Editorial Committee of the Cambridge Law Journal

Der Dauernde Friede by Rudolf LaunReview by: F. M.The Cambridge Law Journal, Vol. 11, No. 1 (1951), p. 160Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of Editorial Committee of the Cambridge LawJournalStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4504052 .

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.160 .160 The Camb rid£te Law Jou orsal The Camb rid£te Law Jou orsal

De Iure l'raedae com??lentarius. BY HUGO GROTIUS. V01. I: A[VOL l 1

Translation of the Original Manuseript of J 604 by Gwladys L. Williams and Walter H. Zeydel. Vol. II * Reproduction of the Orig}nal Manuscript. [Londonv Oxford University Pressv 1950. xxiv And 488 pp.; 168 pp. £4 4s. net.]

THE publication of this early work from the pexl of Grotius con- cludes the series of Classics of Interr atxonal Law whach was initiated in 1906 by James Brown Scott. The last volume is worthy of its predecessors both in substance and in formr Its appearance is especially welcome since tbis work which has not been readily available offers t}e key to Grotius' chief work, De lure Bellt ac Pacis. The Careegie Endowment and the publishers are to be congratulated for }arring provided the student of international law with this truly magnificent edition.

K. LJ

Ver Vauernde hede. BY RUDOLF LAUN. [Hamburg: Unilersitfr Press and Conrad Kloss. 195(). 44 pp. DM. 1.10.]

IN this rectorial address to the Unilrersity of Hatnburg Professor Laun appl}es Kantian ethics to international law and, in particular} to the problem of the mainterlance of peace. The ' categorical imperative ' which commands respect for human rights finds its application within the State and is safeguarded in positive law by many constitutional provisions. In war however, the dictates of this moral law are brushed £sside. The problem then, is to make the moral con,sciollsness of man triumph over.the political interests defended by State governments. This, Professor Laun suggests, must take place along lines which recognise that the power of Parliaments and Governments alike is merely derivative; the supreme legislative power ls the moral and legal consciousness of aII nlankindv

Professor Laun admits that the required changes, both ifl

organisation and in the mentality of human beings-who as yet feel bound blirldly to follcpw the dictates of their authorities in matters or war and lwace-will take time. But he believes that, in the same manner as men ceased to fight for the spread of their religions they wilI cease to fight for the interests of thew State. He might have added that at the end of the Thirty Years War religious belief had lost the fervour of the Reformation and Counter- Reformation. In other words his thesis amounts to a belief, from a historical perspective, that, in a changing world the intensity of nationalism will cease and, with it, the desire to go to war on behalf of the nation-State It is to be hoped that history will prove him right.

F M

De Iure l'raedae com??lentarius. BY HUGO GROTIUS. V01. I: A[VOL l 1

Translation of the Original Manuseript of J 604 by Gwladys L. Williams and Walter H. Zeydel. Vol. II * Reproduction of the Orig}nal Manuscript. [Londonv Oxford University Pressv 1950. xxiv And 488 pp.; 168 pp. £4 4s. net.]

THE publication of this early work from the pexl of Grotius con- cludes the series of Classics of Interr atxonal Law whach was initiated in 1906 by James Brown Scott. The last volume is worthy of its predecessors both in substance and in formr Its appearance is especially welcome since tbis work which has not been readily available offers t}e key to Grotius' chief work, De lure Bellt ac Pacis. The Careegie Endowment and the publishers are to be congratulated for }arring provided the student of international law with this truly magnificent edition.

K. LJ

Ver Vauernde hede. BY RUDOLF LAUN. [Hamburg: Unilersitfr Press and Conrad Kloss. 195(). 44 pp. DM. 1.10.]

IN this rectorial address to the Unilrersity of Hatnburg Professor Laun appl}es Kantian ethics to international law and, in particular} to the problem of the mainterlance of peace. The ' categorical imperative ' which commands respect for human rights finds its application within the State and is safeguarded in positive law by many constitutional provisions. In war however, the dictates of this moral law are brushed £sside. The problem then, is to make the moral con,sciollsness of man triumph over.the political interests defended by State governments. This, Professor Laun suggests, must take place along lines which recognise that the power of Parliaments and Governments alike is merely derivative; the supreme legislative power ls the moral and legal consciousness of aII nlankindv

Professor Laun admits that the required changes, both ifl

organisation and in the mentality of human beings-who as yet feel bound blirldly to follcpw the dictates of their authorities in matters or war and lwace-will take time. But he believes that, in the same manner as men ceased to fight for the spread of their religions they wilI cease to fight for the interests of thew State. He might have added that at the end of the Thirty Years War religious belief had lost the fervour of the Reformation and Counter- Reformation. In other words his thesis amounts to a belief, from a historical perspective, that, in a changing world the intensity of nationalism will cease and, with it, the desire to go to war on behalf of the nation-State It is to be hoped that history will prove him right.

F M

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.106 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 11:02:54 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions