Under article 53 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, a peremptory norm (also called jus cogens) is a norm of general international law that the international community of states of the United Nations has accepted and recognized as such. A peremptory norm is of mandatory application and can be modified only by a subsequent norm with the same legal status. An international treaty shall be void if it conflicts with a peremptory norm.
[Last updated in July of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]