St. Petersburg Declaration
The 1868 St. Petersburg Declaration states:
The Contracting Parties engage mutually to renounce, in case of war among themselves, the employment by their military or naval troops of any projectile of a weight below 400 grammes, which is either explosive or charged with fulminating or inflammable substances.
The weight of 400 grammes was chosen since it was the weight of the smallest artillery shell of that time.
Brussels Declaration
Under Article 13(e) of the 1874 Brussels Declaration, “the use of projectiles prohibited by the Declaration of St. Petersburg of 1868” is “especially forbidden”.
Oxford Manual
Article 9(a) of the 1880 Oxford Manual states:
It is forbidden … to employ … projectiles … calculated to cause superfluous suffering, or to aggravate wounds – notably projectiles of less weight than four hundred grams which are explosive or are charged with fulminating or inflammable substances.
Oxford Manual of Naval War
Article 16(2) of the 1913 Oxford Manual of Naval War provides:
It is forbidden … to employ … projectiles … calculated to cause unnecessary suffering. Entering especially into this category are explosive projectiles or those charged with fulminating or inflammable materials, less than 400 grammes in weight.
Report of the Commission on Responsibility
Based on several documents supplying evidence of outrages committed during the First World War, the 1919 Report of the Commission on Responsibility lists violations of the laws and customs of war which should be subject to criminal prosecution, including the “use of explosive … bullets”.
Hague Rules of Air Warfare
Article 18 of the 1923 Hague Rules of Air Warfare provides:
The use of tracer, incendiary or explosive projectiles by or against aircraft is not prohibited. This provision applies equally to states which are parties to the Declaration of St. Petersburg, 1868, and to those which are not.
UN Secretary-General’s Bulletin
Section 6.2 of the 1999 UN Secretary-General’s Bulletin provides: “The United Nations force shall respect the rules prohibiting … the use of certain weapons … These include, in particular, the prohibition on the use of … bullets which explode … in the human body.”
Australia
Australia’s Commanders’ Guide (1994) prohibits the use of “projectiles weighing less than 400 grams which are either explosive or charged with fulminating or inflammable substances (St. Petersburg)”.
Australia
Australia’s Defence Force Manual (1994) states: “Bullets or other projectiles weighing less than 400 grams which are either explosive or contain fulminating or inflammable substances (exploding small arms projectiles) are prohibited.”
Australia
Australia’s LOAC Manual (2006) states:
Bullets or other projectiles weighing less than 400 grams which are either explosive or contain fulminating or inflammable substances (exploding small arms projectiles) are prohibited. It should be noted however, that tracer and incendiary ammunition are not prohibited.
The LOAC Manual (2006) replaces both the Defence Force Manual (1994) and the Commanders’ Guide (1994).
Belgium
Belgium’s Law of War Manual (1983) proscribes the use of exploding bullets under 400 grammes, with reference to the 1868 St. Petersburg Declaration.
Burundi
Burundi’s Regulations on International Humanitarian Law (2007) states that “explosive projectiles below a weight of 400g” are “prohibited weapons”.
Canada
Canada’s LOAC Manual (1999) states: “The following types of ammunition are prohibited: a. projectiles of a weight below 400 grams that are either explosive or charged with fulminating (exploding) or inflammable substances”.
Canada
Canada’s LOAC Manual (2001) states in its chapter entitled “Restrictions on the use of weapons” that the following type of ammunition is prohibited: “projectiles of a weight below 400 grams that are either explosive or charged with fulminating (exploding) or inflammable substances”.
Chad
Chad’s Instructor’s Manual (2006) prohibits the use of “explosive projectiles weighing less than 400 g”.
Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire’s Teaching Manual (2007) provides in Book IV (Instruction of heads of division and company commanders):
II.1.2. Prohibited munitions
The following types of munitions are prohibited:
- projectiles of a weight below 400 grammes, which is either explosive or charged with fulminating or inflammable substances.
