Israeli law
Encyclopedia
Israeli law is a mixed legal system reflecting the diverse history of the territory of the State of Israel throughout the last hundred years (which was at various times prior to independence under Ottoman
, then British sovereignty), as well as the legal systems of its major religious communities
. The Israeli legal system is based in common law
, which also incorporates facets of civil law
. Like the United Kingdom
, Israel does not have a formal Constitution
, despite the assertion in the Israeli Declaration of Independence that one would be written. Statutes enacted by the Knesset
, particularly the Basic Laws of Israel
(Hebrew language
: חוקי היסוד, ḥŭḳḳēi ha-yyǝsōd), provide a framework which is enriched by political precedent
and jurisprudence
. Foreign and historical influences on modern-day Israeli law are varied and include the Mecelle
(Hebrew
: מג'לה; the civil code of the Ottoman Empire
) and German civil law
, religious law (Jewish Halakha
and Muslim Sharia
; mostly pertaining in the area of family law
), and British
common law
. The Israeli courts have been influenced in recent years by American Law
and Canadian Law and to a lesser extent by Continental Law (mostly from Germany
).
Britain, which was given a League of Nations mandate to govern Palestine, implemented the Common Law system, except for the jury system. Legal precedents in torts and contracts were borrowed from England, and certain legal areas were codified in order to assure legal certainty
. Thus the Penal Code in Israel was practically the same as those used by the British in India
or other colonies and territories.
Upon Independence, a Bill of Independence was signed as a manifesto for the new State. While it was drafted as a universal and democratic declaration capturing noble ideas prevalent at the time, it is non-binding, although has occasionally been used as a guiding tool by the courts.
With the establishment of the state, English law as it was on the date of independence remained binding, with post-1948 English law developments being persuasive and not binding. This was enabled by the first legislative act of the Provisional State Council
, which enacted a reception statute
– the "Governance and Law Order," published on 19 May 1948, four days following the Declaration of Independence.
Since independence the young State of Israel was eager to gain recognition in the international arena by joining international treaties, and participating heavily in the negotiations of international treaties, e.g., the Warsaw convention
.
During the 1960s there was a rush to codify much of the Common Law in areas of contracts and torts. The new laws were a blend of Common Law, local case law, and fresh ideas. In 1977 the Knesset codified the penal code. Since the 1990s the Israeli Ministry of Justice, together with leading jurists, has been laboring on a complete recodification of all laws pertaining to civil matters. This new proposed civil codex was introduced in 2006, however, its adoption through legislation is expected to take many years, if not decades. This would further slant the Israeli legal system away from the Common Law and towards the Civil Law model. Nevertheless, important historical influences of the Common Law such as the adversarial system
and continued significance accorded to precedent
will remain.
s, but not disputes over the ownership of land and criminal cases in which the maximum sentence is 7 years or more. Shalom Courts are to be found in most Israeli towns. The Shalom Court has 6 subdivisions. (1) The Juvenile Court deals with criminal offenses committed by people who were not 18 on the date of prosecution and some issues relating to the removal of children from parental custody. (2) The Family Court deals with all civil cases where the parties are close family members. (3) The Small Claims Court deals with cases of less than 30 thousand shekels. (4) "Hotsa'a Lapoal" is the bailiff's office for judgment debt collection. (5) The Traffic Court deals with all traffic offenses. (6) The Court of Local Issues deals with all offenses prosecuted by local authorities (parking tickets, planning violations etc.).
The District Court (Beit Mishpat Mehozi) deals with all civil and criminal matters not under the jurisdiction of the Shalom Court including disputes over the ownership of land. This court also has jurisdiction over most administrative cases. This court also hears appeals from the Shalom Court. There are 6 District Courts: Jerusalem (also has extra jurisdiction of extra territorial matters), Tel Aviv
, Haifa
, Center (in Petah Tiqwa), South (in Beer-Sheva), and North (in Nazareth
).
The Israeli Supreme Court (Beit Mishpat Elyon) mostly hears appeals from the District Court but also sits as the High Court of Justice and as such hears administrative cases not under the jurisdiction of the District Courts. Many political cases and cases of international interest are heard by the Supreme Court sitting as the High Court of Justice.
The Labour Tribunals (Batei Ha'din Le'avoda) hears all cases where the parties are employer and employee, all cases against the National Insurance Institute and some other socially oriented matters. it is an independent system composed of 5 district tribunals (Jeruslem, Tel-Aviv, Haifa, South and North) and one national tribunal in Jerusalem (Beit Ha'din Ha'artzi).
