Shneur-Zalman Feller was born in Botoşani, Romania in 1913. He completed his academic studies in 1936 at the Faculty of Law of Cuza University in Yaşi, Romania. In 1945, after fleeing from Romania during the Second World War, he returned to his hometown and worked as an attorney. He also served as chairperson of the Jewish community and as deputy mayor. In 1948 he was appointed an investigative judge in Bucharest, and he later served as the head of Romania’s Legislative Department. In 1963 the authorities approved his request to emigrate to Israel. In 1965 Feller joined the Faculty of Law of the Hebrew University, serving as dean in the years 1971-1974. He published a large number of books, articles, and case law comments in legal journals in Israel and around the world, and had a crucial influence over the drafting of amendment 39 to the penal code. Feller won many prizes for his legal work, including the Yoel Sussman Prize for Legal Research in 1984. He was awarded the Zeltner Prize in 1994 and the Israel Prize for Legal Research in 1994.

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