Under U.S. domestic law and treaty practice, all international agreements concluded by the United States, regardless of their form, designation or title are divided into treaties, which are submitted to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification, and other international agreements. Treaties which are submitted to the Senate are similar to federal laws, and their legislative history is much the same as the one followed by legislation, except that it is confined to proceedings in the Senate only. This legislative history follows the procedures established by the Senate, and it is based on primary legislative sources.
The main part is arranged chronologically by the date of conclusion of the treaty. Each treaty contains the following components: it provides general information about the treaty; it lists chronologically steps taken by the Senate during the treaty approval process; legislative implementation, executive action, following Senate approval; entry into force, and annotations, such as references to related treaties, amendments, and present status.
The use of the legislative history is facilitated by appendices and a detailed general index which includes: parties, regional subdivisions, and subjects.