86 research outputs found
Customary International Law and Torture: the Case of India
This paper examines the contradiction between statements from well-respected sources regarding customary international law as it bears on torture and the actual behavior of states as to torture. It does so by focusing on one state, India. The purpose of the paper is both to make clear the conflict between state behavior and rules that are supposed to be law and to reflect on some of the implications of and conundrums raised by this situation. This paper will discuss the claim that prohibitions against torture and violations of human rights are a part of customary international law, suggesting that they are not, nor should they be
Customary International Law and Torture: The Case of India
This paper examines the contradiction between statements from well-respected sources regarding customary international law as it bears on torture and the actual behavior of states as to torture. It does so by focusing on one state, India. The purpose of the paper is both to make clear the conflict between state behavior and rules that are supposed to be law and to reflect on some of the implications of and conundrums raised by this situation. This paper will discuss the claim that prohibitions against torture and violations of human rights are a part of customary international law, suggesting that they are not, nor should they be
The Emptiness of the Concept of \u3cem\u3eJus Cogens\u3c/em\u3e, as Illustrated by the War in Bosnia-Herzegovina
The aim of this article is neither to condemn departures from jus cogens nor to engage in verbal gymnastics designed to obfuscate the fact that the international community is treating or will treat peremptory norms as moralisms irrelevant in practical terms. Rather, this article seeks to show that the problem lies in the concept of jus cogens itself. More specifically, the article intends to make the case that the concept is intellectually indefensible - at best useless and at worst harmful in the practical conduct of international relations
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