Protocol
- For the meaning in computer science, see protocol (computing).
A protocol is a rule which guides how an activity should be performed. Formerly used mainly in the diplomatic and government fields of endeavor to denote unwritten guidlines, by the turn of the twenty first century it had come into wide use in the computer and communications fields.
In international law and international relations, a protocol is a treaty or United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established a framework for the development of binding greenhouse gas emission limits, while the Kyoto Protocol contained the limits later agreed upon.
"Protocol" also refers to proper and generally-accepted behavior in matters of state and diplomacy, such as showing appropriate respect to a head of state, ranking diplomats in chronological order of their accreditation at court, and so on.
