treaty

thumb|upright|The Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty, on display at the [[Istanbul Archaeology Museum, was for a long time believed to be the earliest example of any written international agreement of any kind.]]

A treaty is a recorded international agreement between sovereign states or other subjects of international law (including international organizations) that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention, pact, or exchange of letters, among other terms; however, only documents that are legally binding on the parties are considered treaties under international law. Treaties may be bilateral (between two countries) or multilateral (involving more than two countries).