Stigall on The Rousseau-Portalis Doctrine: French Legal Thought and the Law of War--Parts I and II

Dan E. Stigall, George Washington University Law School; U. S. Department of Justice, has published The Rousseau-Portalis Doctrine: French Legal Thought and the Law of War – Parts I and II as Lieber Institute for Law & Warfare, Articles of War (USMA), GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2025-80. Here is the abstract.

The Rousseau-Portalis Doctrine is the idea that war is a relationship between states rather than individuals and, accordingly, military operations must be conducted exclusively against the enemy forces and not against civilians who do not take an active part in hostilities. Grounded in Grotian thought but enhanced and refined by Enlightenment thinkers, this revolutionary idea has had a significant impact on the law of war over the past two centuries. The doctrine is understood today as a salient component in the undergirding framework of the law of war. This is a two-part series illustrating the impact of French legal thought on the formation of the law of war with a specific focus on the Rousseau-Portalis Doctrine. The first part provides a brief background on Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Jean-Étienne-Marie Portalis, their views on the law of nations, and their ideas that form the substance of the Rousseau-Portalis Doctrine. The second part traces the evolution of that doctrine and discusses its impact on the law of war.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.