This part of the database catalogues practice underlying existing rules of customary international humanitarian law identified in 1. Rules. We are updating it regularly, with the most recently incorporated practice marked in green.
Original Customary IHL Study and completed updates:
- The original printed version of the Study, published in 2005, includes international and national practice up to the end of 2002.
- International practice from the United Nations and from international and mixed judicial and quasi-judicial bodies up until the end of 2007 was incorporated in the online database in August 2010.
- National practice up to the end of 2007 was incorporated for a first set of 30 countries [1] on 30 March 2011, for a second set of 27 countries [2] on 21 November 2011, and for the last set of 23 countries [3] on 12 December 2012.
- National practice up to the end of 2010 was incorporated for a first set of 3 countries [4] on 23 August 2013, together with international practice from 2 international and mixed judicial and quasi-judicial bodies up until the end of 2010.
Updates coming soon:
- International treaties and practice from international and mixed judicial and quasi-judicial bodies up to the end of 2010 will continue to be added in the second half of 2013.
- National practice from the period 2008-2010 will continue to be added throughout 2013 and 2014.
There are three views:
- View by Chapter: Practice is divided in 44 chapters, grouped in 6 clusters. Each chapter has a corresponding chapter in Part 1. Rules.
- View by Rule: Practice is divided in 161 documents, grouped in 6 clusters, presenting the practice relating to a specific rule. Each document has a corresponding rule document in Part 1. Rules.
- View by Country: National practice is presented according to the country names that were in use at the time of the practice in question. Country names used are the official short names in use at the United Nations. The English translations of national materials provided in the database are not official translations. The authoritative version of any material translated for the database is the original version.
We have organized the practice recorded under each rule into 12 categories of source material. The quick navigation button gives direct access to any of the 12 categories of materials on a given rule.
In both Chapter and Rule views, there is a link to the corresponding rule(s) in the left-hand column.
Although comprehensive, the database cannot purport to be exhaustive or to be devoid of mistakes. If you know of any pertinent practice that is missing or any mistakes in the database, please contact us using the “Send feedback” button on the top of the database banner.