Professor William E. Butler Marks 400th Anniversary of Grotius Treatise

PROFESSOR WILLIAM E. BUTLER MARKS 400TH ANNIVERSARY OF GROTIUS TREATISE

June 2025—Professor William E. Butler delivered a paper on “The Carnegie Translation of Grotius: Influencing Public Opinion” at a conference marking the 400th anniversary of the Grotius treatise. The publication has been accepted for Grotiana, no. 1 (I225), and the online version of that journal already has appeared.

In 1625 in Paris, Hugo Grotius (1583-1625) published De iure belli ac pacis, a volume that many consider marks the emergence of the modern international legal system.

A consortium of Dutch universities arranged the conference to celebrate the occasion at the Leiden University campus in The Hague on June 19-20, 2025.

John Edward Fowler Distinguished Professor of Law William E. Butler specializes in international and comparative law, focusing principally on Russia, Eurasia generally, and public and private international law. A member of the Dickinson Law community since 2005, he served as reader (1970-1976) and professor of comparative law (1976-2005) in the University of London — attached to University College London — where he is presently emeritus professor of comparative law.