Gro·ti·us 
(grōshē-əs, -shəs), Hugo Originally Huig de Groot. 1583-1645.
(grōshē-əs, -shəs), Hugo Originally Huig de Groot. 1583-1645. Dutch jurist, politician, and theologian whose major work Of the Law of War and Peace (1625) is considered the first comprehensive treatise on international law.