Reference Sheet on Treaties and International Agreements
Page 1 of 2
Types of International Agreements
The United States may enter into international agreements—meaning agreements that create obligations
under international law—using several different sets of domestic legal authorities. The resulting
international agreements are generally grouped into several categories, though the boundaries between
these categories is not always clear. They include:
• “Article II treaties” that the President negotiates but is only able to enter into with the advice and
consent of two-thirds of the Senate, pursuant to Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution;
• “Executive agreements” that the President negotiates and enters into under some other
domestic legal authority, including:
o “Treaty-based executive agreements” that an existing Article II treaty has authorized the
President to enter into;
o “Congressional-executive agreements” that Congress has authorized the President to
enter into by statute, including:
§ More common “ex ante” congressional-executive agreements are generally
authorized by Congress in advance of being negotiated and signed;
§ Rarer “ex post” congressional-executive agreements are generally taken up and
approved by Congress after the agreement in question has been negotiated.
o “Sole executive agreements” that the President enters into under his or her own
constitutional authority, without direct involvement from Congress.
The question of which set of authorities is used to enter into an international agreement is primarily one
of U.S. domestic law and policy. As part of internal “Circular 175” procedures, the State Department—in
consultation with other relevant agencies and at times with Congress—generally determines which
mechanism the executive branch will pursue based on a number of factors, including past U.S. and
international practice. Each of these forms of international agreement is equally capable of creating
international legal obligations and thus of equal status under international law.
The scope of issues that can be addressed by these different types of international agreements has not
been resolved by the courts and remains a subject of debate. As a matter of practice, Article II treaties are
generally used to enter into international agreements on certain issues of major concern, including arms
control and human rights. Congressional-executive agreements, however, are much more common and
have been used to conclude a wide range of international agreements relating to Congress’s Article I
authority, such as its authority to regulate trade and commerce. Finally, sole executive agreements may
only be used to enter into international legal obligations that the president is able to comply with under
his own constitutional authority.
At times, countries and their agencies may also enter into agreements that impose legal obligations under
one or more domestic legal systems, such as contracts. They may also enter into non-binding
arrangements that make political commitments but not formal legal obligations. Neither type of
arrangement is considered to be “international agreements” for purposes of these legal frameworks.
Reference Sheet on Treaties and International Agreements
Page 2 of 2
Reporting Obligations for Executive Agreements
The Case-Zablocki Act of 1972 (codified as amended at 1 U.S.C. § 112b) requires that the Secretary of
State transmit the text of any international agreement that is not an Article II treaty to Congress within 60
days of its entry into force. Pursuant to relevant regulations (22 C.F.R. § 181.7), the State Department also
provides Congress with relevant background information for each international agreement it transmits,
including “a precise citation of legal authority.”
If the President believes public disclosure would prejudice U.S. national security, then an international
agreement may instead be transmitted to the House and Senate foreign affairs committees “under an
appropriate injunction of secrecy to be removed only upon due notice from the President.” Per relevant
regulations (22 C.F.R. § 181.7(b)), this applies to classified international agreements.
Publication Requirements
Federal law (1 U.S.C. § 112a) currently directs the executive branch to publish an annual compilation of
the Article II treaties and other international agreements that the United States has finalized each
calendar year, and to publish any international agreement “proposed to be published” in that volume
online within 180 days of it entering into force. As a matter of practice, the State Department’s online
“Treaties and International Acts Series” website (http://www.state.gov/tias/) has become the main place
of publication for the texts of international agreements.
The Secretary of State may determine that certain categories of international agreements do not need to
be published if:
• The international agreements are not Article II treaties;
• There is insufficient public interest in publishing the international agreements because:
o They have not been in force since April 30, 1994;
o They do not create private rights or duties, or establish standards intended to govern
government action in the treatment of private individuals;
o Any public interest in publication can adequately be satisfied by alternate means; or
o Public disclosure would, in the opinion of the President, be prejudicial to U.S. national
security; and
• Except for those withheld from publication for reasons of national security, the State Department
will make certified copies available upon request.
Any such determinations must be published in the Federal Register. Existing exceptions are codified in
federal regulation (22 C.F.R. § 181.8(a)) and include classified international agreements.
Under relevant federal laws (1 U.S.C. 112b(d)) and regulations (22 C.F.R. § 181.8(d)), the State
Department must provide Congress with an annual report identifying and summarizing any international
agreements not published under these exceptions. As this report may itself be classified, it generally
includes classified international agreements and those not published for reasons of national security.
