Formal Reciprocity Definition: A form of international agreement wherein the signatories agree to give each other's citizens and corporations legal treatment no less favourable to that given to their own citizens and corporations. Also expressed as national treatment. One author writes: "Formal reciprocity, often referred to as national treatment, involves granting foreign nationals the same level of protections/rights as one does one's own nationals.... In such situations, a foreign national can rely on the host state granting him the same rights as local persons receive."1 REFERENCES: Duhaime, Lloyd, Dictionary of International Law Duhaime, Lloyd, Legal Definition of Material Reciprocity Duhaime, Lloyd, Legal Definition of National Treatment Duhaime, Lloyd, Legal Definition of Reciprocity Handa, S., Copyright Law in Canada (Toronto: Butterworths, 2002). Note 1. Find you are constantly looking up definitions? Try our search provider (works in most modern browsers) If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Legal Dictionary, or if you have legal term suggestion, we'd love to hear from you!