Q&A: The Right to Due Process
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
The Right to Due Process
Question
In the question below, the Rabbi was asked about punishing a person who violated basic morality even in the absence of a law:
https://mikyab.net/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA/%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%A7%D7%A4%D7%95-%D7%A9%D7%9C-%D7%94%D7%97%D7%95%D7%A7-%D7%94%D7%98%D7%91%D7%A2%D7%99/
The Rabbi wrote that he supports punishing “someone who deserves it” even without formal justification.
Is the Rabbi questioning the obligation of due process?
Do you think it is not worth preserving the integrity of the justice system even at the price of letting villains go free?
Answer
I definitely agree, but there is a limit. In sufficiently extreme cases (like the Nuremberg Trials), there is room for such exceptions. And that is indeed what was decided there.