This article forms a contribution to the ongoing scholarly debate on the possible effect of jus cogens norms. For the purpose of the article, it is assumed that peremptory norms certainly exist in positive international law. According to the argument, even if we limit the effects of jus cogens norms to those described in the 1969 Vienna Convention, the
In the international legal literature, it is commonplace to talk about the law of state responsibility as secondary rules of law. The terminology emphasises that in some way or another the law of state responsibility is different from other rules of the international legal system – what international legal scholars refer to as primary rules of law. The present essay inquires into the soundness of this language. As argued, the primary-secondary rules terminology builds on two assumptions. First, it assumes that the law of state responsibility can be described as separate from the ordinary (or primary) rules of international law. Secondly, it assumes that the two classes of rules can be described as pertaining to different stages of the judicial decision-making process. As shown in this essay, neither assumption can be defended as correct.
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