France
France’s LOAC Manual (2001) refers to the 1868 St. Petersburg Declaration.
Germany
Germany’s Military Manual (1992) states:
In the 1868 St. Petersburg Declaration the use of explosive and incendiary projectiles under 400 grammes was prohibited, since these projectiles were deemed to cause disproportionately severe injury to soldiers, which is not necessary for putting them out of action. This prohibition is only of limited importance now, since it is reduced by customary law to the use of explosive and incendiary projectiles of a weight significantly lower than 400 grammes which can disable only the individual directly concerned but not any other persons. 20 mm high-explosive grenades and projectiles of a similar calibre are not prohibited.
Italy
Italy’s IHL Manual (1991) states: “It is specifically prohibited … to use explosive or incendiary projectiles of a weight below 400 grammes, except for air or anti-air systems.”
Netherlands
The Military Manual (2005) of the Netherlands states:
The use of bullets which explode or ignite in the human body is forbidden. This prohibition does not apply to tracers, combined or otherwise with normal ammunition, or to exploding small-calibre ammunition intended to disable aircraft or materiel.
New Zealand
New Zealand’s Military Manual (1992) prohibits the use of “projectiles weighing less than 400 grams which are either explosive or charged with fulminating or inflammable substances”. It adds:
The use of tracer and incendiary ammunition by the armed forces of belligerents was general during the Second World War and must be considered to be lawful. An argument can be made that the use of such ammunition is illegal if directed solely against combatant personnel because of the St Petersburg Declaration and [the 1907 Hague Regulations] Art. 23(e). This argument ignores the fact that the UN Conference which negotiated the [1980 Protocol III to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons], was unable to agree on any requirement to protect combatants from the effects of incendiary weapons.
Peru
Peru’s IHL Manual (2004) states that “exploding bullets” are prohibited weapons.
Peru
Peru’s IHL and Human Rights Manual (2010) states that “exploding bullets” are prohibited weapons.
Russian Federation
The Russian Federation’s Military Manual (1990) prohibits the use of various weapons that cause unnecessary suffering, including “projectiles weighing less than 400 grammes, which are either explosive or charged with fulminating or inflammable substances”.
Russian Federation
The Russian Federation’s Regulations on the Application of IHL (2001) states: “The following shall be prohibited to use in the course of combat operations: … projectiles of a weight below 400 grammes, which are either explosive or charged with fulminating or inflammable substances.”
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone’s Instructor Manual (2007) provides: “It is prohibited to … [u]se weapons that can cause unnecessary suffering, e.g. exploding bullets or bullets that expand or flatten easily in human body to increase suffering.”
South Africa
South Africa’s Revised Civic Education Manual (2004) states:
i. Prohibited Weapons. The following weapons have been prohibited:
(1) Explosive Projectiles Under 400g. St. Petersburg Declaration renouncing their use in 1868.
South Africa
South Africa’s LOAC Teaching Manual (2008) states:
3. Means and Methods of Warfare
…
Several specific weapons are governed by specific treaties. These treaties establish two categories of weapons, to wit[:]
- Weapons of which the use is totally prohibited; and
- Weapons of which the use is permitted under certain conditions.
Weapons of which the Use is Totally Prohibited
- Projectiles of a weight below 400 grams, which are either explosive or charged with detonating or inflammable substances. (St. Petersburg Declaration dated 11 December 1[8]68.)
Spain
Spain’s LOAC Manual (1996) imposes a total prohibition on “the use of projectiles weighing less than 400 grammes which are explosive”.
Spain
Spain’s LOAC Manual (2007) states that there is an absolute prohibition on the use of certain weapons, including “[p]rojectiles under 400 g in weight, which are either explosive or charged with fulminating or inflammable substances”.
