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Subject guide

Searching for Legislation and Treaties

Sources for finding legislation, treaties and parliamentary documentation

The (free accessible) database Verdragenbank of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (only in Dutch) gives information about all treaties, to which The Netherlands are a signatory and/or a depositary. 

The English version the the internetsite Overheid.nl gives information about the Dutch government and the Dutch government organisations.

Dutch Parliamentary documentation

The Law Library offers access to all official Dutch parliamentary documentation.

Since 1995 this documentation is digitally accessible via the database OpMaat (select the search field Official Publications; the text is only in Dutch). For the period before 1995 check Staten-Generaal Digitaal (only in Dutch).  

Starting 1 July 2009 the Staatscourant, the Staatsblad and the Tractatenblad can be found on the website  www.officielebekendmakingen.nl.

The (free accessible) database EurLex contains summaries of several legislative EU procedures.

The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law gives a good introduction to public international law.

The database HeinOnline contains the full text of all UN-treaties, UN-publications and international agreements. Look in the section United Nations Law Collection.

VN Depot

The Law Library is also an offical United Nations Depository Library. The collection Depot UN consists of official UN documents, working documents and publications of the main organs and the many sub-organs , committees and commissions. The library also has subscriptions to several periodicals and yearbooks of the United Nations.

The Catalogue (tab Find Databases) gives access to 3 key UN-databases:

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