Can Norms Die? Violation and International Law

What happens to international laws and norms when they are extensively violated?

There is a school of thought in international relations that asserts that when norms are extensively violated, they die. This paper argues that in fact there are very few examples of ‘dead’ norms, and examines the norm against torture, the norm against unrestricted submarine warfare, the norm requiring declarations of war, and the norm against torture. Using these norms, the paper argues that we need to better understand the impact of violation on international norms. The paper is co-authored with Professor Wayne Sandholtz, UC Irvine.

Presenter: Associate Professor Sarah Percy

Sarah Percy arrived at UQ from the University of Western Australia in 2016. Prior to her appointment at UWA, Sarah was University Lecturer and Tutorial Fellow in International Relations at the University of Oxford (Merton College). At Oxford, Sarah was on the steering committee of the Oxford Programme on the Changing Character of War. Sarah did her M.Phil and D.Phil as a Commonwealth Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford. Sarah has three main research areas. She has had a long-standing interest in unconventional combatants, and has published widely on mercenaries, private military companies, and pirates. Sarah is interested in issues of maritime security generally, including piracy and counter-piracy, maritime crime, and the role of navies as security actors. She also conducts research at the nexus between international relations and international law, and is interested in how and why the use of force is regulated, and the relationship between norms and international law.