Ukraine
Ukraine’s IHL Manual (2004) states that the use as a means of warfare of “explosive projectiles or those charged with fulminating or inflammable materials, less than 400 grams in weight” is prohibited.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The UK Military Manual (1958) states:
The international agreements limiting the means of destruction of enemy combatants are contained in [Article 23 of the 1907 Hague Regulations] and in three Declarations and one Protocol, by which the contracting parties, of which Great Britain is one, engage to:
(i) “to renounce in case of war amongst themselves, the employment by their military or naval troops of any projectile of a weight below 400 grammes … which is either explosive or charged with fulminating or inflammable substances” (Declaration of St. Petersburg, 1868)
…
… This work deals only with land warfare (whether conducted by land, sea or air forces) and therefore is not concerned with air warfare. However, attention must be drawn to the Air Warfare Rules drafted at the Hague in 1923 by a commission of jurists appointed by certain Governments. Art. 18 of that code provides as follows: “The use of tracer, incendiary or explosive projectiles by or against aircraft is not prohibited.” This provision applies equally to States which are parties to the Declaration [of St. Petersburg of 1868], and those which are not. During the Second World War such projectiles were used by the air forces of all belligerents … The use of tracer and incendiary ammunition by the armed forces of belligerents was general during the Second World War and must be considered to be lawful provided that it is directed solely against inanimate military targets (including aircraft). The use of such ammunition is illegal if directed solely against combatant personnel. This is so for two reasons, first the renunciation contained in the Declaration of St. Petersburg, 1868, referred to and second the prohibition in [Article 23(e) of the 1907 Hague Regulations].
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The UK LOAC Pamphlet (1981) states: “The following are prohibited in
international armed conflict: a. explosive or inflammable bullets for use against personnel”.

(emphasis in original)
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The UK LOAC Manual (2004) states:
6.10. The practice of states indicates that the use of explosive or incendiary bullets designed solely for use against personnel is not permissible under customary law.
6.10.1. The reason for this is because a solid round will achieve the military purpose of disabling the enemy combatant; if a round explodes on impact it would uselessly aggravate the injury. That does not prevent the use of tracer. Nor does it prevent the use of explosive or combined-effects munitions of, for example, 0.5 or 20mm calibre for defeating materiel targets, even though personnel may be incidentally wounded by them.
6.10.2. The parties to the St Petersburg Declaration 1868 undertook “mutually to renounce, in case of war among themselves, the employment by their military or naval troops of any projectile of a weight below 400 grammes, which is either explosive or charged with fulminating or inflammable substances”. Although it is not clear from the declaration itself whether anti-materiel, as opposed to anti-personnel, uses of explosive or incendiary bullets were also contemplated, it may be inferred from state practice that it was not. The Hague Rules of Aerial Warfare 1923, provided that “the use of tracer, incendiary or explosive projectiles by or against aircraft is not prohibited”. During the Second World War such projectiles were used by the air forces of all belligerents and tracer and incendiary ammunition has since been in general use by armed forces. Incendiary weapons are not prohibited by the Conventional Weapons Convention. The 400 gram limit in the St Petersburg Declaration is, in any event, obsolete as states have developed 20mm and 25mm combined-effects munitions which weigh less than 400 grams. The use of a tracer, or small incendiary or explosive projectiles, must be considered to be lawful if it is directed against inanimate military objectives, including aircraft, or is used for range-finding or target indication. It is also lawful to use tracer mixed with normal ammunition for range-finding or target indication at night against combatant personnel, for snipers to use combined-effects munitions against either materiel or personnel targets and for aircraft to strafe enemy combatants in the open.
United States of America
The US Air Force Pamphlet (1976) states: “International law has condemned … exploding bullets because of types of injuries and inevitability of death.”
Andorra
Andorra’s Decree on Arms (1989) provides:
The manufacture, importation, circulation, possession, use, buying and selling and propaganda of the following weapons is forbidden:
…
11th Ammunition with hard centre perforating, explosive, incendiary, expanding, “dum-dum” and lead shot bullets as well as the projectiles of this kind of ammunition.
