Treaty bodies: Choreographing the customary prohibition against torture

This article contributes to existing understandings about the contribution of human rights treaty bodies to the development of customary international law. It offers a method of assessing State responses to treaty body jurisprudence for the purposes of determining to what extent the responses push toward the reaffirmation or crystallisation of a customary rule of international law, namely the prohibition against torture. It speaks to the way in which, despite its status as a as a peremptory norm, the content of the norm is often challenged but also incrementally expanding due in large part to the way in which treaty bodies engage and guide States both inside and outside of the primary reporting procedures. Ultimately, this article demonstrates that State practice and opinio juris are increasingly influenced by the treaty bodies.