Ambassador Richard Jones
Proposes Toasts to
President Aharon Barak, Supreme Court of Israel,
Justice Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court of the United States
and
Minister Tzipi Livni, Minister of Foreign Affairs
at a Dinner in Celebration of
50 th Anniversary Fulbright Israel/USIEF
David Citadel Hotel, Jerusalem
Sunday, January 29, 2006

President John Adams, a co-drafter of the Declaration of Independence, wrote in 1776 in his Thoughts on Government, “a republic is an empire of laws, and not of men.” Tonight

Ambassador Richard Jones, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tzipi Livni (left), and President of the Israel Supreme Court, Aharon Barak, following toast at dinner in celebration of Fulbright Israel's 50th anniversary, January 29, 2006.

I am seated with two guardians of their respective “empires of law." These honorable justices and their colleagues on the bench have ultimate responsibility for ensuring that our governments respect the rule of law and treat each and every citizen equally under the law.

A Supreme Court appointment has not always been viewed as an honor. The first chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, John Jay, resigned his seat to become governor of his home state, New York. When John Adams asked him to return to the Court in 1800, Jay declined, observing that the Supreme Court lacked “energy, weight, and dignity.”

Evidently, Jay was not alone in his opinion. Five of the first 12 men to serve on the Court resigned. During its first decade, three other nominees declined either appointment to the Court or promotion to chief justice.

 

This all changed in 1803, when the court issued its landmark Marbury vs. Madison

President Aharon Barak, Israel Supreme Court, provides one of the keynote addresses at the Fulbright Israel's 50th anniversary symposium entitled "International Influences on National Legal Systems," held at Hebrew University, January 29, 2006.

decision establishing judicial review, and the Court’s independence from the other branches of government. Ever since, the United States Supreme Court has enjoyed great prestige and authority in American law and politics.

Chief Justice Marshall, who wrote the opinion in Marbury vs. Madison, expanded on John Adams’s comment saying that “t he government of the United States has been emphatically termed a government of laws and not of men. It will certainly cease to deserve this high appellation, if the laws furnish no remedy for the violation of a vested legal right.”

I would like to propose a toast to President Barak and Justice Scalia as guardians of this “vested legal right,” and to all our distinguished symposium speakers, whom we are delighted to honor at this dinner in celebration of Fulbright Israel’s 50 th Anniversary.

If Senator Fulbright -- himself a student and instructor of law before he became a legislator and defender of the rule of law -- were among us tonight, I am sure he would be extremely proud that the program he started could after more than 50 years bring together such a distinguished group half way around the worrld from where it began. We look forward to the next 50 years of US-Israel Fulbright exchanges. L’chayim.

 

 

United States Ambassador Richard Jones provides welcoming remarks at Fulbright Israel's 50th anniversary symposium entitled "International Influences on National Legal Systems," held at Hebrew University, January 29, 2006. Neal Sherman, Executive Director of the United States Israel Educational Foundation/Fulbright Israel, moderated the greetings.

I would also like to propose a toast to Israel’s Justice Minister and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, another guardian of Israel’s “empire of laws.” The fact that Minister Livni is here tonight, despite her extremely busy schedule, to celebrate the 50 th anniversary of the Fulbright program in Israel says a lot. Her presence here tonight is a reflection of the importance of the Fulbright programs and exchanges in advancing mutual understanding between our two nations as well as the relevance of those programs in strengthening U.S.-Israel bilateral relations. L’chayim.

Link to Ambassador Richard Jones - Prepared Remarks Fulbright Israel/USIEF 50th Anniversary Symposium"International Influences on National Legal Systems"

 

 

 

 

 

Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Antonin Scalia, provides his keynote address at the Fulbright Israel's 50th anniversary symposium entitled "International Influences on National Legal Systems," held at Hebrew University, January 29, 2006.

Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Antonin Scalia, provides his keynote address at the Fulbright Israel's 50th anniversary symposium entitled "International Influences on National Legal Systems," held at Hebrew University, January 29, 2006. The other keynote addressees, President Aharon Barak, Israel Supreme Court (left), Professor Ruth Gavison, Law Faculty of Hebrew University, and moderator, Professor Claude Klein, Academic College of Law, Ramat Gan.

Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Antonin Scalia, provides his keynote address at the Fulbright Israel's 50th anniversary symposium entitled "International Influences on National Legal Systems," held at Hebrew University, January 29, 2006.

Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Antonin Scalia, provides his keynote address at the Fulbright Israel's 50th anniversary symposium entitled "International Influences on National Legal Systems," held at Hebrew University, January 29, 2006.