*Acheson's successor, John Foster Dulles, declared, “I confess to being one of those lawyers who do not regard international law as law at all.” Anthony Arend, Pursuing a Just and Durable Peace: John Foster Dulles and International Organization (Greenwood Press, 1988), 57.

“Jus cogens norms, which are nonderogable and peremptory, enjoy highest status within customary international law, are binding on all nations, and cannot be preempted by treaty… [They include] torture, murder, genocide, and slavery” U.S. v. Matta-Ballesteros, 71 F. 3d 754 (1995).