Antarctic Treaty - Signed on December 1, 1959 and came into force on June 23, 1961. Governments of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, the French Republic, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Union of South Africa, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America.
Antarctic Treaty Database - In this database you can find the text of measures adopted by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) - including all Recommendations, Measures, Decisions and Resolutions - from 1961 to now together with their attachments and information on their legal status.
Antarctic Treaty Secretariat - Supports the annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and the meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP). Collects, stores, arranges and publishes the documents of the ATCM. Disseminates public information about the Antarctic Treaty system and Antarctic activities.
Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) Website - The purpose of this site is to provide accurate, up-to-date information about the BTWC. The information provided is intended to be both comprehensive and objective; it includes the Convention, the Final Declarations of the successive Review Conferences together with other documentation for the Review Conferences as well as information on the ongoing efforts to strengthen the regime. These include the documentation for VEREX, the Special Conference and for the Ad Hoc Group.
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety - The Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted a supplementary agreement to the Convention known as the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety on 29 January 2000. The Protocol seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology. It establishes an advance informed agreement (AIA) procedure for ensuring that countries are provided with the information necessary to make informed decisions before agreeing to the import of such organisms into their territory.
Charter of the Organization of American States - On April 30, 1948, 21 countries of the hemisphere met in Bogotá, Colombia, to adopt the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS), which affirmed their commitment to common goals and respect for each nation's sovereignty. Since then, the OAS has expanded to include the nations of the Caribbean, as well as Canada.
Charter of the United Nations - The Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization, and came into force on 24 October 1945. The Statute of the International Court of Justice is an integral part of the Charter.
Chemical Weapons Convention - The CWC bans the production, acquisition, stockpiling, transfer and use of chemical weapons. Each State Party undertakes to destroy the chemical weapons and any chemical weapons production facilities it owns or possesses. The CWC penalizes countries that do not join by inhibiting their access to certain treaty-controlled chemicals. The CWC regime monitors commercial facilities that produce, process or consume dual-use chemicals to ensure they are not diverted for prohibited purposes. SeePrimary Documents.
Commonwealth Key Declarations - The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 countries that support each other and work together towards shared goals in democracy and development. Member countries span six continents and oceans from Africa (19) to Asia (8), the Americas (3), the Caribbean (10), Europe (3) and the South Pacific (11). The Commonwealth's structure is based largely on unwritten and traditional procedures and not on a formal charter or constitution. It is guided, however, by a series of agreements on its principles and aims. These are Declarations or Statements which have been issued by Commonwealth Heads of Government at various summits and include:
Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) - Established mainly in response to concerns that an increase in krill catches in the Southern Ocean could have a serious effect on populations of krill and other marine life; particularly on birds, seals and fish, which mainly depend on krill for food.
Convention and Kyoto Protocol [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] - The text of the Convention was adopted at the United Nations Headquarters, New York on the 9 May 1992; it was open for signature at the Rio de Janeiro from 4 to 14 June 1992, and thereafter at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, from 20 June 1992 to 19 June 1993. By that date the Convention had received 166 signatures. The Convention entered into force on 21 March 1994. Those states that have not signed the Convention may accede to it at any time.
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) - This pact, adopted by the vast majority of the world's governments at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, sets out commitments for maintaining the world's ecological underpinnings as it goes about the business of economic development. The Convention establishes three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources. Also see Convention Text.
Convention on International Civil Aviation (also known as Chicago Convention) - Established the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations charged with coordinating and regulating international air travel. The Convention establishes rules of airspace, aircraft registration and safety, and details the rights of the signatories in relation to air travel. The Convention also exempts air fuels from tax. See Wikipedia.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) - CEDAW, adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. By accepting the Convention, States commit themselves to undertake a series of measures to end discrimination against women in all forms.
Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972 and 1996 Protocol Thereto - Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter. Dumping at sea of waste generated on land and loaded on board specialized dumping vessels had been carried out for several years by industrialized countries before international rules to prevent marine pollution from this practice entered into force in 1974: the Oslo Convention for the North-East Atlantic and in 1975 the London Convention 1972 for marine waters worldwide other than the internal waters of States.
Convention on Rights and Duties of States (Inter-American) - Convention signed at Montevideo December 26, 1933; Senate advice and consent to ratification, with a reservation, June 15, 1934; Ratified by the President of the United States, with a reservation, June 29, 1934; Ratification of the United States deposited with the Pan American Union July 13, 1934; Entered into force December 26, 1934; Proclaimed by the President of the United States January 18, 1935; Article 8 reaffirmed by protocol of December 23, 1936.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) - The Convention was the culmination of more than thirty years of work by the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, a body established in 1946 to monitor the situation of women and to promote women's rights. The Commission's work has been instrumental in bringing to light all the areas in which women are denied equality with men. These efforts for the advancement of women have resulted in several declarations and conventions, of which the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is the central and most comprehensive document.
Convention on the Rights of the Child - The human rights of children and the standards to which all governments must aspire in realizing these rights for all children, are most concisely and fully articulated in one international human rights treaty: the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention is the most universally accepted human rights instrument in history. Only two countries have failed to ratify it. Somalia, which until recently did not have an internationally recognised government, signed the Convention in May 2002 but has not yet ratified it. The United States has also signed the Convention, but has failed to ratify it. This may be because some U.S. States want to continue to be able to execute their juveniles - an action expressly forbidden by the Convention. According to the convention, a child is defined as: "a person under 18 (years of age), unless national laws recognise the age of majority earlier."
Conventions Adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) - The ILO is the UN specialized agency which seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights. The ILO formulates international labour standards in the form of Conventions and Recommendations setting minimum standards of basic labour rights: freedom of association, the right to organize, collective bargaining, abolition of forced labour, equality of opportunity and treatment, and other standards regulating conditions across the entire spectrum of work related issues.
Court of Justice (EU) - It is the responsibility of the Court of Justice to ensure that the law is observed in the interpretation and application of the treaties establishing the European Communities and of the provisions laid down by the competent Community institutions. To enable it to carry out that task, the Court has wide jurisdiction to hear various types of action. The Court has competence, inter alia, to rule on applications for annulment or actions for failure to act brought by a Member State or an institution, actions against Member States for failure to fulfil obligations, references for a preliminary ruling and appeals against decisions of the Court of First Instance.
Crimes of War Project - A collaboration of journalists, lawyers and scholars dedicated to raising public awareness of the laws of war and their application to situations of conflict. Our goal is to promote understanding of international humanitarian law among journalists, policymakers, and the general public, in the belief that a wider knowledge of the legal framework governing armed conflict will lead to greater pressure to prevent breaches of the law, and to punish those who commit them.
European Convention - A forum drawing up a constitution for the European Union has agreed a draft text of a new constitutional treaty.
European Convention on Human Rights - The European Court of Human Rights, based in Strasbourg, was set up as a result of the European Convention on Human Rights, created in 1950. This set out a catalogue of civil and political rights and freedoms. It allows people to lodge complaints against States which have signed up to the Convention for alleged violations of those rights. Although founded in 1950, the court didn't actually come into existence until 1959.
European Patent Convention (EPC) - Goes beyond what the Patent Cooperation Treaty establishes. An applicant files a single European Patent Application and designates the countries in Europe in which he wants to have patent protection. The European Patent Office (EPO) performs a novelty search and prepares a search report. Using this search report, the Examining Division (three Examiners) then determines the patentability of the invention. The procedure is comparable to the national procedure, except in that it has only to be performed once regardless of how many European countries were designated.
European Union Data Protection (.pdf) - Directive 2002/58/EC of the European parliament and of the Council concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications, 12 Jul 02).
Fissile Material Talks (Fissban) - Proposed treaty for prohibition of the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.
