The law of peoples and the laws of war

Abstract

The essay traces the development of the “law of peoples” from the Roman jus gentium to its great revival by the Spanish School of Salamanca (especially Vitoria and Suarez) to its canonization in the modern form of a “law of nations” (especially Hugo Grotius) to its philosophical refinement in the work of Immanuel Kant and finally to its reformulation for contemporary purposes by John Rawls. As the essay demonstrates, the “law of peoples” has always given primacy to peace and has severely restricted warfare, limiting the “right to war” (ius ad bellum) to a last resort and to cases of direct or imminent attack, while banishing wars of aggression or conquest. Why should we now abandon this venerable legacy?