How to cite a treaty

Bluebook (22d ed.) citation format · B21 / R21.4 · Foreign, international, tribal & archival

Example

Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Estates, Inheritances, and Gifts, Fr.-U.S., Nov. 24, 1978, 32 U.S.T. 1935.

More examples

Each of these is checked against the rules on every change to the tool.

• North Atlantic Treaty art. 5, Apr. 4, 1949, 63 Stat. 2241, 34 U.N.T.S. 243.
• Organization of American States, American Convention on Human Rights, Nov. 22, 1969, O.A.S.T.S. No. 36, 1144 U.N.T.S. 123.
• Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, June 17, 1925, 26 U.S.T. 571 [hereinafter Geneva Protocol].
• U.N. Charter art. 94, ¶ 1.
• Treaty on Commerce and Navigation, Iraq-U.S., art. III, ¶ 2, Dec. 3, 1938, 54 Stat. 1790.

What the citation needs

Required

• Treaty name — The agreement’s full English name, with its form (Agreement, Convention, Protocol, Treaty…) and its subject matter (R21.4.1(a)). Use only the first form named on the title page.
• Date of signing — The exact date of signing (R21.4.4). Where there are two, the first and last: “Apr. 27-May 13, 1964”.

When they apply

• Parties — For an agreement between two parties only: both, abbreviated per T10, in alphabetical order and joined by a hyphen — “Fr.-U.S.”. Leave blank for a multilateral treaty. A Tribal Nation’s name is not abbreviated (R21.4.2).
• Organization — An international organization the convention is published by, named before it: “Organization of American States, American Convention on Human Rights” (R21.4).
• Subdivision — The article or paragraph cited, where you cite part of the agreement: “art. III, ¶ 2”. With a subdivision, no pincite to the treaty series is needed (R21.4.3).
• What the date marks — What the date is, when the treaty was not signed on one date: opened for signature, approved, ratified or adopted. It is printed in italics before the date (R21.4.4).
• Treaty sources (one per line) — Where the treaty is printed, from table T4: for a U.S. agreement, a U.S. source (U.S.T., Stat., T.I.A.S.…) and, where there is one, an international one (U.N.T.S.) — one per line (R21.4.5).
• Single source — A single treaty source, if you prefer one box to the list above (R21.4.5; T4).
• Hereinafter short name — For a very long or popularly known treaty, the short name to use afterward, in brackets at the end of the first citation: “[hereinafter Geneva Protocol]” (R21.4.1(b)).

In a brief and in a law review

The Bluebook sets citations two ways: the Bluepages for court documents and legal memoranda, the Whitepages for law review footnotes. Here is the first example above as each one prints it, in its typeface.

Court documents (Bluepages)

Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Estates, Inheritances, and Gifts, Fr.-U.S., Nov. 24, 1978, 32 U.S.T. 1935.

Law review footnotes (Whitepages)

Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Estates, Inheritances, and Gifts, Fr.-U.S., Nov. 24, 1978, 32 U.S.T. 1935.

For this source the two are set the same way.

Common mistakes

Each of these is a citation the checker refuses, with what it says is wrong and the corrected form.

Governing rules

B21 / R21.4

• T4 — treaty sources.
• 21 — international materials.
• 21.4 — treaties & other international agreements.
• 21.4.2 — parties to the agreement (T10).
• 21.4.4 — date of signing.
• 21.4.5 — treaty sources.

Build this citation with the generator, check one you have already written, or paste a whole list of footnotes to check them in order.

Related source types

Foreign, international, tribal & archival:

• Foreign case
• World Court case (I.C.J. / P.C.I.J.)
• Other international tribunal or arbitration
• European Union document
• Other international organization document
• International yearbook or digest
• Foreign statute or constitution
• U.N. document
• Tribal Nation law
• Tribal order, ordinance or resolution
• Archival material