AGLC4 Rule 8.4: Treaty Series

Every treaty citation includes a treaty series citation using the abbreviated series name. Prefer the United Nations or League of Nations Treaty Series, then an official series of a state party, then another international or regional series; do not give parallel citations. Treaties between EU member states found in no such series are cited to the Official Journal, and a treaty in no series at all may be cited to another source that reproduces it, such as International Legal Materials.

AGLC4 page 137

Format

Quoted from the Guide, page 137
Volume Number Treaty Series Abbreviation Starting Page
[Year of Volume] Treaty Series Abbreviation Starting Page or Treaty Number
Treaty Series Abbreviation No Sequential Number

A boxed element is filled in with the source's details; everything outside a box is written exactly as shown.

Formatting

  • The series name is always abbreviated, roman, with no full stops.
  • A series organised by volume is cited as volume number, series abbreviation and starting page, separated by single spaces, with no brackets.
  • A series organised by year puts the year in square brackets, then the abbreviation, then the starting page or treaty number.
  • A series numbered sequentially regardless of year is cited as the abbreviation, the word No with no full stop, and the number.
  • The starting page is the first page of the treaty in the series, even though it usually carries no printed page number.
  • Only one series is cited; parallel citations are not given (rule 2.2.7).
  • Order of preference: UNTS or LNTS first, then an official series of a state party, then another international or regional series.
  • An EU Official Journal citation keeps its own internal form, for example a bracketed year followed by OJ, the series letter and the issue and page.
  • ILM may stand in as a treaty series, abbreviated, and its issue number is not given.
  • The series citation follows a comma after the signature date and precedes the entry into force bracket.

Examples

Quoted from the Guide, page 137
  1. 10
    Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, opened for signature 23 May 1969, 1155 UNTS 331 (entered into force 27 January 1980).
  2. 11
    Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of Samoa Relating to Air Services, signed 11 August 2000, [2001] ATS 18 (entered into force 29 October 2001).
  3. 12
    Convention on Cybercrime, opened for signature 23 November 2001, ETS No 185 (entered into force 1 July 2003) art 4(1).
  4. 13
    Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Liberia, opened for signature 9 September 2015, [2015] OJ L 328/3 (entered into force 9 December 2015).

Forms in the rule

Quoted from the Guide, page 137
  • ‘23 UNTS 35’
  • ‘[2010] ATS 5’
  • ‘CETS No 207’
  • ‘UNTS’
  • ‘LNTS’
  • ‘OJ’
  • ‘ILM’

Treaty series in the second and third preference categories, with their abbreviations

Quoted from the Guide, page 137
Treaty SeriesAbbreviation
Australian Treaty SeriesATS
Australian Treaties Not Yet in ForceATNIF
Canada Treaty SeriesCTS
Consolidated Treaty SeriesConTS
Council of Europe Treaty SeriesCETS
European Treaty SeriesETS
Pacific Islands Treaty SeriesPITS
United States Treaties and Other International AgreementsUTS

See also

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Formats, examples, passages, tables and the forms marked Not are quoted from the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed, Melbourne University Law Review Association, 2018), with the page of the Guide they appear on. Titles, summaries and explanations are our own.