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If I asked about finding the signatories (by which I mean the individuals who signed for their countries) of treaties such as this one would it be off topic?

In the German Bundestag there often arises the question of who made a decision. For example the party SPD accuses the party CDU of something and the CDU says “But it was you who agreed to it!”. I like to go to official sites and view the treaty, but I know no sites displaying the signatures. Of course the question remains whether a signatory is carrying out the binding decision of a previous government...

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    "The question remains whether a signatory is carrying out the binding decision of a previous government" - why would that be? Carrying out the binding decisions of previous governments is precisely what having a sane, stable and trustworthy government is about. Imagine if the US renegaded on everything it signed from a presidency to the next. [/s]
    – Denis de Bernardy
    Commented Oct 18, 2017 at 16:26
  • @DenisdeBernardy Sure. But it means, determining the signatories doesn't necessarily resolve the question which party decided!
    – Ludi
    Commented Oct 18, 2017 at 16:30

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A question about the signatories of a treaty is a political question that can be answered factually. I don't see why it would be off topic.

That said, often, it doesn't take more than a simple web search to find the signatories of a treaty. If people don't feel you've put enough effort looking for an answer before you post your question, you might find yourself at the receiving end of a downvote or two.

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  • Thank you very much! Is that really so? I should try some more. Perhaps I am really bad at using google...
    – Ludi
    Commented Oct 18, 2017 at 16:31
  • Heh, I used to be very bad at using Google when I started using these sites @Ludi. But it didn't take more than a few well-placed downvotes to inspire me to get better at it ;)
    – yannis Mod
    Commented Oct 19, 2017 at 20:23
  • :) are you saying that generally, or was it really easy to find the signatories? I did quite some googling over the days. The best I could find is nato.int/cps/ua/natohq/official_texts_19552.htm? where the signatories aren’t visible. The text says:“We, the Heads of State and government“, which is rather vague. The claim was that Steinmeier agreed to it. He was never Head of State and Foreign Minister only later. They are either referring to later reaffirmation or simply BS***. I would like to know how to improve my googling because I will check many treaties.
    – Ludi
    Commented Oct 19, 2017 at 21:02
  • @Ludi Generally. I didn't look for the signatories, and I'm not necessarily saying they'll be easy to find. You should go ahead and post your question.
    – yannis Mod
    Commented Oct 19, 2017 at 21:09
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When I read "signatories of a treaty", I think of the countries that have signed. This is usually easy to find, at least for most treaties.

You might want to make a special effort to be clear that you are looking for the individuals who approved of a treaty in the country rather than just the list of countries. Perhaps "Who supported X treaty in country Y?" would be clearer. This is much more specific and harder to find the answer.

Or even, "What official stance did X party have on Y treaty?" "How did X party vote on Y treaty?" Most countries keep public records of votes, but perhaps that vote is hard to find.

For example the party SPD accuses the party CDU of something and the CDU says “But it was you who agreed to it!”.

That might fit Skeptics.SE.

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  • Excellent distinction. I edited. But I really would like to know the people who signed as part of the broader answer
    – Ludi
    Commented Oct 20, 2017 at 11:15

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