Bluebook Rule 21.4 governs the citation of treaties and other international agreements. The practice of quotation differs between treaties to which the United States is affiliated and to which the United States is not affiliated, and, where the United States is a party, between bilateral and multilateral treaties. The Bluebook expresses a preference for certain U.S. contractual sources for agreements involving the U.S. and refers to several sources published by international organizations. Before going through the list of sources, make sure you have the right citation information. “treaty” means an international instrument concluded in writing between States and subject to international law, whether contained in a single legal act or in two or more interconnected conventions, whatever their particular name. Treaties are one of the main sources of international law. Indeed, international legal research almost always involves finding a treaty at some point, whether bilateral or multilateral. Bilateral treaties are treaties concluded between two States or organizations and multilateral treaties are those concluded between more than two States or organizations. Treaties are a kind of international agreement and can also be referred to as things such as agreement, agreement, pact, agreements, protocol, pact, convention or pact, etc. If you cite a contract in a law review article, The Bluebook is very specific about the resources to cite. What is surprising to many researchers is that The Bluebook asks for citations about U.S.
publications compared to citations from publications from international organizations like the United Nations. The following serves as a guide for the citation.