Part II General Principles of the Law of Targeting, 5 Customary Rules of Targeting

It is important to establish what the customary rules of targeting are because, as we saw in Chapter 3, these are the rules that generally speaking apply to all States irrespective of their participation in particular treaties. It is the general acceptance of the rules on the basis of a perceived legal obligation so to do that lies at the root of their customary status.1 Although the term ‘rules’ has been used here somewhat generically, they can perhaps be conveniently divided into general principles, which form the foundational core on which the law is based, and...