Australia
Australia’s War Crimes Act (1945) considers “any war crime within the meaning of the instrument of appointment of the Board of Inquiry [set up to investigate war crimes committed by enemy subjects]” as a war crime, including the use of explosive bullets.
Denmark
Denmark’s Military Criminal Code (1973), as amended in 1978, provides:
Any person who uses war instruments or procedures the application of which violates an international agreement entered into by Denmark or the general rules of international law, shall be liable to the same penalty [i.e. a fine, lenient imprisonment or up to 12 years’ imprisonment].
Denmark’s Military Criminal Code (2005) provides:
Any person who deliberately uses war means [“krigsmiddel”] or procedures the application of which violates an international agreement entered into by Denmark or international customary law, shall be liable to the same penalty [i.e. imprisonment up to life imprisonment].
Ecuador
Ecuador’s National Civil Police Penal Code (1960) punishes the members of the National Civil Police “who use or order to be used … exploding bullets”.
Italy
Italy’s Law of War Decree (1938), as amended in 1992, provides: “It is prohibited … to use explosive or incendiary projectiles of a weight below 400 grammes, except for air or anti-air systems.”
Netherlands
The Definition of War Crimes Decree (1946) of the Netherlands includes the “use of explosive … bullets” in its list of war crimes.
Switzerland
Switzerland’s Military Criminal Code (1927), taking into account amendments entered into force up to 2011, states in a chapter entitled “War crimes”:
Art. 110
Articles 112–114 apply in the context of international armed conflicts, including in situations of occupation, and, if the nature of the offence does not exclude it, in the context of non-international armed conflicts.
…
Art. 112d
1 The penalty shall be a custodial sentence of not less than three years for any person who, in the context of an armed conflict:
…
c. employs … bullets which explode in the human body.
Switzerland
Switzerland’s Penal Code (1937), taking into account amendments entered into force up to 2011, states under the title “War crimes”:
Art. 264b
Articles 264d–264j apply in the context of international armed conflicts, including in situations of occupation, and, if the nature of the offence does not exclude it, in the context of non-international armed conflicts.
…
Art. 264h
1 The penalty shall be a custodial sentence of not less than three years for any person who, in the context of an armed conflict:
…
c. employs … bullets which explode in the human body.
Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of
Under the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’s Penal Code (1976), as amended in 2001, the use of, or the order to use, “means or methods of combat prohibited under the rules of international law, during a war or an armed conflict” is a war crime.
The commentary on the Penal Code as amended notes: “The following weapons and means of combat are considered to be prohibited: explosive projectiles under 400 g. that burst or have an incendiary charge”.
No data.
Brazil
At the Second Review Conference of States Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in 2001, Brazil stated that it “shared the concern that the 1868 St. Petersburg Declaration’s ban on the use of projectiles that might explode within the human body should not be subverted”.
Colombia
In 1975, during discussions in the Ad Hoc Committee on Conventional Weapons established by the CDDH, Colombia stated that “high-velocity small-calibre projectiles … were indeed comparable to exploding bullets” and should be prohibited.
Indonesia
According to the Report on the Practice of Indonesia, the use of exploding bullets is prohibited in Indonesia.
Jordan
According to the Report on the Practice of Jordan, Jordan does not use, manufacture or stockpile explosive bullets and it has no intention of possessing or using such weapons in the future.
Norway
In a letter to the ICRC in 2001, Norway stated:
We fully recognise the validity of the St. Petersburg Declaration and the customary law established on the basis of the Declaration. The principle set out in the Declaration should, however, be interpreted in the light of more recent international humanitarian law, and in particular the prohibition against employing weapons and ammunition that are of such a nature as to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering. In the assessment of the legality of a particular weapon or kind of ammunition, there has been a clear practice among nations since 1868 of weighing the legality against the intended use of the weapon or ammunition. In such assessments several factors, such as distance from the target, intended target categories and depth of penetration are considered to be relevant when establishing the effect on the target.
