Judicial Equity in the Legal Order: Insights from Geonic 'Duties of Judges'

• In Event: Virtues and Dispositions of Rabbinic Judges: A View from Talmudic Texts and their Reception in the Medieval and Modern Periods

Abstract

This paper describes and contextualizes the flourishing genre of "manuals for judges" during the late Geonic period, influenced by the Islamic paradigm of adab al qāḍī. These manuals, which blend practicality with ethics, represent a transition from earlier Babylonian adjudicatory narratives of justice to a more developed virtue jurisprudence. Utilizing philological-textual, literary, philosophical-conceptual, and juridical-jurisprudential methodologies, this study juxtaposes Geniza remnants with prominent Islamic counterparts like al-Khṣṣāf. This comparison uncovers ideological proximities and content-related parallels, shedding light on diverse dispositions, characters, and virtues of judges in exercising judicial discretion. This exploration advances the current understanding of the emergence of rabbinic adjudication and deepens our comprehension of nuanced ethical considerations and the emergence of procedural law in medieval judicial systems of both Jewish and Islamic traditions. The study aims to contribute significantly to ongoing interreligious and interdisciplinary research on medieval jurisprudence, facilitating a comparative analysis of shared values and principles that shaped Jewish and Islamic legal canons and authorities.

Author

• Neri Ariel, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Bar Ilan University