Friday Lunchtime Lecture: 1 February 2008

"Customary International Humanitarian Law: a Report from the Trenches on the ICRC Humanitarian Law Project" by Michael Carrel, Anthony Cullen and Iris Müller

Time	:	Lecture starts at 1pm (with a sandwich lunch, sponsored by Cambridge University Press, from 12:30pm
Venue	:	Finley Library, Lauterpacht Centre, 5 Cranmer Road, Cambridge

In 1996, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), at the request of the international community, embarked upon a major study into state practice regarding international humanitarian law in order to identify customary law in this area. Customary International Humanitarian Law, Volume 1: Rules and Volume 2: Practice are the initial result of that study and were published by Cambridge University Press in 2005.

Volume 1 presents 161 rules deduced from the material found and gives a comprehensive analysis of the customary rules of international humanitarian law applicable in international and non-international armed conflicts. Volume 2 contains, for each of the rules, a summary of the underlying state practice, such as national legislation, military manuals, case law and official statements, as well as the related practice of international organisations, conferences and judicial and quasi-judicial bodies.

The Study has already found its way into national and international jurisprudence. It has become the starting point of any discussion on customary international humanitarian law. Nevertheless, it should not be seen as the final word on custom because, by definition, it cannot be exhaustive and the formation of customary law is an ongoing process.

The ICRC has accordingly teamed up with the British Red Cross and initiated a project, based at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, to update the practice contained in Volume II of the Study.

The project’s research team, Dr Michael Carrel (team leader), Dr Anthony Cullen and Ms Iris Müller will give a presentation on the project, including:

• Background of the Study
• How the work was conducted
• Main conclusions of the Study
• Updating volume 2 - process and promulgation

The Centre's Friday Lunchtime Lectures are recognised by both the Law Society and the Bar Council as Continuing Professional Development (CPD) accredited courses. Information on other lectures held at the Lauterpacht Centre can be found here.