The ‘Or ‘Emet Fund was established in 1976 to promote the study of law in the broadest sense. The Fund seeks to promote through public discussion, research and scholarly writing, public and professional appreciation of the significance of religion, ethics, culture and history in the development of the legal system. “‘Or ‘Emet” means the light of truth. In 2010, the Nathanson Centre pooled its resources with the ‘Or ‘Emet fund to ensure that the lecture would be delivered on an annual basis. As a result, the themes explored in the lecture are now also connected to the mandate of the Centre.
Lectures to Date:
March 14, 2013
Process, Not Punishment: The Importance of Criminal Trials for Transitional and Transnational Justice
Anthony Duff
Faculty of Law, University of Minnesota
Department of Philosophy, University of Stirling
A video recording of the seminar discussion of this lecture is also available.
February 16, 2012
Democratic Holy Wars
Christopher Kutz
Berkeley
A video recording of the seminar discussion of this lecture is also available.
March 10, 2011
Is Dignity the Foundation of Human Rights?
John Tasioulas
Quain Chair in Jurisprudence
UCL
A video recording of the seminar discussion of this lecture is also available.
March 11, 2010
Proportionality in Self-Defense and War
Jeff McMahan
Professor of Philosophy
Rutgers University
A video recording of the seminar discussion of this lecture is also available.
March 12, 2009
On Law and Coercion
Frederick Schauer
David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law,
University of Virginia
video of the lecture and the ensuing discussion period
February 20, 2008
Seven Debates about Law and Morality
John Gardner
Professor of Jurisprudence, University of Oxford
March 9, 2006
Why Tolerate Religion?
Brian Leiter
Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Law & Philosophy
Program at the University of Texas at Austin
October 8, 2003
Taking a Break from Feminism
Janet Halley
Professor of Law, Harvard University
January 27, 2003
The Risks and Benefits of Resorting to ‘Necessity’ in Islamic Jurisprudence
Ingrid Mattson
Professor of Islamic Studies, Macdonald Center for Islamic
Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations, Hartford Seminary
October 31, 2002
9/11: The Corruption of Legal and Religious Language
El Obaid Ahmed El Obaid
Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Comparative Law
McGill University
October 6, 2000
The Political Stakes in ‘Merely Technical’ Issues of Contract Law: A Quasi-Comparative Analysis
Duncan Kennedy
Professor of Law, Harvard University
November 16, 1994
The Jewish Legal System and Jewish Law in the State of Israel
Shilo Shmuel
J. T. Tanenbaum Professor of Jewish Law Hebrew University of Jerusalem
November 3, 1993
Italy: A State and its Moral Crisis
Antonio DiPietro
Judge and renowned Prosecutor in Milan
January 20, 1993
Maastricht and the European Community’s New Constitutional Order
Sergio Ortino
Professor of Comparative Constitutional Law University of Bologna, Italy
March 6, 1992
Divining the Permanence of Racism
Derrick A. Bell
Weld Professor of Law, Harvard University
April 5, 1989
Putting Up and Putting Down: Rethinking Tolerance
Martha Minow
Professor of Law, Harvard University
March 28, 1988
Can Rights be Discretionary?
Neil MacCormick
Regius Professor of Public Law University of Edinburgh, Scotland
April 3, 1986
Frivolous Cases: Do Lawyers Know Anything At All
Sanford Levinson
Professor of Law, University of Texas, Austin
February 28, 1985
Wrongful Conception and the Right Not to be Harmed
Joel Feinberg
Professor of Philosophy, The University of Arizona
April 2, 1984
Whatever is Becoming of Analytical Jurisprudence?
J.M. Finnis
Fellow of University College and Reader in Law University of Oxford, England
April 20, 1983
Abraham and Socrates: Two Paradigms of Law and Justice
David Weisstub
Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School
April 15, 1981
Ethics and Equity: The Tyranny of Principles
Stephen Toulmin
Professor of Social Thought and Philosophy University of Chicago
April 16, 1980
The Moral Foundations of Private Law
Charles Fried
Professor of Law, Harvard University
February 2, 1979
Moral Discourse in the Practice of Law
Thomas Shaffer
Former Dean of Law, Notre Dame University
October 11, 1977