Declaration Renouncing the Use in Time of War of Explosive Projectiles Under 400 Grammes Weight Saint Petersburg 29 November 11 December 1868 On the proposition of the Imperial Cabinet of Russia an International Military Commission having assembled at St Petersburg in order to examine the expediency of forbidding the use of certain projectiles in time of war between civilized nations and that Commission having by common agreement fixed the technical limits at which the necessities of war ought to yield to the requirements of humanity the Undersigned are authorized by the orders of their Governments to declare as follows Considering That the progress of civilization should have the effect of alleviating as much as possible the calamities of war That the only legitimate object which States should endeavour to accomplish during war is to weaken the military forces of the enemy That for this purpose it is sufficient to disable the greatest possible number of men That this object would be exceeded by the employment of arms which uselessly aggravate the sufferings of disabled men or render their death inevitable That the employment of such arms would therefore be contrary to the laws of humanity 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 They will invite all the States which have not taken part in the deliberations of the International Military Commission assembled at St Petersburg by sending Delegates thereto to accede to the present engagement This engagement is compulsory only upon the Contracting or Acceding Parties thereto in case of war between two or more of themselves it is not applicable to non-Contracting Parties or Parties who shall not have acceded to it It will also cease to be compulsory from the moment when in a war between Contracting or Acceding Parties a non-Contracting Party or a non-Acceding Party shall join one of the belligerents The Contracting or Acceding Parties reserve to themselves to come hereafter to an understanding whenever a precise proposition shall be drawn up in view of future improvements which science may effect in the armament of troops in order to maintain the principles which they have established and to conciliate the necessities of war with the laws of humanity Done at St Petersburg 29 November 11 December 1868 Here follow signatures