Does Jus Conges Matter? Revisiting The Failure of International Law On Non-Refoulement

Abstract

The hallmark of refugee law is the principle of non-refoulement which simply means refugees should not be returned or expelled to their prosecution state. Conventions, cases and theses have affirmed this right to be of a non-derogable nature, meaning that it is a jus cogens norm. Critics have dismissed jus conges as having no fundamental content and merely an impracticable impression of a norm lacking flesh and blood. Thus, any principle, like non-refoulement, promoted as a jus cogens norm is doubtful because jus cogens is merely a supernorm in the figment of the imagination of its supporters.