Lisa Tragbar

This text examines Francisco de Vitoria’s punitive justice principle in the jus post bellum, presented mainly in his lectures De iure belli (1539) and De Indis (1539). According to Vitoria, post-war prosecution and other punishment measures aim to deter future armed conflicts but are limited by moral principles. However, focusing his jus post bellum solely on punitive victor’s justice overlooks Vitoria’s concept of the global community of peoples (totus orbis) that he develops in De potestate civili (1527). This text argues for an interpretation of his jus post bellum based on the totus orbis, where violations of international law are addressed by its own judicial system, reintegrating wrongdoers back into the global community. After war has ended, the totus orbis aims to restore negative peace among all peoples, emphasizing compensatory justice. I firstly provide a short outlay of Vitoria’s totus orbis concept and in a second step address the specifics of his jus post bellum. I explain that the punitive justice principle after war is rather a justice deriving from the global order than a victor’s justice. It is part of the totus orbis’ compensatory justice system.