Norway
At the Second Review Conference of States Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in 2001, Norway stated that it “endorsed all efforts to strengthen the fundamental principle that the development and use of weapons systems deemed contrary to the 1868 St. Petersburg Declaration should be prevented”.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
In its written statement submitted to the ICJ in the
Nuclear Weapons case in 1995, the United Kingdom stated that the 1868 St. Petersburg Declaration prohibited projectiles the use of which “was considered to be gratuitously cruel, because it caused horrific and almost invariably fatal injuries, while offering little or no military advantage over the use of ordinary ammunition”.
United States of America
In 1998, in a legal review of a 12.7 mm explosive bullet, the US Department of the Army stated: “A projectile that will explode on impact with the human body would be prohibited by the law of war from use for anti-personnel purposes. This remains the view of the US.”
In an update of this legal review in 2000, the US Department of the Army stated:
The considerable practice of nations during this century suggests that States accept that an exploding projectile designed exclusively for antipersonnel use would be prohibited, as there is no military purpose for it.
United States of America
At the Third Preparatory Committee for the Second Review Conference of States Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in 2001, the United States stated that it agreed with the ICRC “that there is no valid military requirement for a bullet designed to explode upon impact with the human body”.
United States of America
In November 2006, the US Departments of State and Defense released the details of a joint letter forwarded by those departments to the ICRC President regarding US Initial Reactions to the ICRC Study on Customary International Humanitarian Law. This letter stated in part:
Although anti-personnel bullets designed specifically to explode within the human body clearly are illegal, and although weapons, including exploding bullets, may not be used to inflict unnecessary suffering, rule 78, as written, indicates a broader and less well-defined prohibition. The rule itself suffers from at least two problems. First, it fails to define which weapons are covered by the phrase “bullets which explode within the human body.” To the extent that the Study intends the rule to cover bullets that could, under some circumstances, explode in the human body (but were not designed to do so), State practice and the ICRC’s Commentary on the 1977 Additional Protocol reflect that States have not accepted that broad prohibition. Second, there are two types of exploding bullets. The first is a projectile designed to explode in the human body, which the United States agrees would be prohibited. The second is a high-explosive projectile designed primarily for anti-materiel purposes (not designed to explode in the human body), which may be employed for anti-materiel and anti-personnel purposes. Rule 78 fails to distinguish between the two. If, as the language suggests, the Study is asserting that there is a customary international law prohibition on the anti-personnel use of anti-material exploding bullets, the Study has disregarded key State practice in this area. Third, the Study extrapolates the rule to non-international conflicts without a basis for doing so.
Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of
In a statement in 1991, the Supreme Command of the Yugoslav People’s Army (YPA or JNA) of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia stated:
The authorities and Armed Forces of the Republic of Slovenia are treating JNA as an occupation army; and are in their ruthless assaults on JNA members and their families going as far as to employ means and methods which were not even used by fascist units and which are prohibited under international law … They are … using explosive bullets.
No data.
No data.
Expert Meeting on Exploding Projectiles of 12.7 mm and Below
In 1999, the ICRC organised an Expert Meeting on Exploding Projectiles of 12.7 mm and Below to which military, legal and ballistic governmental experts from Belgium, Norway, Switzerland and the United States (i.e. countries that produce and/or stock 12.7 mm multipurpose bullets) were invited in their personal capacity. The summary report of the meeting, reviewed and accepted by all participants, stated that there was a general consensus, in relation to projectiles of 12.7 mm and below:
The prohibition on the intentional use against combatants of such projectiles which explode upon impact with the human body, which originated in the 1868 St. Petersburg Declaration, continues to be valid.
The targeting of combatants with such projectiles the foreseeable effect of which is to explode upon impact with the human body would be contrary to the object and purpose of the St. Petersburg Declaration.
There is no military requirement for a projectile designed to explode upon impact with the human body.
…
States producing such projectiles notify past and future recipients of these projectiles that their intentional use against combatants is a violation of the Law of Armed Conflict.
Second Review Conference of States Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
The Final Declaration of the Second Review Conference of States Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in 2001 took note of “the report of the International Committee of the Red Cross on ‘Ensuring respect for the 1868 St. Petersburg Declaration prohibiting the use of certain explosive projectiles’ (dated 18 September 2001)” and invited “States to consider this report and other relevant information, and take any appropriate action”.
No data.
ICRC
To fulfil its task of disseminating IHL, the ICRC has delegates around the world teaching armed and security forces that: “The use of projectiles of a weight below 400 grammes, which are either explosive or charged with fulminating or inflammable substances, is prohibited.”
ICRC
The ICRC Commentary on the Additional Protocols states:
1419. The specific applications of the prohibition formulated in Article 23, paragraph 1(e), of the Hague Regulations, or resulting from the Declarations of St. Petersburg and The Hague, are not very numerous. They include:
1.explosive bullets …
1420. The weapons which are prohibited under the provisions of the Hague Law are,
a fortiori, prohibited under [Article 35(2) of the 1977 Additional Protocol I].
ICRC
In 1998, in a statement before the First Committee of the UN General Assembly, the ICRC declared:
The ICRC considers the 1868 St. Petersburg Declaration, renouncing the use of exploding bullets, to be a cornerstone of efforts to protect soldiers from superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering. It is disturbing to learn that some armed forces are considering the use of bullets which will explode on impact with soft targets. The ICRC calls on all States rigorously to review, in accordance with article 36 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I, their procurement policies.
ICRC
In 1999, in a statement before the First Committee of the UN General Assembly, the ICRC expressed concern about a “multipurpose” bullet, some versions of which exploded on impact with the human body. It further stated:
The 1868 St. Petersburg Declaration prohibited the use of explosive bullets in order to protect soldiers from suffering which serves no military purpose and is therefore contrary to the laws of humanity. It is disturbing to learn that in recent years bullets capable of exploding on impact with a human body have been produced, sold and used. In early 1999 the ICRC hosted a meeting of technical and legal governmental experts, who reaffirmed that the proliferation of such bullets is a serious problem and undermines the very purpose of the St. Petersburg Declaration. We urge all States to refrain from the production and export of such bullets and urge those that possess them to strictly prohibit their use against persons, a practice which violates existing law. The ICRC expects to report on this problem and seek appropriate action during the 2001 CCW Review Conference.
ICRC
In a report submitted in 2001 to the Third Preparatory Committee for the Second Review Conference of States Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, the ICRC recalled the consensus expressed by the participants in the 1999 Expert Meeting on Exploding Projectiles of 12.7 mm and Below and
calls on all States to
–take steps to ensure that explosive projectiles under 400 grams which may explode within the human body are not produced, used or transferred;
–undertake a rigorous review, as required by Article 36 of Protocol I of 1977 Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, before acquiring or developing explosive projectiles under 400 grams and sniper rifles capable of using such projectiles in order to ensure that such projectiles will not explode within the human body.
The ICRC urges States which produce or transfer explosive projectiles under 400 grams which may explode within the human body urgently to:
–Inform past recipients of such projectiles that their use against combatants is prohibited under international humanitarian law.
–Suspend the production and export of such projectiles until they have been adapted so as to ensure that their use against combatants will not contravene the object and purpose of the St Petersburg Declaration. This would involve testing, redesign and other steps to ensure that the chance of the projectile’s explosion within the human body (whether soft tissue or bone) has been eliminated.

[emphasis in original]
ICRC
At the Third Preparatory Committee for the Second Review Conference of States Parties to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in 2001, the ICRC stated:
The object and purpose of the 1868 [St. Petersburg] Declaration to protect combatants from unnecessary suffering or death from explosive projectiles remains valid and in the view of the ICRC is part of the rules of customary international law.
No data.