CAPITULATION. - In international law this name designates two completely different institutions: 1) a capitulation is a military agreement by which, in war, the surrender is stipulated, with specific conditions expressly agreed upon, of a part, more or less considerable, of the armed forces of one of the belligerents; 2) a capitulation is also a body of privileges originally granted unilaterally, then, almost always, by treaty, by virtue of which the citizens of one State were recognized, in the territory of another State of more backward civilization, immunity from local jurisdiction, the application of their national law in certain matters of private law, and various other exemptions. Such capitulations, until not many decades ago, were in force with greater or lesser extent in favor of certain European States, in Japan, Turkey, Persia, Ethiopia, China, Egypt and some other territory; now they have been almost everywhere abolished.
Under the name of capitulation, in the history of the Church, are known agreements or pacts according to which in conclaves each cardinal bound himself, should he be elected pope, to observe certain chapters concerning the observance of determined conditions.
The first authentic known capitulation was that of the Conclave from which Innocent VI was elected (1352). The conditions imposed restricted the rights of the future pope especially regarding appointments, punishments and depositions of cardinals, etc. Similar pacts took place also in the elections of Eugene IV (1431-47); of Pius II (1458-64); of Paul II (1464-71) and of Innocent VIII (1484-92). They were forbidden and declared null by various popes (In eligendis of Pius IV of 9 Oct. 1562, and Aeterni Patris of Gregory XV of 15 Nov. 1621); whose provisions were substantially reproduced in the Apostolic Constitution of Pius X Vacante Sede Apostolica of 25 Dec. 1904 (n. 83), and then in that of Pius XII, which at n. 183 states: « We forbid that the cardinals, before proceeding to the election, draw up pacts, or establish anything by common agreement, binding themselves to their observance if they are elected to the papacy: and if such pacts occur, even by means of oath, we declare them null and void ».