When the State of Israel was established and the Supreme Court inaugurated in Jerusalem, dozens of Christian clerics implored President Smoira to allow the Supreme Court, as the successor of the Great Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish court during the time of Roman rule, to retry Jesus Christ and thereby rectify the injustice caused to him.
I am grateful to David Abraham and Eben Moglen for their thoughtful comments that illuminate several aspects of my essay. I agree with many of their remarks.Formally, it is indeed history with which the courts deal. This is so as courts are usually called to rule upon past events. Nevertheless, most of the events that are dealt with by the courts, just like most occurrences in life, do not attract historical interest. I am willing to accept the significance criterion proposed by Moglen for screening events of historical importance, yet it is the appropriateness criterion that tells us which of these events fits the judicial process. As for commissions of inquiry, both criteria apply. The event must be of significance (“a matter of vital public importance”) to justify the establishment of a commission. At the same time it must fit the nature of a commission.
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