Flare Index to Treaties - A searchable database of basic information on over 1,500 of the most significant multilateral treaties from 1856 to the present, with details of where the full text of each treaty may be obtained in paper and, if available, electronic form on the Internet. The Index includes only those treaties where there are three or more parties to the instrument. The selection has been based on entries in Multilateral Treaties: index and current status, compiled and annotated within the University of Nottingham Treaty Centre by M.J. Bowman and D.J. Harris (London: Butterworths, 1984, ninth supplement, 1992) and International Legal Materials (Washington, D.C., American Society of International Law, 1962-). See review of site by Steven Whittle and Peter Clinchhere.
Freedom of Movement: General Comment No. 27: Freedom of movement (Art.12) - General comments adopted by the human rights committee under article 40, paragraph 4, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Adopted at the 1783rd meeting (sixty-seventh session), held on 18 October 1999. Freedom of movement, mobility rights or the right to travel is a human right concept that the constitutions of numerous states respect. It asserts that a citizen of a state in which that citizen is present has the liberty to travel, reside in, and/or work in any part of the state where one pleases within the limits of respect for the liberty and rights of others, and to leave that state and return at any time. Some immigrants' rights advocates assert that human beings have a fundamental human right to mobility not only within a state but between states. See Wikipedia.
Geneva Conventions (Wikipedia article) - The Geneva Conventions consist of four treaties formulated in Geneva, Switzerland, that set the standards for international law for humanitarian concerns. They chiefly concern the treatment of non-combatants and prisoners of war. They do not affect the use of weapons in war, which are covered by the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and the Geneva Protocol on the use of gas and biological weapons of 1925. Also see:
Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols - The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols are at the core of international humanitarian law, the body of international law that regulates the conduct of armed conflict and seeks to limit its effects. They specifically protect people who are not taking part in the hostilities (civilians, health workers and aid workers) and those who are no longer participating in the hostilities, such as wounded, sick and shipwrecked soldiers and prisoners of war.
Hague Convention of 1954 - Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. Done at the Hague, 14 may 1954.
Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 - A series of international treaties and declarations negotiated at two international peace conferences at The Hague in the Netherlands. The First Hague Conference was held in 1899 and the Second Hague Conference in 1907. Along with the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions were among the first formal statements of the laws of war and war crimes in the body of secular international law.
Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (Harmonized System Convention) - multipurpose international product nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO). It comprises about 5,000 commodity groups, each identified by a six digit code, arranged in a legal and logical structure and is supported by well-defined rules to achieve uniform classification. The system is used by more than 177 countries and economies as a basis for their Customs tariffs and for the collection of international trade statistics. Over 98 % of the merchandise in international trade is classified in terms of the HS.
Helsinki Final Act 1975 - The Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, which opened at Helsinki on 3 July 1973 and continued at Geneva from 18 September 1973 to 21 July 1975, was concluded at Helsinki on 1 August 1975 by the High Representatives of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, the German Democratic Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, the Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Yugoslavia.
ILOLEX Database of International Labour Standards - A trilingual database containing ILO Conventions and Recommendations, ratification information, comments of the Committee of Experts and the Committee on Freedom of Association, representations, complaints, interpretations, general surveys, and related documents.
International Arms Control Treaties - A check list, report on, and full text of the major international arms control treaties, covering in particular those dealing with nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, as well as relevant export control, conventional weapons and landmines treaties, including:
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty - Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles
Outer Space Treaty - Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and other Celestial Bodies
Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty (PNET) - Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Underground Nuclear Explosions for Peaceful Purposes (and Protocol Thereto)
Seabed Arms Control Treaty - Treaty on the Prohibition of the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons and other Weapons of Mass Destruction on the Seabed and the Ocean Floor and in the Subsoil Thereof
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty I (START I) - The Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms and Associated Documents
ILOLEX Database of International Labour Standards - A trilingual database containing ILO Conventions and Recommendations, ratification information, comments of the Committee of Experts and the Committee on Freedom of Association, representations, complaints, interpretations, general surveys, and related documents.
Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization's (KEDO) - Funded through financial support from member and contributing countries, KEDO was created in 1995 to advance the implementation of the Agreed Framework between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), under which the DPRK agreed to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing nuclear program. In return, KEDO is providing the DPRK with alternative sources of energy in the form of heavy fuel oil and a modern nuclear power plant that will be built, operated, and regulated in accordance with international standards of safety.
Library of Congress' THOMAS: Treaties - This database covers treaty information from the 94th Congress to the present. Treaty information is also available from the 90th to the 94th. Information is available for just a few treaties from the 81st through the 89th Congresses.
Limitation Of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems (ABM Treaty) - Treaty between the U.S. and the USSR on the limitation of anti-ballistic missile systems (ABM Treaty). Signed at Moscow: May 26, 1972. Ratification advised by U.S. Senate: August 3, 1972. Ratified by U.S. President: September 30, 1972. Proclaimed by U.S. President: October 3, 1972. Instruments of ratification exchanged: October 3, 1972. Entered into force: October 3, 1972.
Lisbon Treaty - An international agreement that amends two treaties that comprise the constitutional basis of the European Union. It was signed by the EU member states on 13 December 2007, and entered into force on 1 December 2009, and provides the Union with the legal framework and tools necessary to meet future challenges and to respond to citizens' demands.More information here.
London Convention 1972 - Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter. Dumping at sea of waste generated on land and loaded on board specialized dumping vessels had been carried out for several years by industrialized countries before international rules to prevent marine pollution from this practice entered into force in 1974: the Oslo Convention for the North-East Atlantic and in 1975 the London Convention 1972 for marine waters worldwide other than the internal waters of States.
Mine Ban Treaty - Convention on the prohibition of the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and on their destruction, 18 September 1997.
Montreal Protocol - An international agreement designed to protect the stratospheric ozone layer. The treaty was originally signed in 1987 and substantially amended in 1990 and 1992. The Montreal Protocol stipulates that the production and consumption of compounds that deplete ozone in the stratosphere - chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform - are to be phased out by 2000 (2005 for methyl chloroform).
Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer - The Protocol is constructively flexible: it can be tightened or "adjusted" as the scientific evidence strengthens, without having to be completely renegotiated. Indeed, it sets the "elimination" of ozone-depleting substances as its "final objective." The Protocol came into force, on time, on January 1st, 1989, when 29 countries and the EEC (representing approximately 82 percent of world consumption) had ratified it.
Multilaterals Project - An ongoing project at the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts to make available the texts of international multilateral conventions and other instruments. Although the project was initiated to improve public access to environmental agreements, the collection today also includes treaties in the fields of human rights, commerce and trade, laws of war and arms control, and other areas, including:
North Atlantic Treaty (aka The Washington Treaty) - Forms the basis of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Treaty was signed in Washington D.C. on 4 April 1949 by 12 founding members. Collective defence is at the heart of the Treaty and is enshrined in Article 5.
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) - The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also referred to as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), obligates the five acknowledged nuclear-weapon states (the United States, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, France, and China) not to transfer nuclear weapons, other nuclear explosive devices, or their technology to any non-nuclear-weapon state. Non-nuclear-weapon States Parties undertake not to acquire or produce nuclear weapons or nuclear explosive devices. They are required also to accept safeguards to detect diversions of nuclear materials from peaceful activities, such as power generation, to the production of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. This must be done in accordance with an individual safeguards agreement, concluded between each non-nuclear-weapon State Party and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Also see Wikipedia article, IAEA Notification of Entry into Force.
Oceans and Law of the Sea - UN site providing Law of the Sea, DOALOS, UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, fisheries, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, ITLOS, UNICPOLOS, ISA, ISBA, International Seabed Authority, International Sea-bed Authority, and other marine environment, legal instruments, pollution, fish, environment, ocean policy, and conflict information and resources.
