The Foundational Arab Influences on International Law

posted on: Dec 3, 2025

By: Diksha Tyagi/Arab America Contributing Writer

Conventional understandings of international law often trace its foundations to 17th century, which gave rise to the sovereign nation-state system and the rights that developed from it. However, Arab legal traditions developed key concepts of international law centuries before.  

International Law Today

Contemporary organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the International Criminal Court (ICC), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and their regulatory documents are where we find many principles of modern international law. Universally recognized principles include the sovereign equality of states, found in Article 2(1) of the UN Charter, which establishes that every state has the same legal rights. 

Other crucial principles include the protection of foreign nationals and diplomatic representatives, even during wartime, which allows disputes to be managed minimizing violence. Maritime and commercial law govern trade routes, shipping, and global commerce. Together, these principles and institutions enable states to cooperate, regulate conflict, and maintain the interconnected world citizens rely on.

Foundations of International Law

International law developed gradually over centuries, shaped by regulations governing numerous civilizations. The earliest known treaties come from the Ancient Near East, including agreements between Mesopotamia, Assyria, the Hittites, and Egypt. Ancient Greece and Rome recognized distinct political communities and developed principles for arbitration and diplomacy.

What is often called “modern” international law is associated with the writings of Hugo Grotius, a Dutch dipomat and jurist who published De Jure Belli ac Pacis (1625). Grotius articulated systematic laws of war, peace, and the nature of treaties. He synthesized Roman jus gentium, Canon law, Spanish scholasticism, Mediterranean diplomatic practice, and Islamic legal principles. Despite his European background, many of his contributions rest on principles developed by other societies, especially ones of the Arab world.

Arab Contributions

Between the 8th and 10th centuries, Islamic jurists developed the earliest known systematic and theorized body of international law. They intended to regulate relations between bodies that applied across cultural boundaries. Scholars such as Muhammad al-Shaybani, writing in 805, laid out detailed principles of diplomacy, warfare, and treaty-making. His works, especially the Kitāb al-Siyar al-Kabīr, were applied for centuries across the Middle East and North Africa.

Many key principles of humanitarian laws of war developed during this time. Protection of women, children, monks, and other non-combatants was a requirement in the Kitāb al-Siyar, as well as the obligation to spare crops and infrastructure. These provision reflected earlier Islamic ethical teachings and practical norms intended to limit destruction during conflict.

Diplomatic immunity was also a central idea. Islamic concepts such as amān, temporary safe-conduct for visiting foreigners, and dhimma, protected status for resident foreigners, institutionalized protections that are now seen in modern laws. 

Commercial and maritime practices of the ancient Arab world also shaped later development of global law. The muḍāraba, a risk-sharing partnership contract used across the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, eventually evolved into the commenda. This became the foundation of modern corporate partnership structures. Maritime manuals and liability rules rules for shipowners became part of later Mediterranean maritime codes and early modern commercial law.

Transmission

Through the Andalusion Translation Movement, which produced Latin translations of Al-Shaybani, Ibn Rushd, and a variety of Islamic commercial manuals, Arab legal ideas circulated and gained foundation in early universities. In Sicily, Islamic legal practices were also kept intact after the 11th century Norman conquest, and later were absorbed into Italian law and Mediterranean maritime codes. Finally, contact through Crusader diplomacy, Mediterranean merchant networks, and intellectual exchanges provided further routes for transmission. This allowed Arab legal concepts to circulate and influence the formation of global norms.

The Importance of Recognization

Recognizing the global influences on international law allows us to understand it in proper context, as representing centuries of interaction among societies. “Modern” international law is now represented through documents and organizations such as the Geneva Conventions and the UN Charter. However, it is important to remember that many of its core principles first appeared elsewhere, especially in the vast Arab legal traditions.

Want more articles like this? Sign up for our e-newsletter!

Check out our blog here!