a Dominican priest and Scholastic theologian born in Segovia, Spain, and died in Salamanca at the age of 66. He is best known as one of the founders of international law and of the Spanish Thomistic philosophical and theological movement known as the School of Salamanca. He held powerful positions including Confessor of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the emperor's representative at the Council of Trent. In 1556, Soto published a treatise on law, De Justitia and Jure (Justice and the Law) that is considered a foundational text in the general theory of international law.
