Treaty series
Encyclopedia
A Treaty series is an officially published collection of treaties
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...

 and other international agreements.

League of Nations

The League of Nations Treaty Series (LNTS) was a result of article 18 of the Covenant of the League of Nations
Covenant of the League of Nations
-Creation:Early drafts for a possible League of Nations began even before the end of the First World War. A London-based study group led by James Bryce and G. Lowes Dickinson made proposals adopted by the British League of Nations Society, founded in 1915. Another group in the United States—which...

, which stated:

"Every treaty or international engagement entered into hereafter by any Member of the League shall be forthwith registered with the Secretariat and shall as soon as possible be published by it. No such treaty or international engagement shall be binding until so registered".


The League of Nations Treaty Series began publication in 1920, and was terminated in 1946, following the dissolution of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...

. It contains 205 volumes with a total of 4834 treaties. In addition, a 9 volume index has been made to the series.

Following the termination of that series, registration of treaties has been passed over to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

.

United Nations

The United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS) is the result of article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, which states as follows:

On December 16, 1946, the United Nations General Assembly passed resolution 97, which laid the rules for the registration of international agreements by the UN Secretariat.

The UNTS is by far the largest collection of treaties, running to some 2500 volume containing 158,000 treaties from 1946. Its predecessor was the League of Nations Treaty Series (LNTS).

United States

Treaties and international agreements were formally published in Statutes at Large
United States Statutes at Large
The United States Statutes at Large, commonly referred to as the Statutes at Large and abbreviated Stat., are the official source for the laws and concurrent resolutions passed by the United States Congress...

 (Stat.) until 1948. The Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

 also published a number of collections relating specifically to treaties and other agreements:
  • Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS), published under various names since 1861
  • Treaty Series (TS or USTS), issued singly in pamphlets until 1945
  • Executive Agreement Series (EAS), issued singly in pamphlets until 1945


After 1948, agreements have been published as Senate Document
Senate Document
A Senate Document is an official document produced by the US Senate, for example the results of the Lodge committee....

s (S.Doc.), House Documents (H.Doc.) or in the Federal Register
Federal Register
The Federal Register , abbreviated FR, or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains most routine publications and public notices of government agencies...

 (F.R. or F.Reg.). Official compilations include:
  • Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS) are a series of pamphlets or "slip" treaties published by the Department of State to replace the Treaty Series and the Executive Agreement Series
  • United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (UST) from accumulated TIAS pamphlets, published annually from 1950
  • Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) continues to be published as a collection


For convenience, a number of private collections of treaties have also been published:
  • Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America 1776–1949 (Bevans), compiled by Charles I. Bevans
  • International Legal Materials (ILM) published by The American Society of International Law (ASIL)
  • Treaties and other International Acts of the United States of America (Millar), edited by Hunter Millar

United Kingdom

United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 treaties and international agreements are published as Command Paper
Command paper
A command paper is a document issued by the British government and presented to Parliament. White papers, green papers, treaties, reports from Royal Commissions and various government bodies can all be released as command papers, so-called because they are presented to Parliament formally 'By Her...

s, along with a large number of other government documents. For ease of reference, Command Papers relating to treaties are given a second "Treaty Series" number, which is sometimes referred to as the United Kingdom Treaty Series (UKTS). For example, the Treaty on Open Skies
Treaty on Open Skies
The Treaty on Open Skies entered into force on January 1, 2002, and currently has 34 States Parties. It establishes a program of unarmed aerial surveillance flights over the entire territory of its participants...

 was published as Cm. 5537, but also had the Treaty Series number 26 for 2002, abbreviated as [2002] UKTS 26.

Canada

Treaties signed by the Canadian government are published in a government publication titled Canada Treaty Series.

Australia

Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n treaties are collected together in the Australian Treaty Series (ATS), starting with the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...

, [1920] ATS 1.

New Zealand

New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 treaties are published in New Zealand Treaty Series (NZTS), starting publication from 1944.

Republic of Ireland

The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs has published a list of all treaties of Ireland on its website, titled Irish Treaty Series. At present, all treaties from 2002 are available online.

Israel

The State of Israel has its own official collection of treaties, titled in Hebrew "Kitvey Amana" ("Treaty Writings" in Hebrew, also referred to as "Israel Treaty Series"). It includes every international agreement either signed or acceded by the Israeli government.

Pacific Islands

The University of South Pacific in Port Vila, Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...

began a publication titled Pacific Islands Treaty Series, giving the texts of treaties concluded by small states in the Pacific Ocean.

External links

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