Note: Many sources below are available as e-treatises in one of two BLS subscription databases: Oxford Scholarly Authorities on International Law (OSAIL) or Oxford Scholarship Online: Law. In BLS Library's SARA catalog record for an e-treatise, click link: ACCESS ONLINE VERSION. If BLS students, faculty and administrators wish to access these ebooks off campus: implement the BLS proxy instructions. Based on patron feedback, BLS librarians recommend the proxy instructions for Firefox browser.
There are four boxes below highlighting treaty commentaries:
Within a box, books are listed "newest to oldest."
Article 32 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties states that one can consult “supplementary means of interpretation,” including “the preparatory work of the treaty” when the ordinary meaning of a treaty term is “ambiguous” or leads to an “unreasonable” result. Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties art. 32, May 23, 1969, 1155 U.N.T.S. 331. The Medellin Court characterized treaty negotiating and drafting history and the "postratification understanding of signatory nations" as “aids" to treaty interpretation. Medellin v. Texas, 128 S.Ct. 1346, 1357 (2008), quoting Zicherman v. Korean Air Lines Co., 516 U.S. 217, 226 (1996). Thus, the drafting history of a treaty, which people sometimes refer to by the French term “travaux préparatoires,” can be an important source.
To find 1) treaty drafting history and 2) legal articles about treaties, consult:
BLS Library's SARA catalog
WorldCat (= "catalog of catalogs")
Free, searchable SSRN might yield pre-prints of legal articles & book chapters
Free Digital Commons Network, searchable International Law Commons > faceted search for legal articles classified by keyword: Treaties
Subscription Westlaw: Legal Resource Index (LRI)
When searching the sources above, combine words from the title of the treaty with the words:
history or travaux préparatoires or commentary
The United Nations provides a searchable database of official records from selected UN-sponsored treaty conferences in: Codification Division Publications: Diplomatic Conferences. Jonathan Pratter links to many websites that provide treaty drafting history in: UPDATE: À la Recherche des Travaux Préparatoires: An Approach to Researching the Drafting History of International Agreements @ GlobaLex.
Click here to obtain a complete list of BLS Library's sources categorized by subject: Treaties and listed "newest to oldest."
Below are selected commentaries on treaties listed "newest to oldest."
Aust's Modern Treaty Law and Practice by 
The Oxford Guide to Treaties by 
The Statute of the International Court of Justice: A Commentary by 
Modification of Treaties by Subsequent Practice by 
Treaty Interpretation by 
Treaties and Subsequent Practice by 
The Charter of the United Nations: A Commentary by Link to v. 1 of The Charter of the United Nations: A Commentary in OSAIL.
Link to v. 2 of The Charter of the United Nations: A Commentary in OSAIL.
In the SARA catalog records above, click: ACCESS ONLINE VERSION - OXFORD.
The Law of Treaties Beyond the Vienna Convention by 
The Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties: A Commentary by 
Commentary on the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties by Note: Oxford Scholarly Authorities on International Law (OSAIL) includes many more books on specific treaties. For example, OSAIL added these titles in 2022-2023:
UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime: A Commentary by 
The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and Its Optional Protocol by Online: International Committee of the Red Cross, Treaties, States parties, and Commentaries database - Includes ICRC's commentaries on the 1949 Geneva Conventions + Additional Protocols).
Available through BLS Library:
The Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions in Context by 
Final Record of the Diplomatic Conference of Geneva of 1949 by 
Commentary on the Additional Protocols of 8 June 1977 to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 by Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War: Commentary by 
Internal Displacement and the Law by 
The Refugee in International Law by 
International Refugee Law and the Protection of Stateless Persons (2019) by 
Nationality and Statelessness in the International Law of Refugee Status by 
The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol by 
The Refugees Convention, 1951: The Travaux Préparatoires Analysed, with a Commentary by Reports: The U.S. Congressional Research Service publishes publicly accessible reports on international trade, including:
Available Through BLS Library:
The WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures: A Commentary by 
Between Market Economy and State Capitalism: China's State-Owned Enterprises and the World Trading System by 
Intellectual Property Law and Access to Medicines: TRIPS Agreement, Health and Pharmaceuticals by 
A Handbook on the WTO TRIPS Agreement by 
Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights by 
Interpreting WTO Agreements: Problems and Perspectives by 
The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights: A Commentary by 
Treaty Interpretation by the WTO Appellate Body by 
The TRIPS Agreement: Drafting History and Analysis by Reshaping the World Trading System: A History of the Uruguay Round by Uruguay Round Agreements Act [electronic resource]: A Legislative History of Public Law No. 103-465 by 
