grotius and vitoria

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“Just war doctrine”

“Anticolonial views”

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(Hugo Grotius) (Francisco de Vitoria)

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“3 Methods for settling

disputes peacefully”

“War is wrong”



(Hugo Grotius) (Francisco de Vitoria)

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• He who wills the attainment of a given end, wills also the things that are necessary to that end.

• God wills that we should protect ourselves, retain our hold on the necessities of life, obtain that which is our due, punish transgressors, and at the same time defend the state… But these divine objectives sometimes constitute causes for undertaking and carrying on war… Thus it is God's Will that certain wars should be waged… Yet no one will deny that whatsoever God will, is just.

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“Just war doctrine”

• Vitoria was doubtful of the justice of the Spanish conquest of the New World.

• As a friar, he refused to agree that war might be made on people simply because they were pagans or because they refused conversion—for belief was an act of the will and could not be forced.

• Nor could pagans be punished for offenses against God, because Christians committed just as many such offenses as pagans. NextBack


• The pope had no right to give European rulers dominion over primitive peoples; the most he could do was to allocate spheres for missionary work.

• Pagans had a right to their property and to their own rulers; they were not irrational.

• One could not speak of discovery as if the lands had been previously uninhabited; thus the only possible justification for conquest might be the protection of the innocent from cannibalism and human sacrifice.

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• If a Christian ruler presumed to rule over a colony, it was his duty to give it benefits equal to those of the home country and to send efficient ministers to see just laws observed.”

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• Grotius discusses three methods of for settling a dispute peacefully.

• The first is conference and negotiation amongst two rivals or contestants.

• The second method is called compromise, which is a settlement in which each side gives up some demands or makes concessions.

• The third is that of single combat or choosing by lot.

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“3 Methods for settling a deputes peacefully”

• Grotius believed that it is sometimes better to renounce rights than to try and enforce them.

• When it comes to bargaining and mediation he holds that for any of the three methods listed above, it is of extreme importance to select a judge with character and decency.

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• Grotius discusses these methods of achieving peace to ultimately obtain some form of justice.

• He says, "For justice brings peace of conscience, while injustice causes torment and anguish... Justice is approved, and injustice condemned, by the common agreement of good men."

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• Vitoria’s writings on war were addressed to the possibility of limiting the horrors of contemporary warfare.

• In principle, war was not justified except as defense against aggression or to right a very great wrong. In any case, the declaration of war should be preceded by efforts at conciliation and arbitration.

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“War is wrong”

• A ruler should also consider whether the war might not do more harm than good.

• Innocent persons might be killed only if it was absolutely impossible to distinguish them from participants.

• Finally, if a subject’s conscience told him a war was wrong, he must not take part in it.

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“War is wrong”

grotius and vitoria

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