in Force, updating it with the tools listed here.

NOTE about the dates covered by the print editions of the Bluebook official sources for U.S. treaties:
U.S.T. and T.I.A.S. are no longer published in print. For the dates covered by the print publications, see the box "Post-1949 official treaty sources" on this page and the Dept. of State, Office of Treaty Affairs page Finding Agreements. PDFs of later T.I.A.S. slip treaties are on the Dept. of State website and in HeinOnline


If your treaty is not in U.S.T. or T.I.A.S., it might be in one or more of the other official sources listed in Bluebook Rule 21.4.5(a)(i) and (ii). Those other sources are included in the other two boxes on this page, Pre-1950 official treaty sources and Post-1949 official treaty sources. Those lists also include a few more official government publications that, although not listed in the Bluebook, might contain the text or indicate the status of a treaty before it is ratified, e.g., Senate Executive Reports and presidential communications to the Senate. 

See also Bluebook & other unofficial sources and Presidential statements, proclamations, etc.

Post-1949 official treaty sources

Pre-1950 official treaty sources