Customary international rule and the consent of the States

This paper analyzes the relationship between custom, one of the main sources of public international law, and the need of consent of the State to which the customary rule should apply. The two main answers that the authors gave in connection to that relationship are reviewed: on the one hand, the authors who require consent as a condition for enforceability of the customary law and, on the other hand, the authors who deny the need of such consent. We adopt the doctrinal opinion that international customary law is compulsory only for those States that had, expressly or tacitly, consented to it.