Name Authorities: Works & Expressions: Treaties

  • Last Updated: August 07, 2024
  • Published: December 13, 2023

Related Chapters/Sections

Chapter Scope

This chapter comprises general guidance that applies to all works for individual treaties and individual treaty protocols in the Name Authority File.

Note on Past Practices

Practices in NARs for treaties have changed over the years. Therefore, use caution in copying or deriving from existing records.

Works vs. Expressions

GPO establishes treaties at the work level. If a treaty contains text in more than one language, record information only for the English. Do not establish individual NARs for the other language versions. Do not provide a 377 field.

Example:

010  no2020011599

130 0 Agreement on Defense Cooperation between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Hungary ǂd (2019 April 4)

4101  Hungary. ǂt Agreement on Defense Cooperation between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Hungary ǂd (2019 April 4)

4101  United States. ǂt Agreement on Defense Cooperation between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Hungary ǂd (2019 April 4)

430 0 Agreement between the United States of America and Hungary ǂd (2019 April 4)

670  Defense : cooperation, 2019?: ǂb t.p. (Agreement between the United States of America and Hungary, signed at Washington, April 4, 2019;  entered into force August 21, 2019) p. [3] (Agreement on Defense Cooperation between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Hungary)

What to Establish in the Authority File

GPO Practice

  • Establish treaties when cataloging publications comprising treaties, such as the Department of State’s Treaties and other international acts series (n 84731555), or the Senate’s Treaty doc. Series (n  86729721). For more information on these series, see: Bibliographic Cataloging: Treaties.
  • Establish treaties when needed for a subject or related work access point

Capitalization

  • Follow A.18: Names of Documents and A.10: General Guideline for English Language Capitalization
  • GPO Practice: Capitalize both the preferred and variant titles of the treaty wherever these occur in the NAR.
Example:

010  no2020057295

130 0 Joint Declaration between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the United States of America for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan ǂd (2020 February 29)

4101  Afghanistan. ǂt Joint Declaration between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the United States of America for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan ǂd (2020 February 29)

4101  United States. ǂt Joint Declaration between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the United States of America for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan ǂd (2020 February 29)

430 0 U.S. Afghanistan Joint Declaration ǂd (2020 February 29)

670  Joint Declaration between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the United States of America for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan, 2020: ǂb HTML source title (02.29.20-US-Afghanistan-Joint-Declaration)

Preferred Titles for Treaties

  • Apply 6.19.2.7
  • Since the treaty series that GPO catalog essentially “package” the treaty, take the preferred name from the caption, if available, of the treaty itself (e.g., from page [3]) rather than from the cover or title page.
Example:

010  no2020058600

130 0 Agreement on Science and Technology Cooperation between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of India ǂd (2019 September 20)

430 0 Agreement between the United States of America and India ǂd (2019 September 20)

670  Scientific and technical cooperation, 2019?: ǂb t.p. (Agreement between the United States of America and India, signed at New Delhi, September 20 and 23, 2019; entered into force, December 16, 2019, with effect from September 14, 2019) p. [3] (Agreement on Science and Technology Cooperation between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of India)

Authorized Access Points for Treaties

  • Apply the following RDA instructions: 6.29.1.15, 6.20.3.3, and 6.29.1.30.1
  • Add the full date of signing to the authorized access point.
  • Record the date when a treaty was signed as fully as possible in this order: year, month, and day.
  • See examples in RDA 6.29.1.30.1

Authorized Access Points for Protocols

  • Apply 6.21.1.5, 6.29.1.16, and 6.29.1.30.3
  • Tip: the key point to remember is that the authorized access point for the protocol must collocate with that of the original treaty. Consequently, the preferred title for the protocol may not even appear in the resource cataloged, let alone in the preferred source. This may seem to contradict normal cataloging practice. Titles of the protocol that would normally be recorded as preferred titles, may instead be recorded as variant titles.
Example:

010  no2015039486

040  DGPO ǂb eng ǂe rda ǂc DGPO ǂd DGPO

046  ǂk 2013-07-31 ǂ2 edtf

130 0 Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Mutual Fisheries Relations ǂd (1988 May 31). ǂk Protocols, etc. ǂd (2013 July 31)

380   Treaties ǂ2 lcsh

4101  Russia (Federation). ǂt Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Mutual Fisheries Relations ǂd (1988 May 31). ǂk Protocols, etc. ǂd (2013 July 31)

4101  United States. ǂt Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Mutual Fisheries Relations ǂd (1988 May 31). ǂk Protocols, etc. ǂd (2013 July 31)

430 0 Agreement between the Government of the United States and the Government of the Russian Federation Extending the Agreement between the Government of the United States and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Mutual Fisheries Relations of May 31, 1988 ǂd (2013 July 31)

430 0 Mutual Fisheries Agreement ǂd (2013 July 31)

670  Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Russian Federation, 2015: ǂb p.1 (Agreement between the Government of the United States and the Government of the Russian Federation Extending the Agreement between the Government of the United States and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Mutual Fisheries Relations of May 31, 1988, with annex, as extended (the "Mutual Fisheries Agreement"); effected July 31, 2013 and December 10, 2013)

Dates of Treaties and Protocols

  • Apply the following RDA instructions: 6.20.3

When to Recode pre-RDA Treaty NARs to RDA

  • Whenever updating an existing pre-RDA treaty NAR, recode it to RDA. Consult: Name Authorities: RDA, General Policies: When to Recode an Existing NAR to RDA.
  • Common situation: when cataloging a protocol to an existing treaty NAR that is coded AACR2, you must first recode the original treaty to RDA, so that the protocol will be RDA compliant while collocating with the original treaty.
Example:

New protocol, no2015039486 required the original treaty, no2005024927 plus an earlier protocol, no2005024932, to be recoded.

In no2005024927 and no2005024932, the former authorized access points appear in 410 fields coded “ǂw nnea.”

Note that these updates may result in multiple variant access points coded “ǂw nnea”

MARC Fields for Treaties and Protocols

046 – Special Coded Dates

Record the date of signing, etc. in subfield ǂk

370 – Associated Place

Record the location of the signing, etc. in subfield ǂg

380 - Form of Work

Use: 380 Treaties ǂ2 lcsh

4XX – Variant Access Points

  • Apply RDA 6.19.3, and 6.29.3.3
  • Tip: Include the same date as in the authorized access point (6.29.3.3).
  • GPO Practice: for multilateral treaties, make up to ten variant access points under jurisdictions.
  • Titles of protocols that would normally be recorded as preferred titles, may instead be recorded as variant titles.

Examples

Example:

no2014129048

046  ǂk 2013-06-05 ǂ2 edtf

130 0 Extradition Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Chile ǂd (2013 June 5)

370  ǂg Washington (D.C.) ǂ2 naf

380   Treaties ǂ2 lcsh

4101  Chile. ǂt Extradition Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Chile ǂd (2013 June 5)

4101  United States. ǂt Extradition Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Chile ǂd (2013 June 5)

430 0 Extradition Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Republic of Chile ǂd (2013 June 5)

670  Extradition treaty with the Republic of Chile, 2014: ǂb title page (Extradition Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Republic of Chile) page III (Extradition Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Chile ... signed at Washington, June 5, 2013)

Example:

010  no2015170824

040  DGPO ǂb eng ǂe rda ǂc DGPO

046  ǂk 2013-10-01 ǂ2 edtf

130 0 Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters ǂd (2013 October 1)

370  ǂg Washington (D.C.) ǂ2 naf

380   Treaties ǂ2 lcsh

4101  Jordan. ǂt Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters ǂd (2013 October 1)

4101  United States. ǂt Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters ǂd (2013 October 1)

670  Treaty with Jordan on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters,  2015: ǂb title page (Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, signed at Washington on October 1, 2013)

Example:

010  no2023112110

040  DGPO ǂb eng ǂe rda ǂc DGPO ǂd DGPO

046  ǂk 2020-12-08 ǂ2 edtf

130 0 Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Ecuador Concerning a United States-Ecuador Council on Trade and Investment ǂd (1990 July 23). ǂk Protocols, etc. ǂd (2020 December 8)

