Treaties in Force is prepared by the Department of State for the purpose of providing information on treaties and other international agreements to which the United States has become a party and which are carried on the records of the Department of State as being in force as of its stated publication date, January 1, 2013. With respect to treaties and agreements in force as of January 1, 2013, information regarding status is up to date as of the date indicated as authoritative. The term “treaty” as a matter of U.S. constitutional law denotes international agreements made by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate in accordance with Article II, section 2 of the Constitution of the United States. In addition to such “treaties”, this publication covers international agreements in force that have been concluded by the Executive (a) pursuant to or in accordance with existing legislation or a prior treaty; (b) subject to congressional approval or implementation, and/or (c) under and in accordance with the President’s constitutional powers. Treaties in Force is arranged in two sections. Section 1 includes bilateral treaties and other international agreements listed by country or other international entity with subject headings under each entry. Arrangements with territorial possessions of a country appear at the end of the entry for that country. In some cases, treaties and international agreements applicable to a territory prior to its independence are included in the entry for that country on the basis of its assumption of treaty obligations upon becoming independent, as noted at the beginning of the entry for that country. For convenience, some treaties and agreements concluded with countries whose name or statehood status has changed continue to be listed under the name in use at the time the agreement was concluded, if the title of the treaty or agreement has not been formally amended. Section 2 lists multilateral treaties and other international agreements to which the United States is a party, arranged by subject. The depositary is the authoritative source for a current list of parties and information on other matters concerning the status of the agreement, and status information often changes. Information is provided on the depositary for the agreement in question, and contact information, including an Internet site is provided for the depositary where available.

Lists treaties and other international agreements of the United States on record in the Department of State on January 1, 2012 which had not expired by their terms or which had not been denounced by the parties, replaced or superseded by other agreements, or otherwise definitely terminated. Published annually.