Help

We hope that you find the PITS website user-friendly. The information below is to give some further guidance in using the site. If this Help page does not answer your question or assist you in your search, please contact us by using our Feedback page.

Contents

I want to find only English or French treaties

What does this word mean?

How do treaties become law in Pacific Islands countries?

How do I search for the treaties using the menu option?

How do I use the Search Engine?

I want to find only English or French treaties

The PITS home page gives you a language option. You can choose to enter the French site or the English site. Once you have made this choice, you can search for either French language treaties or English language treaties. Every effort is made to publish copies of each treaty in both French and English, but this is not always possible.

What does this word mean?

International law contains many terms and words which may be unfamiliar to the user. The PITS Glossary page should be able to assist you while using this website.

How do treaties become law in Pacific Islands countries?

With so many different countries with so many different histories, it is not difficult to appreciate that domestic procedures for laws differ between countries. Please go to our How Treaties Become Law page for a detailed summary of this information.

How do I search for the treaties using the menu option?

Countries

To locate a treaty under Countries, go to the menu option listed under 'PITS Indexes' on the left hand column. When you click on Countries, a map will appear and a list of all Pacific countries will also appear. You can search on the map, by holding your mouse to the country of your choice or click on the country on the list. You will notice that there is a number beside each country, that is the number of treaties which we have on the database relating to this country. When you click on the country, a list of all treaties will appear alphabetically on the screen. There is also an aphabetical listing above the screen which you can click on to go direct to the treaty you wish to see. You can choose to use either option.

Year

To find a treaty according to year, click on the Year menu option under 'PITS Indexes' on the left hand column. A list of years will appear on the Screen. You can then choose any year you wish to research on and look up relevant treaties for that year. By clicking on the year, you will get a list of all treaties that were entered into for that year, that we hold.

Title

To find a treaty according to title, click on the Title menu option under 'PITS Indexes' on the left hand column. An aphabet listing will appear on your screen. Click on the letter you wish to search from and all the titles beginning with that letter will appear in alphabetical order.

Subject

Treaties in PITS have been divided into subject areas to give the user the opportunity to search according to the subject matter of a Treaty, especially for the purposes of research. Clicking on Subject, under the 'PITS Indexes', will bring you to a list of subject areas that you can choose from. A treaty may however be classified into more than one subject area. For example, if you are looking for the 'Abolition of Forced Labour Convention' you will note that this is classified both under Human Rights and Labour and Employment, which means that you can find this convention in both subject areas, as it relates to both subject areas.

Bilateral

Bilateral Treaties or Agreements are usually entered by two parties only. To search for these, click on Bilateral from the menu option listed under 'PITS Indexes' on the left hand column. A list of countries with a number beside each country will appear on the screen, the number pertains the number of Bilateral Treaties or Agreements that we hold on the PITS database in respect of that particular. Note that the "Other" section at the bottom of the country list represents bilateral treaties that are relevant to the Pacific region, even though no Pacific countries have signed them.

Multilateral

Multilateral Treaties are usually entered by more than two parties. To search for these, click on Multilateral from the menu option listed under 'PITS Indexes' on the left hand column. A list of countries with a number beside each country will appear on the screen. The number pertains the number of Multilateral treaties that we hold on the PITS database in respect of that particular country.

Note that the "Other" section at the bottom of the country list includes:

  1. Treaties that are relevant to the Pacific Island region, even though no Pacific Island countries have signed them; and
  2. Other treaty related documents, such as Charters and Declarations that are relevant to the Pacific Island region (For example, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

How do I use the Search Engine?

As well as searching for English or French treaties, the PITS website allows users to search via the search engine utilised by PacLII, the SINO search engine.

For more information on the SINO search engine, see the Full SINO Documentation.


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