OECD Anti-Bribery Convention - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Convention and other instruments, publications and documents.
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property - March 20, 1883, as revised at Brussels on December 14, 1900, at Washington on June 2, 1911, at The Hague on November 6, 1925, at London on June 2, 1934, at Lisbon on October 31, 1958, and at Stockholm on July 14, 1967, and as amended on September 28, 1979: The oldest treaty related to patents is the Paris Convention (1883). While it does not regulate any aspect of the examination, it does establish the very important right of priority. Someone who has filed a patent application in any country that is a member to the Paris Convention, can within one year after that filing file patent applications in other countries, claiming the filing date of the first application as the effective filing date of the later applications. This way, he has up to one year to decide in which countries he wants to apply for patent protection and to make the necessary preparations (like translating it into the official languages of those countries) for doing so.
Patent Cooperation Treaty - The states party to this treaty constitute a union for cooperation in the filing, searching, and examination of applications for the protection of inventions, and for rendering special technical services. The union is known as the International Patent Cooperation Union. Done at Washington on June 19, 1970, amended on October 2, 1979, and modified on February 3, 1984.
Peace Agreement Database - Lists over 640 documents in over 85 jurisdictions which can be termed 'peace agreements'. It provides information on some of the key issues addressed by the agreements, for example, 'amnesty' and 'women', and a search mechanism for searching which agreements have dealt with these issues.
Principles of Medical Ethics (UN) - Adopted by General Assembly resolution 37/194 of 18 December 1982. Principles of medical ethics relevant to the role of health personnel, particularly physicians, in the protection of prisoners and detainees against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Potsdam Declaration (1945) - Tripartite agreement by the United States, the United Kingdom and Soviet Russia concerning Conquered Countries, August 2, 1945.
Potsdam Proclamation (1945) - United States, China, United Kingdom - A statement of terms for the Unconditional Surrender of Japan, July 26, 1945.
Reference Guide to the Geneva Conventions - Online guide from the Society of Professional Journalists. Includes a history of the Geneva Conventions and the full texts of the Conventions, and alphabetical reference guide. Use the Quick Guide on this site to find out what the Geneva Conventions say about everything from access to grave sites to wounded prisoners of war, fully linked to the original treaties.
Resolution on Iraq (1441) - Resolution on the return of weapons inspectors to Iraq, adopted unanimously by the UN Security Council on 8 November 2002.
SALT II Treaty - Signed at Vienna June 18, 1979. Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, Together with Agreed Statements and Common Understandings Regarding the Treaty.
START II Treaty - Signed January 3, 1993. Treaty Between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms.
Senate Treaty Documents - In accordance with the Constitution, the Senate has responsibility for advice and consent to ratification of treaties with other nations that have been negotiated and agreed to by the Executive Branch.
Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS) - By law, 1 U.S.C. 112a(a), the Secretary of State is responsible for compiling, editing, indexing, and publishing a compilation entitled United States Treaties and Other International Agreements," which contains all treaties and international agreements other than treaties to which the United States has become a party during the calendar year. This compilation "shall be legal evidence of the treaties, international agreements other than treaties, and proclamations by the President of such treaties and agreements, therein contained, in all the courts of the United States, the several States, and the Territories and insular possessions of the United States." The Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Treaty Affairs has begun efforts to make TIAS available on-line, as well as to reduce the delay between entry into force of an agreement and its official publication. In the interim, and in furtherance of 1 U.S.C. 112a(d), you may view the texts of agreements that entered into force after 1998 on the Department of State's Freedom of Information Act Document Collections page. The listed documents are agreements reported to Congress under the Case-Zablocki Act and are organized by signing date. These documents are largely unedited and subject to possible correction before their official publication in TIAS. In addition, this is not a complete listing of agreements and is a temporary listing until agreements are published in TIAS. Treaties to which the United States has become a party may be determined by consulting Treaties in Force or, if recently entered into force, Treaty Actions. The text of treaties, as published as Senate Treaty Documents, may be accessed through the Library of Congress' THOMAS website.
