The rules of customary international humanitarian law (IHL) aim to protect the victims of armed conflict. They complement the protection provided by treaty law and fill certain gaps resulting from treaties not having been ratified. The ICRC's head of project for customary law, Jean-Marie Henckaerts, explains why customary IHL is so important and talks about the launch of a new database to make these essential rules more accessible.

This publication is the result of a major international study into current state practice in international humanitarian law in order to identify customary law in this area. Presented in two volumes, it analyzes the customary rules of IHL and contains a detailed summary of relevant state practice throughout the world. In the absence of ratifications of important treaties in this area, this is a publication of major importance, which identifies the common core of international humanitarian law binding on all parties to all armed conflicts. Edited by Jean-Marie Henckaerts (ICRC) and Louise Doswald-Beck (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies).

This article explains the rationale behind a study on customary international humanitarian law recently undertaken by the ICRC at the request of the International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. It describes the methodology used and how the study was organized and summarizes some major findings. It does not, however, purport to provide a complete overview or analysis of these findings.

Kuala Lumpur roundtable and Beijing roundtable

Proceedings of the Conference to Mark the Publication of the ICRC Study “Customary International Humanitarian Law” held in New Delhi, 8–9 December 2005, organised jointly by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Asian African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO).

Roundtable on Customary International Humanitarian Law and its Relevance for the Interoperability of Armed Forces, Geneva, Switzerland 1 - 2 February 2007

The ICRC presents a new and long-awaited study that identifies enhanced protection for war victims – Article published in the Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine, No 2, 2005

Official working document of the 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, Geneva, 26 to 30 November 2007.

Based on extensive research, a 5000-page study by the ICRC has identified 161 rules which were found to be customary today. The ICRC was mandated by States to undertake this study in order to contribute to the clarification of the content of customary humanitarian law, by definition a body of unwritten rules.

All language versions of an article, published in the International Review of the Red Cross, No. 857, 31 March 2005. This article describes how the study on customary international humanitarian law was organized, summarizes some of the major findings and includes the complete list of the rules.

This list is based on the conclusions set out in Volume I of the study on customary international humanitarian law. As the study did not seek to determine the customary nature of each treaty rule of international humanitarian law, it does not necessarily follow the structure of existing treaties.