History of International Law - Middle Ages and Before Part 1/3
By: Muhammad A.
Tags: Law, History, International Law, Thought Provoking, Historical Data

Photo by Giammarco Boscaro on Unsplash

Introduction

International law consists of a set of rules that govern the international relations between sovereign states. It can be classified into public international law and private international law. Public International Law deals with the laws between Nation-States and covers almost every aspect of the inter-state activity, from the laws of Seas, outer space, etc. However, Private International Law deals with relationships between individuals of two different states; for instance, divorce issues and problems pertaining to trade between individuals of two different states. In this non-technical piece of writing, it would be wise to narrow down the focus to just the history of International Law. So, the history or more specifically the development of International Law is divided into three main eras:

1. Development during the Middle Ages and before

2. Development during the 16th and 17th Centuries

3. Development during the 18th Century and onwards

1. Development During the Middle Ages and Before

In that era, almost all the civilized nations have made their contributions to the development of International Law. Jews, Romans, Greeks, Muslims deserve a special mention.

a) Contribution of Jews

They believed in internationalism ( There should be some law that governs the relation of city-states ) .

There should be some law that governs the relation of city-states . They followed the Laws of Treaties .

. They conferred privileges and immunities upon the diplomatic envoys.

Internationalism is a political principle that advocates greater political or economic cooperation among states and nations — Wikipedia

b) Contribution of Greeks

Greeks lived in small city-states. The mutual relations of these States were regulated and governed by some definite rules and principles.

They formulated the Laws of War and Peace .

. They developed law for the exchange of Prisoners of War(POWs) .

. They resolved their disputes through Arbitration.

c) Contribution of Romans

They formulated laws of war further.

They differentiated between the just and unjust war. The common reasons for just wars are:

-> Attack on Roman territory

-> Violation of laws of treaties

-> Violation of diplomatic immunities

-> Assistance to an enemy state by a friendly state of Rome.

-> Attack on Roman territory -> Violation of laws of treaties -> Violation of diplomatic immunities -> Assistance to an enemy state by a friendly state of Rome. They developed sources of Law.

-> Ius Naturale (Divine Law)

-> Ius Gentium (Customary Law)

Ius Naturale is Latin for natural right, the laws common to all beings — Wikipedia

They developed different types of treaties.

-> Treaty of friendship

-> Treaty of Alliance

-> Treaty of Hospitality

The ius gentium or jus gentium (Latin for “law of nations”) is a concept of international law within the ancient Roman legal system and Western law traditions based on or influenced by it — Wikipedia

d) Contribution of Muslims

They differentiated between combatants and non-combatants.

They formulated laws of war and peace further.

They formulated treaties.

They developed diplomatic immunity further.

They developed friendly relations with other States.

Conclusion

In this story, the development of International Law discussed during the Middle Ages and before. In the next two stories, the writer will share the development of International Law after the Middle Ages until today.