Treaties and Other International Agreements: The Role of the United States Senate - A study prepared for the Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate, by the Congressional Research Service in Janauray 2001. "It is intended to provide a reference volume for use by the U.S. Senate in its work of advising and consenting to treaties. It summarizes international and U.S. law on treaties and other international agreements. It traces the process of making treaties through the various stages from their initiation and negotiation to ratification, entry into force, implementation and oversight, modification or termination--describing the respective senatorial and Presidential roles at each stage. The study also provides background information on issues concerning the Senate role in treaties and other international agreements through specialized discussions in individual chapters. The appendix contains, among other things, a glossary of frequently used terms, important documents related to treaties: the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (unratified by the United States); State Department Circular 175 describing treaty procedures in the executive branch; the State Department regulation, Coordination and Reporting of International Agreements, and material related to the Case-Zablocki Act on the reporting of international agreements to Congress. Also included are a list of treaties approved by the Senate from January 1993 through October 2000, examples of treaty documents, and an annotated
Treaties in Force - Prepared by the Department of State for the purpose of providing information on treaties and other international agreements to which the United States has become a party and which are carried on the records of the Department of State as being in force as of its stated publication date (currently January 1, 2007).
Treaty of Lisbon - The Treaty of Lisbon will define what the EU can and cannot do, and what means it can use. It will alter the structure of the EU's institutions and how they work. This new treaty is the result of negotiations between EU member countries in an intergovernmental conference, in which the Commission and Parliament were also involved. The treaty will not apply until and unless it is ratified by each of the EU's 27 members. It is up to each country to choose the procedure for ratification, in line with its own national constitution. Also see full text of the treaty.
Treaty on Open Skies (OS) - The Treaty on Open Skies establishes a regime of unarmed aerial observation flights over the territories of its signatories. The Treaty is designed to enhance mutual understanding and confidence by giving all participants, regardless of size, a direct role in gathering information through aerial imaging on military forces and activities of concern to them. Open Skies is one of the most wide-ranging international arms control efforts to date to promote openness and transparency in military forces and activities. Also see Wikipedia.
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons - Signed at Washington, London, and Moscow: July 1, 1968 Ratification advised by U.S. Senate: March 13, 1969 Ratified by U.S. President: November 24, 1969 U.S. ratification deposited at Washington, London, and Moscow: March 5, 1970 Proclaimed by U.S. President: March 5, 1970 Entered into force: March 5, 1970.
More info here.
Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) - The NPT is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. The Treaty represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States. Opened for signature in 1968, the Treaty entered into force in 1970.
U.S. Bilateral Investment Treaty Program - The U.S. Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) program supports several key U.S. Government economic policy objectives, from protection of U.S. interests overseas to promotion of market-oriented policies in other countries to promotion of U.S. exports.
U.S. Senate: Treaties - In accordance with the Constitution, the Senate has responsibility for advice and consent to ratification of treaties with other nations that have been negotiated and agreed to by the Executive Branch. The documents here identify treaties received from the President, treaties on the Executive Calendar, treaties approved by the Senate, and listings of other recent treaty status actions, including treaties that were rejected by the Senate or withdrawn by the President, during the current Congress.
UNIDROIT Conventions - International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) international conventions.
Union List of Holdings of European Legal Gazettes - Official gazettes are basically the medium by which national and sub-national governments officially disseminate new legislation, regulations, orders and decisions of government bodies, and official announcements, although not always in full text. Some gazettes also contain the texts of international agreements, court decisions and legislative debates.
