"And these are the laws that you shall place before them" (Shemos 21, 1). Rashi asks why the Torah felt it pertinent to enumerate the many halachos of parshas Mishpatim right after the commandment regarding the building of the mizbeiach. He answers that we are to infer from the juxtaposition that the Sanhedrin (high court) should be situated right next to the mizbeiach i.e. in the Beis Hamikdosh.

Rav Wolbe (Shiurei Chumash Parshas Mishpatim) notes that in every court of law, the seal of its country is displayed prominently. The reason is that the court judges with the backing of their ruler or in accordance with the laws of the country. In a similar vein, the laws of the Torah are the symbol of Hashem's Kingship. Yet, "The laws of Hashem are true, altogether righteous" (Tehillim 19, 10). There is no legal system in the world that pretends that all its laws are true and completely objective. Rather, they are merely a group of guidelines that were laid down by agreement of the general populace in accordance with their needs. However, the laws of the Torah did not originate from our own mutual agreement; they are Hashem's commandments, and therefore absolute truth. The Sanhedrin is located in the "house of Hashem" because they represent His laws – laws that are true in the purest sense of the word. It is for this reason that one who goes to a gentile court of law instead of a Jewish court has desecrated Hashem's name. As Rashi tells us, "And these are the laws that you shall place before them" - and not before the courts of gentiles. Even if one knows that the gentiles rule similarly on a specific matter, he who brings his case before the court of gentiles has desecrated the Name of Hashem.

The Mashgiach asserts that there is yet another reason why the Sanhedrin was situated next to the mizbeiach. It is not possible to separate one's avodas Hashem (represented by the sacrifices offered on the altar) from the way he acts between himself and his fellow man (represented by the Sanhedrin). For one to be meticulous in his observance of the mitzvos between man and Hashem, while derelict in his observance of the mitzvos between man and his fellow man, is antithetical to the Torah way of life.

 Rav Yisroel Salanter zt"l, the famed founder of the Mussar Movement, passed away during the week that parshas Mishpatim is read. The ba'alei mussar stated that it was because he spent his life trying to restore the laws dealing with man and his fellow man to their appropriate status, that he merited passing away during the time in which we read the portion of the Torah that deals with these very laws. One of the most basic foundations of mussar is that one should be meticulous with the laws of Choshen Mishpat (monetary matters) as he is with the laws of Orach Chaim (daily living i.e. mitzvos bein adom lamakom). Are we as careful in our dealings with our fellow man as we are in our dealings with Hashem?