Abstract
A feature of the Norman J. Shachoy Symposium: The Rabbinic Idea of Law: Interactions and Implications
Inspired by Chaim Saiman’s brilliant book, Halakhah: The Rabbinic Idea of Law, this essay draws connections between the lived experiences of international law and Jewish law, focusing in particular on (1) the centrality of practice, (2) the search for and construction of authority in communities of practice (the “invisible college”), (3) the challenges and opportunities of fragmentation and pluralism, and (4) the difficulty translating their methods to more state-like institutions, like courts and legislation. The hope is that this testimony of one of H.L.A. Hart’s primitive lawyers can provide a fuller, more textured picture of how law might operate or be experienced.
Repository Citation
Harlan G. Cohen,
The Primitive Lawyer Speaks!: Thoughts on the Concepts of International and Rabbinic Laws
, 64 Villanova L. R. 655
(2019),
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/fac_artchop/1476
Previously posted on SSRN.