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European Journal of International Law 2008 19(3):491-508; doi:10.1093/ejil/chn026
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The European Journal of International Law Vol. 19 no. 3 © EJIL 2008; all rights reserved

Human Rights and the Magic of Jus Cogens

Andrea Bianchi*

* Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, and the Catholic University, Milan


  Abstract

There is an almost intrinsic relationship between jus cogens and human rights. Peremptory human rights norms, as projections of the individual and collective conscience, materialize as powerful collective beliefs. As such, they inherently possess an extraordinary force of social attraction that has an almost magical character. This article investigates the legal effects of peremptory human rights norms at both the systemic and contextual levels. If these norms have been successful in providing the societal body with a set of identity values, they have dramatically failed to operate as an ordering factor of social practices. To wonder why this is so and to see what can be done (and by whom) to enhance their impact on the contextual level is the main goal of this article.


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