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The Gender Of Jus Cogens, Christine M. Chinkin, Hilary Charlesworth

Book Chapters

Defenders of the notion of jus cogens often explain its basis as the collective international, rather than the individual national, good. On this analysis, principles of jus cogens play a similar role in the international legal system to that played by constitutional guarantees of rights in domestic legal systems. Thus states, as national political majorities, accept the limitation of their freedom of choice "in order to reap the rewards of acting in ways that would elude them under pressures of the moment." Among those jurists who accept the category of jus cogens, however, continuing controversy remains over what norms …