Introduction

Abstract

The aim of this work is to examine the treatises of two classical writers of international law and to determine in what relations their doctrines stand to the problems presently confronting the jurisprudence of international law. In the center of modern polemics is the problem of the ultimate foundations and validity of international law, and the connected problem of the position accorded to the individual human being in international law. To get some clarity on these matters it is not enough to examine only the voluminous modern literature or modem practice. While this is indispensable for a final evaluation, one of the preliminary requirements is the understanding of modem problems in their historical as well as in their general human perspective. Each age has its own uniqueness which does not repeat itself nor can it be duplicated at any later period. On the other hand each age also shows certain general characteristics which reappear again and again under different circumstances. A concrete evaluation and solution of any human problem can be made only by considering both the historical uniqueness of the situation and the persistent problems ubiquitous to any human society.