The school of natural law

A school of thought contemporary with the usus modernus was the so-called school of natural law. Founded by Hugo Grotius and influenced by Greek philosophy and Protestant rationalism, the school of modern natural law defended the existence of valid rational legal principles inherent in the nature of human beings.

Distinguished scholars of the school of natural law were Samuel Pufendorf (1632-94), Christian Thomasius (1655-1728), and Christian Wolf (1679-1754). Of these three natural law scholars, the most original was Pufendorf. He was the first to develop a general theory of natural law emphasizing natural duties more than natural rights. Although Pufendorf used Roman categories, he replaced the Roman systematization of persons, things, and actions by three categories of human duties: to God, to the agent himself, and to others. Pufendorf always maintained the Christian character of natural law: although natural, it is deduced from the Christian principle of loving God and others as oneself. Pufendorf’s significance in the development of European private law is enormous. The structures of later codifications, especially the “general part” (Allgemeiner Teil) of the codes and systematizations of contracts, were inspired by the doctrines of Pufendorf. His most important works are: Elementa jurisprudentia universalis [Elements of a universal jurisprudence, 1660], De jure naturae et gentium [On the law of nature and nations, 1672], and De officio hominis et civis iuxta legem naturalem [On the duty of man and citizen according to natural law, 1673].

The school of natural law triggered and thoroughly influenced the codification movement of the eighteenth century. Even in England and Scotland, where there was no substantial codification, the school of natural law influenced the modern law of contracts and negligence.