Introduction

The contrast between the law of peace and the law of armed conflict is the greatest paradox in international law. On the one hand, international law offers elaborate and highly detailed rules on political and economic cooperation. On the other hand, in situations of widespread violence much of this body of law is replaced by a set of minimum rules dominated by military necessity. These contradictory paradigms are reflected already in the title of the most classic of books on IL De iure belli ac pacis (1625) by Hugo Grotius. Grotius wrote the book during the 30 Years War, a period ...