The Jewish Law Annual. Volume 19

Abstract

Volume 19 of the Jewish Law Annual is a festschrift in honour of Professor Neil S. Hecht. It contains ten articles in English and three in Hebrew. Several discuss classic judicial institutions, including the decision rules?conduct rules dichotomy, the "two witnesses" requirement, the prosbul, and normative transparency. Two articles discuss legal sources pertaining to the sanctity of life. A comparative article examines Persian and talmudic law on promises; there is a historical review of Jerusalem?s?official? rabbinical court from 1841 to 1921; and a multi-disciplinary article addresses shame punishment in Jewish legal culture, adducing literary, ethnographic and halakhic sources. There are several topical articles, one of which tackles tort remedies for negligent investment advice. Another rejects the awarding of compensatory tort damages as solution to the agunah problem. A third comments on the notion of conversion invoked by a recent English court decision on eligibility for admission to denominational schools.