Normative aspects of jus cogens identification in Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties

Article 53 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties is a codification of jus cogens norms of international law. The purpose of this provision is to enable peremptory norms to be identified without including examples of them or a catalogue of such norms in the treaty. In order for a legal norm to acquire a peremptory status, it must meet the sociological, normative and axiological criteria set out by the Convention. A legal norm that acquires a jus cogens status must already exist and derive from a particular source of international law. It is only through its adoption and recognition as jus cogens that it acquires its special status.