On what did Grotius base his conception of international law? Is he correct?

Résumé du document

The idea of "international law" is highly linked to the thought of Hugo Grotius, a Dutch lawyer from the first part of the 17th century and leading thinker of the concept of "international society". Grotius was a major theorist of the Renaissance in Europe and his reflection had a significant influence on the Treaties of Westphalia (1648), resulting of the "Thirty Years' War" among Catholic and Protestant European nations. But the core principle of his work is without doubt the implementing of international law (called "the law of nations" in his day), referring to the rules governing international relations, and its relationship to the universal concept of "natural law". As a matter of fact, Grotius conceives natural law as a presentation of right reason according to which we necessarily judge an action to be just or immoral depending on its conformity with reasonable and social nature.

This concept is not new and was first developed by the religion of the Stoic and the Aristotelian thinking during the Ancient Greece. Nonetheless, it seems important to emphasize on the fact that despite being the "father" of natural law theory as it is wrongly assumed; Grotius is however best-viewed as the principal thinker of the Protestant natural law which arose in the 17th century . Since then, his weight on the evolution of European law over the last three centuries is sizeable and core in the European vision of international law; even though his thought has also encountered much criticisms and may be put into perspective.

Extraits

[...] Therefore; self-defense and ownership, basic human rights in Grotius' thought, serve formulate two fundamental principles of natural law: that it is permissible to defend one's life and to acquire things useful for life” (Grotius in Nardin, 2002; 314). Since then, the basis of natural law in Grotius' thinking are natural rights themselves; through the core notions of ownership and self-defense. This relation between natural law and rights sheds light on the fact that both notions can pretend forming the basis of international law. On the one hand, Grotius' vision on the basis of international law may not be seen as universal and without reproaches. [...]

[...] On what did Grotius base his conception of international law? Is he correct? The idea of “international is highly linked to the thought of Hugo Grotius, a Dutch lawyer from the first part of the 17th century and leading thinker of the concept of “international society”. Grotius was a major theorist of the Renaissance in Europe and his reflection had a significant influence on the Treaties of Westphalia (1648), resulting of the “Thirty Years' among Catholic and Protestant European nations. [...]

[...] This just war doctrine is strongly linked to the emergence of international law and takes its roots in the European religious conflicts of the 17th century; “Grotius develops a general justification of the use of armed force based on principles that could be acknowledged in Portugal as well as in Holland, and by Catholics as well as Protestants” (Nardin, 2002; 313). Hence social order is a key element to uphold the presence of international law in international relations. Furthermore, Grotius gives two main principles to justify his elementary natural laws as key concepts in the establishment of international law; the will of God and the belief in self- preservation. [...]

[...] To sum up, Grotius is commonly presented as the of international law through his works and thought on the subject. Grotius' thinking on international law has been broadly recognized as a core analysis in the study of international relations and has had a strong influence on the development of world politics over the last centuries. Grotius' basis of international law lies deeply on his vision of natural law's concept and human behaviour within it; as a necessary condition to preserve social order into the society, and so on international law. [...]

[...] Thus according to Grotius, natural law must be the fundamental basis of both municipal and international law; giving several elementary natural laws for this such as the obligation to fulfil promises, the respect for property and life, inflicting penalties when men behave badly and the compensation for faults, which means that you have the obligation to compensate someone in some way if you have injured him before. Grotius views “this maintenance of social order, [ ] which is consonant with human intelligence, as the source of law properly so-called” (Grotius in Nardin; 2002, 326). This preservation of social order within the international law and through the respect of those elementary natural laws is presented as the core condition allowing nations and governments evolving equally on the international scene. [...]