Despite the name, the classical "semikhah" did not actually require a literal laying on of hands; the operative part of the ceremony consisted of a court of three, at least one of whom himself had "semikhah", conferring the authority on the recipient. Both the givers and the recipient had to be in the Land of Israel, but they did not have to be in the same place. In the Mishnaic era it became the law that only someone who had "semikhah" could give religious and legal decisions.