bellum justum
bellum justum (bel-[schwa]m j[schwa]s-t[schwa]m). [Latin] Int’l law. A just war; one that the proponent considers morally and legally justifiable, such as a war against an aggressive, totalitarian regime. • Under Roman law, before war could be declared, the fetiales (a group of priests who monitored international treaties) had to certify to the Senate that just cause for war existed. Thomas Aquinas and other medieval theologian-jurists debated the circumstances that justified war; some canonists supported the notion of a just war against non-Catholics. With the adoption of the U.N. Charter, the bellum justum concept has lost its legal significance. The Charter outlaws the use of force except in self-defense. U.N. Charter arts. 2(4), 51 (59 Stat. 1031). — Also termed just war; justifiable war.
