Significance of the Peace of Westphalia (1648) for international law

Abstract

The Peace of Westphalia (1648) is often cited as a turning point in the development of international law, with some believing that this law was born there, others claiming that it was then that modern or at least universal law was born, while others, giving the periodization of the development of international law, rely on Westphalian conference as an important event. The author gives a critical review of those views, proving that international law was created parallel to the emergence of the first states, that it was rather developed even before the Peace of Westphalia, that the solutions of that peace were essentially nothing really new, that these solutions were not of importance for countries outside the circle of Western European states, etc. However, he also notes that in the last few years, the essence of what is known as the so-called Westphalian system, and especially the understanding that states are sovereign and therefore equal and that intervention in the affairs of other states is prohibited. The author points out that such attitudes are often a function of the policy of demolishing the existing one and establishing some kind of new, significantly different order, in which the vast majority of states would not be sovereign and in which all power would be concentrated in only one center. He concludes that a sober criticism of the attitude that "everything started" from the Congress of Westphalia seems justified and necessary, but that one should not go to the other extreme, especially not if it is motivated by political reasons.