The Diamond Law Library is a great place to find the text of treaties. We have access
to all of the resources described in this guide, and many others not mentioned. But even
with the right tools, treaty research can be quite difficult and time consuming. This is
especially true if you do not have a good understanding of treaties and how they are
formed.
A treaty (sometimes called a convention, covenant, protocol, charter, pact, etc…)
is an agreement between two or more nations or international organizations. It may be
bilateral (between two countries), or multilateral (between three or more countries). The
treaty text may provide for the manner by which it takes effect. Often, the agreement will
enter into force when it has been signed and ratified by a certain number of parties.
Unless restricted by the terms of the treaty, parties may ratify a treaty with
reservations or other declarations. A reservation is a country's attempt to modify certain
terms of the agreement, as between itself and other countries. For a thorough discussion
of the treaty making process, see Anthony Aust, Modern Treaty Law and Practice (2000). 2ndFloor,
JX 4160 .Au735 2000.
