Alberico Gentili's ius post bellum and early modern peace treaties

This chapter focuses on the ius post bellum, the body of law aimed at restoring, managing, and maintaining peace. Gentili was the first to elevate the ius post bellum to a central role in the jurisprudence of war, making it the subject of the entire third book of the De iure belli libri tres. The chapter traces the origins of Gentili's notion of war as a contention with arms between equal hostes back to Roman law and to Bartolus - a notion leading Gentili to a ius post bellum strongly influenced by Roman notions of unconditional surrender on the part of the succumbed enemy and terms of just peace dictated by the victorious side. This doctrine is contrasted with the intra-European state practice, which was much more characterized by unclear outcomes of war and the termination of hostilities through agreements.