United Nations Security Council Resolutions and Statements of its President on Lebanon - These include resolutions 425 (1978), 426 (1978), 520 (1982), 1559 (2004), 1655 (2006) 1680 (2006), 1697 (2006), 1701 (2006) as well as the statements of its President on the situation in Lebanon, in particular the statements of 18 June 2000 (S/PRST/2000/21), of 19 October 2004 (S/PRST/2004/36), of 4 May 2005 (S/PRST/2005/17), of 23 January 2006 (S/PRST/2006/3) and of 30 July 2006 (S/PRST/2006/35).
United Nations Treaty Handbook - This Handbook has been prepared as a guide to the Secretary-General's practice as a depositary of multilateral treaties, and to treaty law and practice in relation to the registration function. It is designed for the use of Member States, secretariats of international organizations, and others involved in assisting governments on the technical aspects of participation in the multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General, and the registration of treaties with the Secretariat under Article 102. It is intended to promote wider State participation in the multilateral treaty framework. The Handbook commences with a description of the depositary function, followed by an overview of the steps involved in a State becoming a party to a treaty. The following section highlights the key events of a multilateral treaty, from deposit with the Secretary-General to termination. Section 5 outlines the registration and filing and recording functions of the Secretariat, and how a party may go about submitting a treaty for registration or filing and recording. The final substantive section, section 6, contains practical hints on contacting the Treaty Section on treaty matters, and flow charts for carrying out various common treaty actions. Several annexes appear towards the end of this Handbook, containing various sample instruments for reference in concluding treaties or performing treaty actions. A glossary listing common terms and phrases of treaty law and practice, many of which are used in this Handbook, is also included.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNHCHR) - Here you will find the most comprehensive collection of translations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948. Over 300 different language versions are available in HTML, PDF and graphical forms.
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations - An international treaty that defines a framework for consular relations between independent countries. A consul normally operates out of an embassy in another country, and performs two functions: (1) protecting in the host country the interests of their countrymen, and (2) furthering the commercial and economic relations between the two countries. While a consul is not a diplomat, they work out of the same premises, and under this treaty they are afforded most of the same privileges, including a variation of diplomatic immunity called consular immunity. The treaty has been ratified by 173 countries. See Wikipedia.
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) - A treaty concerning the customary international law on treaties between states. Modern treaty law is codified by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 1155 U.N.T.S. 331, T.S. No. 58 (1980), 8 I.L.M. 679 (1969). It was adopted on 22 May 1969 and opened for signature on 23 May 1969. The Convention entered into force on 27 January 1980. The VCLT has been ratified by 108 states as of May 2007; those that have not ratified it yet may still recognize it as binding upon them in as much as it is a restatement of customary law. The Convention codifies several bedrocks of contemporary international law. It defines a treaty as "an international agreement concluded between states in written form and governed by international law," as well as affirming that "every state possesses the capacity to conclude treaties." Most nations, whether they are party to it or not, recognize it as the preeminent Treaty of Treaties; it is widely recognized as the authoritative guide vis-à-vis the formation and effects of treaties. Although the United States is not a signatory of the Vienna Convention, U.S. courts look to the Convention for guidance on the "customary international law of treaties", see, e.g., Avero Belgium Ins. v. American Airlines, 423 F.3d 73,80 (2nd Cir. 2005).
WIPO Treaties and Contracting Parties - As a specialized agency of the United Nations whose mandate is to promote the protection of intellectual property worldwide, the World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO) administers 21 treaties in the field of intellectual property.
World Treaty Index - Provides access to over 55,000 treaties of the 20th century, from sources ranging from the United Nations Treaty Series to various national indexes, gazettes, and official files.
KWSnet is an Internet subject directory providing special attention to U.S. national and international news, the arts, computing, culture, environment, law, literature, media, politics, science and technology. Based in San Francisco, California, KWSnet contains over 150,000 annotated links to resources worldwide. Use Search KWSnet, located at the top of each page, to search within this site. Use Ctrl-F (Windows) or ⌘-F (Mac) to search within individual pages.