Interest Groups in the Israeli High Court of Justice: Measuring Success in Litigation and in Out-of-Court Settlements

The question of whether and to what extent interest groups are more successful than other parties in litigation is the subject of many debates among social scientists. Previous works in the field concentrated on checking outcomes of cases that were disposed of by courts in officially published final decisions. We sought to analyze not only final court decisions but also the outcomes of out-of-court settlements. Drawing from Marc Galanter's hypothesis that groups, especially those who are "repeat players," are likely to use out-of-court settlements more often and more efficiently than other litigants (Galanter 1974), we measured actual case outcomes of petitions brought before the Israeli High Court of Justice. We found that groups in general, and "repeat player" groups in particular, achieved a success rate significantly higher than other litigants. We also found that the relative advantage of groups in litigation is the result of their ability to reach out-of-court settlements with government agencies.     

Badges of Modern Slavery

Notwithstanding the 19^th century formal abolition of slavery as legal ownership of people, modern slavery and forced labour have not been consigned to the past. In fact, their existence is more widespread, and made more difficult to tackle due to the lack of formal, legal criteria. This article suggests that reference to historical institutions reveals seven ‘badges of slavery’ that are helpful in identifying occurrences of modern slavery and forced labour. These are: humiliation, ownership of people, exploitation of the vulnerable, lack of consent, terms and conditions of employment, limits on the power to end the employment relationship, and denial of rights outside the work relationship. These constitute modern slavery, and distinguish it from other instances of exploitative employment relations, however problematic. In addition, even where the label of modern slavery is misplaced, the identification of particular badges of slavery in contemporary employment relations may assist in highlighting their troubling facets.     

Competing brothers: The web of Hamas‐PLO relations

This article deals with Hamas’ ideological and political dilemmas between the years 1988 and 1995, which include the contradiction between Hamas particularism as a Palestinian national movement and the universalism of its Islamic message; the divergence between its perception of itself as a political movement and the lack of political flexibility in its Charter; and the nature of its relationship with the PLO. The article analyzes three modes of political action developed by Hamas: competing with the PLO, preventing the outbreak of Arab civil war and opening formal communication channels with the PLO in order to discuss basic disagreements. Finally, the author shows how the implementation of the PLO‐Israeli accords altered Hamas‐PLO relations. No longer a competition among ostensible equals, their relationship became one of a ruling authority versus an opposition group.     

Skull Fracture with Brain Expulsion in a One-Level Jumping-Fall

Abstract:  Here presented is the case of a one-level jumping-fall with extensive skull fractures and brain expulsion. The body was found on the basement floor at the foot of the stairs. At the autopsy, the skull was extensively fractured, with about half of the brain expulsed several feet away from the body. The cause of death was established as a craniocerebral trauma with brain expulsion. The circumstances and manner of death were still unclear at that time. A low fall seemed very unlikely considering the severity of the skull and brain damage. The police investigation clearly revealed that the man, in a paranoid psychotic state, attacked his wife with a knife and then was witnessed by his children to have hit his head several times with a hammer. Afterwards, they saw him running to the top of the basement stairs and jumping to the bottom of the stairs head first.