Treaties and United Nations Materials
Treaties, memoranda of understanding, the UN Charter and UN documents under Chapters 8 and 9.
AGLC4 Chapters 8 and 9 cover international materials, including treaties, memoranda of understanding, the Charter of the United Nations and United Nations documents.
The citation format depends on the type of international material being cited.
Treaties
A treaty citation identifies the agreement, where it can be found, and when it became legally effective. A treaty citation includes:
- the treaty title;
- the date it opened for signature;
- the treaty series reference;
- the date it entered into force; and
- the relevant article.
Title of Treaty, opened for signature day month year, volume treaty series page (entered into force day month year) art number.
Treaty series
Treaties are usually cited using the United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS). The treaty series reference identifies where the treaty is officially recorded, and includes the volume number, the series abbreviation and the starting page.
Treaties not yet in force
If a treaty has been signed but has not yet entered into force, do not provide an entry-into-force date. Instead, indicate that the treaty has not yet entered into force.
Treaty short titles
Treaty names are often long. A short title may be introduced at the end of the first citation and used in later citations.
The short title appears in inverted commas within parentheses. The inverted commas and parentheses are not italicised, but the title inside them is, because treaty titles are italicised.
Memoranda of understanding
Some international agreements are not treaties. Memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and similar instruments follow AGLC4 rule 8.6.
Their citation format is similar to treaties, but they use the signature date instead of treaty series information.
Charter of the United Nations
The Charter of the United Nations has a simplified citation format. It is cited by the title and the relevant article. No date or treaty series reference is required.
United Nations documents
UN documents include materials such as General Assembly resolutions, reports, decisions and other official UN publications. A UN document citation includes:
- the document title;
- the resolution number (where applicable);
- the UN document symbol;
- the date; and
- the paragraph pinpoint.
Title, Resolution number, UN Doc symbol (day month year) para number.
UN paragraph pinpoints
UN documents use para for paragraph references. They do not use square brackets in the way many Australian cases do.
Other United Nations materials
AGLC4 also provides specific rules for:
- treaty body decisions and findings: rule 9.3;
- United Nations yearbooks: rule 9.4.
Quick identification guide
| Source | Citation approach |
|---|---|
| Treaty | Title + signature date + treaty series + entry into force |
| Memorandum of understanding | Similar to treaty, but uses signature details |
| UN Charter | Name + article |
| UN resolution or document | Title + resolution number + UN document symbol + paragraph |
Related Index entries
TreatyMemorandum of UnderstandingCharter of the United NationsUnited Nations resolution or documentDecision of a UN treaty committeeUnited Nations yearbookLast reviewed 4 August 2026