"The occasional flashes of insight and the unique perspectives of the participants make this book invaluable for students doing research on the judicial process."--"CHOICE"

"Fascinating, spirited, and unique. This unusual book offers fresh illumination about what judges do and why they do it."
--Cass R. Sunstein, University of Chicago

"The format suggests that one has been invited into a special, high-level conversation where we can glimpse the uncensored converstation of thoughtful and seasoned jurists."--"The Law and Politics Book Review"

Law, politics, and society in the modern West have been marked by the increasing power of the judge: the development of constitutional justice, the evolution of international judiciaries, and judicial systems that extend even further into social life. Judges make decisions that not only enforce the law, but also codify the values of our times.

In the summer of 2000, an esteemed group of judges and legal scholars met in Provence, France, to consider the role of the judge in modern society. They included Robert Badinter, former president of the Constitutional Council in France; Stephen Breyer, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States; Antonio Cassese, the first president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; Dieter Grimm, former vice president of the Constitutional Court of Germany; Gil Carlos Rodriguez, president of the Court of Justice of the European Union; and Ronald Dworkin, formerly of Oxford University, now professor of philosophy and law at the New York University Law School. What followed was an animated discussion ranging from the influence of the media on the judiciary to the development ofan international criminal law to the judge's consideration of the judge's own role. Judges in Contemporary Democracy offers a rare and intimate glimpse into the powers and the role of judges in today's society.

"A well-written, balanced historical study which examines all aspects of the gradual emancipation of France's Jews during the Revolution. Comprehensive and comprehensible, this study investigates the various political intrigues which determined the ebb and flow of Jewish expectations." -THE FRENCH REVIEW "Badinter's Free and Equal is an important contribution to the history of the Jews, French history and the history of human rights. It combines cogent analysis with a gripping narrative. Adam Simms' translation preserves the eloquence of the French original, and his introduction and explanatory footnotes provide the necessary context to make this work accessible to a broad audience of Anglophone readers." -Ronald Schechter, Professor of History, The College of William and Mary, and author of Obstinate Hebrews: Representations of Jews in France, 1715-1815 "This splendid translation explores the origins and evolution of the momentous proclamation of September 27, 1791, that all Jews in France were full citizens. On that date, there was no other country in Europe where Jews were acknowledged by law to enjoy the rights equal to other citizens." -Thomas Bird, Professor of European Languages and Literatures, Queens College, City University of New York "One of the world's most notable jurists offers in these pages a deeply informed and original view of one of history's most important-and controversial-moments, the emancipation of the Jews by revolutionary France in 1789-1791." -Lynn Hunt, Eugen Weber Professor of Modern European History, UCLA, and author of Inventing Human Rights: A History