International Law in Spain

Gamarra, Yolanda (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: The aim of this article is to fill a historiographical gap in the examination of the evolution of international law in Spain. It focuses on the Spanish legal tradition and its development up to contemporary legal movements. Besides the need to abandon involutionist methodologies, the inspiration that animates such a comparative research framework is that of casting new light on the intra-history of Spanish international law and the juridical thought developed by its legal elites. The purpose is to recover the Spanish international law bibliographies from the nineteenth century to the present, and, to that end, we trace the history of international law in Spain, showing the influence of Spanish legal culture of the jurists of the School of Salamanca on the works of Spanish international legal scholars. This analysis of Spanish literature shows, with more or less incidence, the reception of international currents such as natural law, positivism, or critical approaches. The article is divided in three sections: (1) the classical international law, comprising a history of international law in Spain in the nineteenth century, the rediscovery of Vitoria’s thought, and the first seeds of positivism; (2) post-classical international law, marked by the influence of Krauspositivism, sociological roots, normativism, natural law, new realism, and objectivism, and (3) the influence of current doctrinal movements in the thought of Spanish international lawyers. This article traces the evolution of dominant ideas that have informed international law in Spain at different historical stages. By analyzing new developments in the discipline, the reader will appreciate its continuing vitality. Nevertheless, Spanish international legal scholars are far from following new critical currents or Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). Bibliographies prior to the nineteenth century have been excluded except in the case of relevant authors. Works of the theologians and jurists of the Salamanca School are not included nor are the works of American internationalists. This work has been done by other authors. This article focuses on publications in Spanish (and the languages recognized in Spain) with references to materials in other languages, in particular French and English. The references have been arranged in sections that reflect the issues that prevail in the current—at the relevant time—debates of scholars. Omissions should therefore be understood not as exclusions but as a consequence of the limited scope of the project.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199796953-0266

Año: 2025

Publicado en: Oxford Bibliographies in International Law
ISSN: 2049-2148

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Dcho.Intern.Púb.Relac.In. (Dpto. Derecho Público)