UK and US: Treaties and Agreements

HL Deb 28 April 2003 vol 647 cc69-70WA

Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether there are any treaties or international agreements between the United Kingdom and the United States whose contents have not been made public; and, if so, whether they will identify the relevant treaties or agreements and give their reasons for not disclosing their contents. [HL2376]

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

All internationally legally binding treaties and agreements concluded by the UK with the US (and those concluded by the UK with any other States) are published and registered with the UN Secretary-General. This practice will equally apply to treaties which have been recently concluded and for which publication and registration is therefore pending. There are other forms of agreement where there is no obligation for the UK to either publish or register with the UN Secretary-General. Many of these will be in the public domain. The information needed to compile a list of these is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.