The manual is a legally recognized document but is not binding on states. The Manual is a codification of
customary international law, an integration of existing legal standards for naval conflict with the
Geneva Conventions of 1949 and
Protocol I of 1977. The Manual is broken into six parts that each discuss a different section of the law, these being: • General provisions, which deals with the scope of the law, various international naval events and the law, and definitions. • Regions of operations, which discusses the legal aspects of conflict in
internal waters,
territorial seas, archipelagic and international straits,
exclusive economic zones, the
continental shelf, and the
high seas. • Basic Rules and target discrimination, which places limits on who and what can be targeted, warnings, exemptions offered to civilians and neutral states, and so on. • Methods and means of warfare at sea, which details the conditional use of
missile,
torpedoes,
mines,
blockades,
blockade zones and
ruses of war. • Measures short of attack: interception, visit, search, diversion and capture, which discusses the requirements to board and seize enemy and neutral ships, as well as cargo (also sometimes known as
prize law). • Protected persons, medical transports, and medical aircraft, which discusses protections offered for craft and people of this nature. == Application ==