Shneur-Zalman Feller at Eighty: A Tribute

Abstract

Today is a day of celebration for Israeli law. It is a celebration in honour of a man, Professor Feller, on his eightieth birthday, and a celebration in honour of a book,Elements of Criminal Law, upon the publication of its third volume.A story is told about Chief Justice Cullen of the New York Court of Appeals. It seems that when faced with a particularly hard case, after all the judges would express their views and no appropriate legal result would emerge, Judge Cullen would pound on the table and say: “Back to the books!” I shall therefore begin with the book.Nearly fifteen years have passed from the time Professor Feller began the project to its completion. But, in truth, the project began some three decades earlier, when he began to research and teach criminal law. The bookElements of Criminal Lawtransforms Israeli criminal law from a practical field — the domain of judges and lawyers — to a scientific discipline.