A Research On Suarez’s Legal Thought

Natural law is an enduring topic in the history of western legal thought.For more than two thousand years,the concept of natural law has been running through the development of western political and legal culture,and has played a very important role in promoting the development of human history and civilization.Starting from the background of natural law in the late middle ages,this paper explores the thought of natural law of the Spanish theologian Francisco Suarez(1548-1617).The interpretation of Suarez’s thought on natural law is based on the A Treatise on Laws and God the Lawgiver of the Selections from Three Works,which is divided into five parts.The first part is a biography.As a jesuit theologian in Spain,Suarez played an important role in the late middle ages.This part mainly introduces his learning experience and important life stories,such as the difficulty of joining The Society of Jesus,the experience of teaching in different places,and the process of writing a book.Then discussing the main theoretical sources of Suarez’s method.It is mainly about Aquinas’ theory of reason and natural law,Occam’s standpoint of volitional natural law and the influence of Salamanca school on his thought of law.The second part discusses Suarez’s views on law in the general sense.This section is based on chapters 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,12 of volume 1 of the A Treatise on Laws and God the Lawgiver.Suarez first sorted out the respective connotations of "lex" and "ius",then discussed the classification of law,the relationship between law and the community and the common good,and finally came to the definition of law in the general sense on the basis of answering the question "is law a rational act or an act of will".The third part discusses Suarez’s exposition of eternal law,natural law and universal law.This part is mainly based on chapters 1-9 and 13-15 of the second volume of A Treatise on Laws and God the Lawgiver.First of all,Suarez believed that eternal law,natural law,civil law and human law were all laws in the true sense.Secondly,he focused on the nature,content and change of the four types of laws.At the same time,Suarez provided his own solutions to the long-standing theoretical disputes in the process of discussing the four types of laws.The fourth part discusses Suarez’s treatise on human law.This section is based on chapters 1-4 of A Treatise on Laws and God the Lawgiver,vol.3.Suarez believed that human beings have the power to legislate,but such power is rooted in the omnipotence of god,and god gives such power to human beings as a whole community rather than a single individual.The fifth part is the analysis of Suarez’s legal thought.This part firstly summarizes the contribution made by Suarez in the theory of natural rights,then clarifies the position of natural law in the ideological framework of Suarez’s law,and finally reveals his reconciliation of the natural law thought of intellectualism and volitivism,his contribution to international law and international organizations,and his breakthrough in the theory of national politics.