The right to life, jus cogens and the death penalty
Book chapter
Schabas, W. 2025. The right to life, jus cogens and the death penalty. in: Rodrigues, A.M. and de Lemos, M.M. (ed.) Global Movement Towards the Abolition of the Death Penalty, Debate on the jus cogens Status of its Prohibition Coimbra University Press. pp. 137-146
| Chapter title | The right to life, jus cogens and the death penalty |
|---|---|
| Authors | Schabas, W. |
| Abstract | That the right to life is a peremptory norm (jus cogens) is generally admitted. Although when the right to life is framed in some human rights treaties the issue of capital punishment is excluded to some extent, this was always a concession to retentionist States rather than a recognition that the death penalty was a logical limitation. The notion of jus cogens became an entrenched part of international law subsequent to the adoption of these treaties. Capital punishment cannot be reconciled with the peremptory nature of the right to life. |
| Keywords | jus cogens; prohibition of torture; right to life; death penalty; capital punishment |
| Sustainable Development Goals | 16 Peace, justice and strong institutions |
| Middlesex University Theme | Health & Wellbeing |
| Page range | 137-146 |
| Book title | Global Movement Towards the Abolition of the Death Penalty, Debate on the jus cogens Status of its Prohibition |
| Editors | Rodrigues, A.M. and de Lemos, M.M. |
| Publisher | Coimbra University Press |
| Series | Desafios Societais e Direito |
| ISBN | 9789892626895 |
| Copyright Year | 2025 |
| Publication dates | |
| 21 Feb 2025 | |
| Publication process dates | |
| Accepted | 03 Feb 2025 |
| Deposited | 05 Dec 2025 |
| Output status | Published |
| Publisher's version | License File Access Level Open |
| Copyright Statement | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. |
| Related Output | |
| Is part of | https://doi.org/10.14195/978-989-26-2689-5 |
| Is part of | https://monographs.uc.pt/iuc/catalog/view/492/1120/1992-3 |
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| VI - 492-Book Manuscript-1992-3-10-20250312.pdf | ||
| License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 | ||
| File access level: Open | ||
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