The body of permissive general international law, outside of jus cogens, which accommodates opting-out, adjustment or derogation, within private agreements, domestic statutes or bilateral treaties.
In Siderman de Blake, the US appellate court wrote:
"International agreements and customary international law create norms known as jus dispositivum, the category of international law that consists of norms derived from the consent of states and that is founded on the self-interest of the participating states.
"Jus dispositivum binds only those states consenting to be governed by it."
Jus dispositivum is distinguished from jus cogens, the latter being preremptory on states.
In the Quebec Civil Code, a reference to jus dispositivum is made at §9:
"In the exercise of civil rights, derogations may be made from those rules of this Code which supplement intention, but not from those of public order."
REFERENCES:
- Duhaime, Lloyd, International Law
- Duhaime, Lloyd, International Law Dictionary
- Duhaime, Lloyd, Latin Law Dictionary
- Duhaime, Lloyd, Legal Definition of Jus Cogens
- Siderman de Blake v Argentina 965 F. 2d 699 (U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, 1992). Retrieved from derechos.org/nizkor/arg/ley/siderman.html on October 31, 2009.