National implementation of IHL: Model laws,Guiding principles and Practical advice

With a view to facilitating implementation of the rules of international humanitarian law at the national level, the ICRC’s Advisory Service on International Humanitarian Law proposes model laws / guiding principles, and offers advice on drafting legislation.

Laws and regulations adopted by States to implement international humanitarian law are available in the IHL - National Implementation database.

1 - Weapons

     Anti-personnel mines

    Biological and Toxin Weapons

• Model law: the Biological and Toxin Weapons Crimes Act.

    Cluster munitions

• Model law Convention on Cluster Munitions, legislation for Common Law States on the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions

    Nuclear Weapons

• Model Law for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Wepons

2 - Children

• Model legislative provisions on the recruitment or use of children in armed conflict
• Guiding Principles for the Domestic Implementation of a Comprehensive System of Protection for Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups

3 - Cultural property

• Protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict, legislation for common-law States seeking to implement their obligations under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its 1954 and 1999 Protocols.

4 - Emblem

• Model law on the emblems, national legislation on the use and protection of the emblem of the Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal

5 - Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols

• Model Law - Geneva Conventions (Consolidation) Act, legislation for Common Law States on the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 and 2005 Additional Protocols
• Model Geneva Conventions Act (for common law States), this model act gives effect to the provisions of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and to their two Additional Protocols of 1977.

6 - International Criminal Court

• Commonwealth Model Law to implement the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

7 - Missing

• Guiding principles / Model Law on the missing, principles for legislating the situation of persons missing as a result of armed conflict or internal violence: measures to prevent persons from going missing and to protect the rights and interests of the missing and their families.

8 - National Committees

• Guiding principles concerning the status and methods of operation of national bodies for the implementation of international humanitarian law
• Practical advice to facilitate the work of National Committees on international humanitarian law