Treaty citations need the correct title and series information

A treaty is an international agreement that is binding under international law. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade explains the different types of treaties and how they are made in the Treaty making process.

Sometimes a Commonwealth Act of parliament is required to give effect to a treaty – for example, the Antarctic Treaty Act 1960.

Treaties also include conventions, international agreements, covenants, an exchange of letters, international instruments, charters or protocols.

Treaties appear in various official series published by countries and international organisations.

Australian treaties are published in the Australian Treaty Series (ATS). Other series include the United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS), the United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (UST) and the United Kingdom Treaty Series (UKTS).

To search for the titles, short titles and series information for treaties that Australia has signed or taken other action on, use the Australian Treaties Database. You can also use AustLII’s Australian Treaties Library.

For other series, use the WorldLII Treaties and International Agreements database catalogue. Alternatively, go directly to the relevant databases. These include the United Nations Treaty Collection, UK Treaties Online and, for the US, Treaties and Other International Acts Series.

Style for treaty titles is roman type, title case

Write titles of treaties in roman type with title case (maximal capitalisation). Follow the full title with the short title in parentheses and use the short title after that.

The year the treaty is made does not form part of the title. If you include it, write it into the sentence or add it in parentheses after the short title.

In general publications, citing the title of the treaty is usually enough.

Detailed citations for treaties have many elements

You might need a detailed citation for an in-text citation, notes or a reference list.

Write the citation this way:

• title
• (place of making, date of making)
• [year treaty entered into force]  
• treaty series and volume number
• page number in the series volume.

Don’t use any punctuation between the elements.

The square brackets follow the style used in the Australian Treaties Database.

(Tip: Use the 'registered' year to search the database for the year a treaty entered into force in the United Nations Treaty Collection.

If a short title has been introduced and used in the text, you can use the short title in the note.

Always use the long title in a reference list.