Exploration of the Roman Notions of International Law

In an attempt to explore the Roman notions of international law, this paper analyses the notions of jus gentium, commonly perceived as Roman International law, jus fetiale, and jus belli. It argues that although jus gentium resembles the modern private international law, it cannot be labeled as public international law. It claims that jus fetiale, which is more a ceremonial system than legal, resembles modern international law more than jus gentium. The paper concludes that the Roman empire did not observe an international law proper. Instead, it observed two sets of laws where the first set regulated relations between Romans and Romans (jus civile) while the second set dealt with relations between Romans and other individuals (jus gentium). In none of the two sets do we observe rules that regulate relations between two states, which is the primary focus of international law.