Q&A: The King’s Law versus Secular Courts
The King’s Law versus Secular Courts
Question
Hello Rabbi,
For someone who accepts the view of the Ran, that alongside the religious courts that operate according to Jewish law there should be a system of courts for the king’s law: what is the meaning of the prohibition against going to secular courts? If the legal system is decent and its purpose is social order, then that is the king’s law in every respect. If so, in what situation does the prohibition against going to secular courts have any meaning? Doesn’t the Ran’s approach empty that prohibition of content? Is it possible that in his view the whole issue of secular courts concerns judges who are not authorized to judge, and is not related to the content of the law itself (whether it is halakhic or not)?
Answer
Good question. I think the prohibition against secular courts refers to a legal system that does not draw its authority from the Torah. The king’s law does draw from it. I don’t think this disqualifies particular judges, because there are no rules for appointing judges in the king’s law. Those rules deal with judges in the regular religious courts. The issue is the source of the system’s authority and whether it takes Torah law into account, meaning whether it understands that it is not the only player on the field.