Acquisitive Prescription in Early Modern International Law

Abstract

This article examines the role of Roman acquisitive prescription in early modern international law debates. The ubiquity of prescription demonstrates the importance of Roman private law in the development of international law. Yet, although it was a widely-used juristic concept, there was no consensus about its legitimacy in international relations from 1500 to 1800. Debates raged over whether it was a product of the natural law, the law of nations, or the Roman civil law. There was a crucial tension between prescription’s utility in confirming the political status quo and its tendency to justify ownership based on prior injustice or violence. In assessing the place of prescription in international law, this article examines its use by Grotius, Vázquez, Freitas, Boecler, Conring, Bellarmine, Solórzano, and others in debates over freedom of the seas, imperial possessions in the Americas, Dutch independence, papal temporal power, and the aftermath of the Thirty Years War.