Hugo Grotius (redirected from Huigh de Groot)

Grotius, Hugo 

(Huig de Groot). Born Apr. 10, 1583, in Delft; died Aug. 28, 1645, in Rostock. Dutch jurist, sociologist, and political figure. One of the founders of the theory of natural law and the subject of international law.

Grotius was condemned to life imprisonment in 1619 for participating in a political struggle. In 1621 he escaped to France; persecuted there by Richelieu, he settled in Sweden. His first important work, Freedom of the Seas (1609), defended the principle of freedom of the seas. This principle served the interests of Holland, which at that time was becoming a major sea power and was threatening the claims of England and Spain to domination of the seas. Grotius’ work On the Law of War and Peace (1625) is devoted to problems in international law, although general questions of state and law are also treated. Dividing law into natural law and the law of mankind, Grotius endowed these concepts with meanings different from those of classical and medieval thinkers. According to him, natural law is true in itself, and thus exists independently of divine will. The law of mankind is formed in the process of fulfilling the principles of natural law (avoiding encroachment on someone else’s property, observance of agreements, and punishment of crimes).

In Grotius’ opinion, the state comes into being as a result of the “societal nature of man,” and its emergence is preceded by the so-called social contract. Although he also wrote of god as the creator of all things, his theories were obviously anticlerical. His book was among those banned by the papal curia.

Grotius’ concept of international law is based on the general principles of his theory. Its basic propositions include replacing the pope’s authority with treaties between states, which would be observed by virtue of natural law, and the prohibition of unjust wars (that is, wars that violate certain rights). In addition, states at war would be obliged to refrain from destroying enemy property or committing unjust cruelties against the civilian population. Grotius also proposed the establishment of a permanent agency to settle disputes between states. The agency would have at its disposal means sufficiently effective to enforce its rulings.

Grotius’ theory created a basis for criticizing positive law from the standpoint of natural law, which ultimately contributed to the overthrow of feudalism. His doctrine was evidence of the emergence of the so-called juridical outlook, which, according to Engels, “was a theological outlook to which a secular character was imparted” (“Juridical Socialism,” K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 21, p. 496).

WORKS

O prave voiny i mira, books 1–3. Moscow, 1956. (Translated from Latin.)

REFERENCE

Istoriia politicheskikh uchenii. Moscow, 1965. Pages 215–18.

Z. M. CHERNILOVSKH