‘Here Be Dragons’: Mapping the Legal Contours of Jus Cogens in International Law

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to demystify jus cogens rules by trying to map their legal contours. After defining jus cogens and providing a theoretical scaffolding drawn from elementary works on legal theory, the household jus cogens prohibition of genocide is analysed in light of such notions. As a result, jus cogens norms are characterised both as primary rules of behaviour and as secondary rules of change for legal production, constituting an international public order that serves as a tool for international law to safeguard human security.

Keywords

• jus cogens
• legal theory
• secondary rules
• public order
• human security