[en] The International Commission on Radiological Protection has issued radiation protection recommendations since 1928. The latest set of basic recommendations was adopted by the Commission on 17 January 1977, and subsequently published as ICRP Publication 26. This document has met with a wider interest than any of the previous ICRP recommendations. It has been considered to mark a radical change in the protection policy advocated by ICRP. It is not often appreciated that recommendations which are believed to be 'new' in ICRP Publication 26 had already been made in ICRP Publication 9 more than ten years earlier. In any event, ICRP Publication 26 has had a substantial impact on regulatory work in countries all over the world. It forms the basis for the Basic Safety Standards of the international organizations IAEA, ILO, OECD/NEA and WHO. The paper refers to the experience gained in using the new ICRP recommendations over the five years that have passed since ICRP Publication 26 was adopted and discusses some of the problems that have arisen in the practical application of the new recommendations in various countries. (author)