Özet:

With the concept of jus cogens a new and independent source of international law is introduced. Jus cogens norms owe their validity to a norm of c ustomary international law which is reflected by Article 53 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. The detailed analysis of this article reveals that jus cogens norms are hierarchically located between customary international law and international treaties. Although jus cogens norms are hierarchically inferior to customary international law, a primacy of application is granted to jus cogens norms over any customary rule. The concept of jus cogens is afflicted with many formal and material ambiguities. However, the difficulty of determining which obligations constitute jus cogens mainly stems from the fact that the procedure envisaged by Article 53 for the creation of jus cogens norms is ambiguous. Since the article provides an identification test for jus cogens norms solely on formal basis, once these procedural and formal requirements are enlightened it needs to be conceded that any norm fulfilling these criteria, regardless of its content, is jus cogens as no material requirement in relation to jus cogens norms exists

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