On the Law of War

Introduction

The Relectio de iure belli, delivered at Salamanca in 1539 as a sequel to the lecture on the Indies, takes up the question left open there: when a war, against the peoples of the Americas or any other, may be just. Vitoria answers four questions: whether Christians may wage war at all, on whose authority, for what causes, and what is permitted in it. Only a commonwealth or its prince may declare war; the single just cause is a wrong received, and neither difference of religion, nor the enlargement of an empire, nor the glory of a prince suffices. It is never permitted to kill the innocent intentionally; the harm done must stay proportionate, and a subject convinced that a war is unjust must not take part. Vitoria also allows that a war may seem just to both sides through invincible ignorance. Printed in 1557, the lecture became a standard reference of just war theory, cited by Grotius and discussed again in modern debates.

Connections

Builds on

• On the American Indians1539 · Francisco de Vitoria

Taken up in

• On the Law of War and Peace1625 · Hugo Grotius

More works by Francisco de Vitoria

• 1539On the American Indians