For generations the question of the political form worthy of its apparent telos has occupied the best legal, philosophical and rabbinical minds of the Jewish tradition. Resolution of the political question presupposes resolution of the theological question of whether the Jewish people indeed have a unique telos, and whether this telos is linked to a particular political or social form. This ongoing deliberation is one of the defining features of the inter-generational dialogue within the Jewish heritage.

When the Zionist movement declared its intention to initiate the founding of a Jewish State in Zion, this decision caused unprecedented turmoil in Jewish communities. For some, the creation of a political entity in the Land of Israel signaled a brash and unwelcome rejection of the Orthodox belief that the return will occur only in the days of the Messiah, until which time political inaction is the appropriate conduct.

La. I clear it thus out of Sir Edw. Coke 1 Inst. Sect. 138. that this [Legal Reason] is to be understood of an artificial perfection of Reason gotten by long Study, Observation and Experience, and not of every Mans natural Reason; for Nemo nascitur Artifex. This Legal Reason is summa Ratio; and therefore if all the Reason that is to be dispersed into so many several heads were united into one, yet could he not make such a Law as the Law of England is, because by so many successions of Ages it hath been fined and refined by an infinite number of Grave and Learned Men.

Ph. […] I grant you that the knowledge of the Law is an Art, but not that any Art of one Man, or of many how wise soever they be, or the work of one and more Artificers, how perfect soever it be, is Law. It is not Wisdom, but Authority that makes a Law. […] That the Law hath been fined by Grave and Learned Men, meaning the Professors of the Law is manifestly untrue, for all the Laws of England have been made by the Kings of England, consulting with the Nobility and Commons in Parliament, of which not one of twenty was a Learned Lawyer.

Sentencing reform has been the subject of much debate over the past two decades in North America, Europe and Australia. Among the concerns spurring this widespread reconsideration of sentencing principles and practices, there is the need to promote consistency in sentencing, the crisis in public confidence in the criminal justice system, and the constitutional argument for more legislative intervention in the area of sentencing. The reforms implemented in various jurisdictions to address these concerns have taken numerous forms: at the federal level in the United States, “base sentences” were assigned to each offense category, the final sentence being fixed in the light of the offender's prior criminal history and aggravating and mitigating circumstances; at the state level, several jurisdictions adopted a less detailed system of numerical guidelines, schematized by a two-dimensional grid of sentence ranges defined by classes of offenses and the offender's criminal record. Other jurisdictions, such as Canada, Britain and Sweden, eschewed the use of numerical guidelines as a vehicle to structure judicial discretion in favour of simpler statutory statements of principles in sentencing.

Countries all over the world, from Angola to Afghanistan, from Cambodia to Nicaragua, are littered with uncleared mines. In 1994, it was estimated that more than 100 million anti-personnel mines (hereinafter: AP mines) were scattered wantonly in over sixty countries. In 1997, over 110 million mines were deployed and another 100 million stockpiled around the world. Mines can be scattered over large areas by airplanes or delivered by rockets and do not need to be laid manually.

AP mines were originally designed to slow down the advancement of enemy troops and to defend territory. For thirty years, AP mines have injured large numbers of civilians, although this remained practically unreported up until the 1980s, when these mines were used increasingly as a deliberate military strategy to spread terror among civilians.

The State of Israel v. Aprofim Housing and Enterprise (1991) Ltd. (1995) 49(ii) P.D. 265

In 1990, following the wave of immigration from the former Soviet Union at the end of the 80's, the Government decided to promote construction of apartments for new immigrants and other persons entitled to government housing aid. A plan was drawn up whereby land would be allocated to contractors for building purposes by the Israel Lands Authority, while the Housing Ministry (hereinafter, “the Appellant”) undertook to purchase the apartments from the contractors after construction.

A standard form agreement was drawn up which served as the basis for the contracts signed between the Appellant and the various building contractors and entrepreneurs. The Appellant undertook in these contracts to purchase from the contractor, upon request, any apartments which had been built but not sold on the open market. In desirable locations, the Appellant was under an obligation to purchase up to 50% of the apartments built. In development areas the Appellant was bound to purchase all of the apartments. The contractor was entitled to demand that the Appellant exercise its obligation to purchase the apartments in the desirable locations, at the earliest, on completion of construction; whereas, in the case of apartments in the development areas the contractor could make its demand on completion of the frame and internal walls of the building. The contract did not limit the time in which the contractor had to present its demand for performance of the obligation to purchase, but any delay in presenting a demand beyond the times stated would influence the contractor's right to receive the full price for the apartments from the Appellant.