Jus Naturale

The natural law or law of nature; law or legal principles, supposed to be discoverable by the light of nature or abstract reasoning or to be taught by nature to all nations and men alike; or law supposed to govern men and peoples in a state of nature, i. e., in advance of organized governments or enacted laws. This conceit originated with the philosophical jurists of Rome, and was gradually extended until the phrase came to denote a supposed basis or substratum common to all systems of positive law, and hence to be found, in greater or less purity, in the laws of all nations. And, conversely, they held that if any rule or principle of law was observed in common by all peoples with whose systems they were acquainted, it must be a part of the jus naturale, or derived from it Thus the phrases "jus naturale" and "jus gentium" came to be used interchangeably.