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act in a certain way and on the assumption that they are legally bound to do so. It refers to ageneral practice among states that is accepted as law, insofar as states evince their obligationthrough their prevalent behaviour and through a sense of recognition of this obligation.Slavery for example, can be said to contravene international customary law; states do not, asa general practice, sanction or engage in slavery, and it can be said that their conduct stemsfrom a conviction that slavery is wrong. The challenge of applying customary internationallaw is that its content is often difficult to define. One of the problems is determining whena state is acting in a certain manner out of a conviction that it must do so (the psychologicalelement of customary law). The issue invites debate and has attracted a significant amountof legal scholarship. The main advantage to customary international law is that it applies toall states, unlike treaty law, which applies only to ratifying states.Jus cogens norms are a category of customary international law that is considered sofundamental that they apply universally and cannot be modified by treaty. There is littleagreement, with few exceptions, as to the specific content of jus cogens norms. Torture is themost often cited example of a jus cogens norm. There can be no justification whatsoever forthe use of torture in any country.The relationship between treaties and custom is important. It is possible for the standardsset forth in a treaty to also exist as custom. This can happen in two ways. First, a treatycan codify norms that already exist in international customary law. Second, the norms of atreaty themselves can evolve into custom; widespread and representative participation in atreaty may create international customary law. Therefore, one should not assume that justbecause a certain right is contained in a treaty that it cannot have the status of customaryinternational law and will therefore be binding, even on states that have not ratified theparticular treaty. This point is particularly relevant to the discussion on international childlaw. Although the Convention on the Right of the Child 9 (CRC) has been ratified by allbut two states 50 its Optional Protocols have not benefited from the same levels of statecommitment. Despite this, an argument could be put forth that states have an obligationto meet the standards outlined in these instruments even though they have not beenratified.General principles of law refer to the written and unwritten laws of states, includingdecisions of state courts. Although general principles of law have similar characteristics tocustomary international law, there are some differences. Custom requires an examinationof how states apply out of a conviction that they were required to do it, whereas generalprinciples of law require an examination of agreement or a pattern among the law ofstates.18|Private Sector Accountability in Combating the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children