4 - Managing and Using Treaty Collections

Summary

For any State or IO, the accurate and efficient management of treaty records is of fundamental importance. This chapter looks at the how’s and whys of keeping treaty records, where the information comes from and what treaty officials do with it. It looks at ways of managing all treaty-related information and permanently preserving treaties and associated documents, and what one needs to consider when doing so. It addresses what different users might need treaty information for, and the ways in which they might use it. It looks first at internal users such as the Treaty Office and those closely associated with it, such as legal advisers and policy makers within the government or IO. It then considers the needs of ‘external users‘ in effect, everyone else. Lastly, it considers the role of depositaries.