International Trade Law Research Guide

• Bluebook Rule 21.11(d)
• Sample Citations to the 1947 GATT and Its Side Agreements
• Sample Citations to the Marrakesh Agreement and Its Annexes
• Short Form Citations
   

Bluebook Rule 21.11(d)

Citations to the WTO’s founding agreements, which include the Marrakesh Agreement and its annexes, as well as the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, are governed by Rule 21.11 (d) of The Bluebook KF245 U5 2015.  It provides that the WTO agreements should be cited as treaties, pursuant to Rule 21.4.5. 

Bluebook Rule 21.4.5 (a) (ii) provides that citations to multilateral treaties to which the U.S. is a party should be made to an official U.S. treaty source, if published therein.  (See Rule 21.4.5 (a) (i) for a list of U.S. treaty sources.)  In addition, a parallel citation may be included to an international treaty source, such as the U.N. Treaty Series (U.N.T.S.).  (See Bluebook Table 4 for a list of international treaty sources.) 

Note, however, that the U.S. did not ratify the Marrakesh Agreement and its annexes as treaties, but instead enacted legislation to implement these agreements.  As a result, the Marrakesh Agreement and its annexes are not published in any official U.S. treaty sources.   Therefore, citations to these agreements must be made to an international treaty source, such as the U.N. Treaty Series.
 

Sample Citations to the 1947 GATT and Its Side Agreements

• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Oct. 30, 1947, 61 Stat. A-11, 55 U.N.T.S. 194 [hereinafter GATT].

Side agreements to the 1947 GATT should be cited to an unofficial source, such as the GATT Basic Instruments and Selected Documents (GATT BISD) KZ5185 .A4 1947, if published therein. 

• Agreement Regarding International Trade in Textiles, Dec. 20, 1973, GATT B.I.S.D. (21st Supp.), at 4 (1975).
   

Sample Citations to the Marrakesh Agreement and Its Annexes

• Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, Apr. 15, 1994, 1867 U.N.T.S. 154 [hereinafter Marrakesh Agreement].

If an agreement is annexed to the Marrakesh Agreement, it should be noted in the citation:

• Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes art. 1, Apr. 15, 1994, Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, Annex 2, 1869 U.N.T.S. 401 [hereinafter DSU].

See the Quick Reference Table page of this research guide for a listing of citations to the U.N. Treaty Series for the Marrakesh Agreement and for the multilateral agreements that are annexed to it.
 

Short Form Citations

Subsequent citations should use the appropriate short form, citing only to articles or paragraphs:

• Marrakesh Agreement ¶ 5.
• DSU art. 3.7.