370  ǂg Quito (Ecuador) ǂ2 naf

380   Treaties ǂ2 lcsh

4101  Ecuador. ǂt Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Ecuador Concerning a United States-Ecuador Council on Trade and Investment ǂd (1990 July 23). ǂk Protocols, etc. ǂd (2020 December 8)

4101  United States. ǂt Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Ecuador Concerning a United States-Ecuador Council on Trade and Investment ǂd (1990 July 23). ǂk Protocols, etc. ǂd (2020 December 8)

430 0 Protocol between the United States of America and Ecuador ǂd (2020 December 8)

430 0 Protocol to the Trade and Investment Council Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Ecuador Relating to Trade Rules and Transparency ǂd (2020 December 8)

670  Trade and investment, 2021?: ǂb title page (Protocol between the United States of America and Ecuador amending the Agreement of July 23, 1990, signed at Quito, December 8, 2020 ; entered into force August 5, 2021) p. [3] (Protocol to the Trade and Investment Council Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Ecuador Relating to Trade Rules and Transparency)

Example:
  1. Additional element added to AAP due to conflict:

    010  no2022087391

    040  DGPO ǂb eng ǂe rda ǂc DGPO ǂd DGPO

    046  ǂk 2022-07-05 ǂ2 edtf

    130 0 North Atlantic Treaty ǂd (1949 April 4). ǂk Protocols, etc. ǂd (2022 July 5 (Finland))

    370   ǂg Brussels (Belgium) ǂ2 naf

    380   Treaties ǂ2 lcsh

    430 0 Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the accession of the Republic of Finland ǂd (2022 July 5)

    430 0 Protocole au Traité de l'Atlantique nord sur l'accession de la République de Finlande ǂd (2022 July 5)

    670  Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the accession of the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden, 2022: ǂb page iii (signed in Brussels on July 5, 2022, on behalf of  United States and the other Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty; Finland and Sweden to become Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty and members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) page 1 (Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the accession of the Republic of Finland; Protocole au Traité de l'Atlantique nord sur l'accession de la République de Finlande)

  2. Additional element added to AAP due to conflict:

    010  no2022087414

    040  DGPO ǂb eng ǂe rda ǂc DGPO ǂd DGPO

    046  ǂk 2022-07-05 ǂ2 edtf

    130 0 North Atlantic Treaty ǂd (1949 April 4). ǂk Protocols, etc. ǂd (2022 July 5 (Sweden))

    370   ǂg Brussels (Belgium) ǂ2 naf

    380   Treaties ǂ2 lcsh

    430 0 Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the accession of the Kingdom of Sweden ǂd (2022 July 5)

    430 0 Protocole au Traité de l'Atlantique nord sur l'accession du Royaume de Suède ǂd (2022 July 5)

    670  Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the accession of the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden, 2022: ǂb page iii (signed in Brussels on July 5, 2022, on behalf of United States and the other Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty; Finland and Sweden to become Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty and members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) page 9 (Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the accession of the Kingdom of Sweden; Protocole au Traité de l'Atlantique nord sur l'accession du Royaume de Suède)

  3. But no conflict for:

    010  no2019074332

    040  DGPO ǂb eng ǂe rda ǂc DGPO ǂd DGW-L ǂd DGPO

    046  ǂk 2019-02-06 ǂ2 edtf

    130 0 North Atlantic Treaty ǂd (1949 April 4). ǂk Protocols, etc. ǂd (2019 February 6)

    370   ǂg Brussels (Belgium) ǂ2 naf

    380   Treaties ǂ2 lcsh

    430 0 Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the accession of the Republic of North Macedonia ǂd (2019 February 6)

    670  Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the accession of the Republic of North Macedonia, 2019: ǂb letter of transmittal (Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the accession of the Republic of North Macedonia; signed in Brussels on February 6, 2019, on behalf of the United States and the other Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty; North Macedonia to become a Party to the North Atlantic Treaty and a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization)