This guide is designed to aid you in your treaty research when you lack a proper citation. As no complete collection of treaties exists in print or online, you will have to conduct your research with a certain amount of creativity and perseverance. It is important to note, too, that treaties may be referred to by a variety of names (agreements, conventions, protocols, memorandums of understanding, exchanges of letters, et cetera).
In addition the sources listed in this guide, don’t neglect searching Hollis Classic directly for a particular treaty. It is useful to perform a title and/or keyword search as some treaties may be included as the appendix of a work, and are noted as such in the catalog.
*This guide was created by Trinie Thai-Parker and is maintained by Terri Saint-Amour.
Accession - formal adoption of the provisions of a treaty already agreed upon by other parties
Bilateral - a treaty between just two parties
Effective date - the date on which the provisions of the treaty take effect
Entry into force - the date on which the treaty formally becomes a legal obligation binding parties, usually a certain number of days after the last notification
Initialed - the stage when a treaty has been agreed by the negotiating representatives of all parties after which the treaty is submitted for approval at a political level
Multilateral - a treaty between more than two parties
Negotiation - this is the first step in the process of concluding a treaty and is usually carried out by representatives of the parties concerned
Parties - countries that have ratified a treaty and are bound by the terms of the treaty
Ratification - the completion of the formal process of approval of a treaty when one parties notifies the other parties of the ratification, after which that party is bound by the treaty
Reservation - a term or terms of a treaty objected to by a party
Signature - the stage at which a treaty has been approved by the government, making the government bound to uphold the treaty, although the treaty is not yet effective
Termination - the formal act of one or more parties to terminate the application of the treaty
Termination date - the date from which a treaty ceases to have effect