荷兰法学家胡果.格劳秀斯1625年所著《战争与和平法》不仅最早系统地阐述了国际法,而且首次将实在法与自然法融合到国际法中。19世纪,由于实在法学派在国际法上的支配地位,格劳秀斯的学说一度受到冷落。20世纪后,格劳秀斯的学说再度获得广泛重视。他的正义战争论对1941年美国《租借法案》和1945-1946年纽伦堡国际军事审判都有很明显的影响。这两个法律事件转而对国际人权产生了深远影响:为促使国会通过《租借法案》,美国总统罗斯福提出“四大自由”原则,后来成为反法西斯同盟国的共同目标和《世界人权宣言》的灵感;纽伦堡审判确立的“危害人类罪”对国际人权法和国际刑法都产生了重大影响。国际人权法先驱赫希.劳特派特提出“格劳秀斯的传统”之真谛是,在国际法治下,限制国家权力与保障个人权利和基本自由。当今国际法上两个最重大事项-和平与人权-仍然受到格劳秀斯学说的影响。
Dutch Jurist Hugo Grotius's work De Jure Belli ac Pacis written in 1625 was not only the first systematic exposition of international law, but also the first formal inclusion of natural law and positive law in international law. In the 19th century, due to the dominant position of the positive law school in international law, Grotius' theory was once ignored. In the 20th century, Grotius' theory was received extensive attention again. For example, his theory of just war had very obvious impact on the Lend-Lease Act of the United States and Nuremberg War Crimes Trial. These two legal events turned out to have far-reaching implications for international human rights: To get Congress to pass the Lend-Lease Act, President Roosevelt proposed the "four freedoms" principle, which became the common goal of the Anti-Fascist Allies and the inspiration for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; The "crimes against humanity" established by the Nuremberg trials had far-reaching implications for both international human rights law and international criminal law. The true meaning of the "Grotian tradition" proposed by Hersch Lauterpacht, a pioneer of international human rights law, is to limit the power of the State and guarantee individual rights and fundamental freedoms under the international rule of law. The two most important issues in international law today-peace and human rights-still have the influence of Grotius.