The Primitive Lawyer Speaks!: Thoughts on the Concepts of International and Rabbinic Laws

Abstract

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.

Keywords: international law, policymaking, international relations, H.L.A. Hart, religious law, Rabbinic Laws, soft law

JEL Classification: F50, F53, K33