Australian Guide to Legal Citation 4th edition

Part IV of the AGLC deals with international materials including treaties, United Nations materials, materials of international courts and tribunals, and international economic materials.

The full AGLC4 rule for treaties can be found at 8 on page 133. Treaties are cited differently depending on whether they are multilateral (with three or more parties) or bilateral (with two parties). The example below deals with citing a multilateral treaty.

Elements of a multilateral treaty

• Treaty Title — should appear in italics and appropriately capitalized (8.1)
• Date opened for signature — if the treaty is adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, this date is the date of conclusion. You can find this information on the treaty registry or websites such as the United Nations Treaty Series Online (8.3)
• Treaty Series information — this includes the treaty series volume number, title abbreviation, and commencing page number (8.4)
• Date of entry into force — this date of entry into force is recorded in the treaty registry or United Nations Treaty Series Online (8.3)
• Pinpoint — the pinpoint is generally to a treaty article, paragraphs or sections (8.7).

Example

• Convention on the Rights of the Child, opened for signature 20 November 1989, 1577 UNTS 3 (entered into force 2 September 1990).

The full AGLC4 rule for United Nations materials can be found at 9.1 on page 142. The citation will vary depending on whether the item you are citing is a constitutive document (like the UN Charter), an official document, an official record, a resolution or a yearbook entry.

Please read the rule carefully and consider looking at rule 9.6 on page 158 deals which deals with commonly cited documents for more guidance. If you still need help, contact your Librarian.