Photo by N. Alicia Byers Judicial discretion was the focus of the passage chosen by Ruth Levush, the Israeli senior legal specialist, from a book by the chief justice of Israel, Aharon Barak. It is the realization of certain fundamental values, such as basic human rights. In addition to reading from a translation, Ms. Palmer gave the audience a taste of how the Twelve Tables sound in the succinct Latin original. Basic elements of another major Western influence on law, the Greek legal heritage, were part of Theresa Papademetriou's reading. A rule is conventional that in the first instance may be settled in one way or the other indifferently, though having once been settled it is not indifferent.
Criminal justice plays a peculiar role in history.
The readings concluded with Kersi B. Shroff, senior legal specialist for the United Kingdom and other British-derived systems and currently the chief of the Law Library's Western Law Division. So much for the lawyers talking nonsense. Ms. Gawdiak is a writer-editor in the Law Library. The Library of Congress 101 Independence Ave.