There are also religious tribunals in Israel. Some specific legal matters in Israel (e.g., matters of personal status such as marriage and divorce
) come under the jurisdiction of the religious tribunal system. There is a list of legally recognized religious communities: Jewish, Muslim
, Greek Orthodox Christian, Catholic Christian etc. The small Protestant Christian community in Israel is not recognized; the Jewish community for this purpose does not include the non-Orthodox denominations, Reform and Conservative. Each religious community has its own religious court. For example, Jewish weddings are sanctioned only by the local Religious Council, and divorces of Jews are handled exclusively by the Rabbinical Courts. The judges (dayanim) of the Jewish Rabbinical Courts are all Orthodox rabbis. (Matters incidental to divorce such as distribution of property, child custody etc. are dealt with in the Family Courts, but the personal law of the parties will be applied.)
The judges of the various courts are chosen by a committee comprising 9 members: 3 Supreme Court Judges, 2 government ministers (one is the Minister of Justice), 2 members of the Knesset (one from the opposition), and 2 representatives of the Israel Bar Association
The composition of the committee is slightly different when it chooses Labour Court Judges or judges of the religious tribunals.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, then British sovereignty), as well as the legal systems of its major religious communities
Religion in Israel
Religion in Israel is a central feature of the country and plays a major role in shaping Israeli culture and lifestyle, and religion has played a central role in Israel's history. Israel is also the only country in the world where a majority of citizens are Jewish...
. The Israeli legal system is based in common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
, which also incorporates facets of civil law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
. Like the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Israel does not have a formal Constitution
Unwritten constitution
An uncodified or unwritten constitution is a constitution in which no single, formal document delineates the powers of a government, and the limits thereof...
, despite the assertion in the Israeli Declaration of Independence that one would be written. Statutes enacted by the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
, particularly the Basic Laws of Israel
Basic Laws of Israel
The Basic Laws of Israel are a key component of Israel's constitutional law. These laws deal with the formation and role of the principal state's institutions, and the relations between the state's authorities. Some of them also protect civil rights...
(Hebrew language
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
: חוקי היסוד, ḥŭḳḳēi ha-yyǝsōd), provide a framework which is enriched by political precedent
Precedent
In common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a principle or rule established in a legal case that a court or other judicial body may apply when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts...
and jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
. Foreign and historical influences on modern-day Israeli law are varied and include the Mecelle
Mecelle
The Mecelle code was the civil code of the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
(Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
: מג'לה; the civil code of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
) and German civil law
Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch
The Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch is the civil code of Germany. In development since 1881, it became effective on January 1, 1900, and was considered a massive and groundbreaking project....
, religious law (Jewish Halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
and Muslim Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
; mostly pertaining in the area of family law
Family law
Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:*the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;...
), and British
Law of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has three legal systems. English law, which applies in England and Wales, and Northern Ireland law, which applies in Northern Ireland, are based on common-law principles. Scots law, which applies in Scotland, is a pluralistic system based on civil-law principles, with common law...
common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
. The Israeli courts have been influenced in recent years by American Law
Law of the United States
The law of the United States consists of many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States...
and Canadian Law and to a lesser extent by Continental Law (mostly from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
).
History
Some aspects of Turkish Ottoman law remain until today, such as placing personal status and marriage law in the hands of the religious courts. Also the Turks adopted the Napoleonic Land Registration system, through a successive Block and Lot entries. Many Turkish land laws remain in force.Britain, which was given a League of Nations mandate to govern Palestine, implemented the Common Law system, except for the jury system. Legal precedents in torts and contracts were borrowed from England, and certain legal areas were codified in order to assure legal certainty
Legal certainty
Legal certainty is a principle in national and international law which holds that the law must provide those subject to it with the ability to regulate their conduct. Legal certainty is internationally recognised as a central requirement for the rule of law....
. Thus the Penal Code in Israel was practically the same as those used by the British in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
or other colonies and territories.
Upon Independence, a Bill of Independence was signed as a manifesto for the new State. While it was drafted as a universal and democratic declaration capturing noble ideas prevalent at the time, it is non-binding, although has occasionally been used as a guiding tool by the courts.
With the establishment of the state, English law as it was on the date of independence remained binding, with post-1948 English law developments being persuasive and not binding. This was enabled by the first legislative act of the Provisional State Council
Provisional State Council
The Provisional State Council was the temporary legislature of Israel from shortly before independence until the election of the first Knesset in January 1949...
, which enacted a reception statute
Reception statute
A reception statute is a statutory law adopted as a former British colony becomes independent, by which the new nation adopts pre-independence English law, to the extent not explicitly rejected by the legislative body or constitution of the new nation...
– the "Governance and Law Order," published on 19 May 1948, four days following the Declaration of Independence.
Since independence the young State of Israel was eager to gain recognition in the international arena by joining international treaties, and participating heavily in the negotiations of international treaties, e.g., the Warsaw convention
Warsaw Convention
The Warsaw Convention is an international convention which regulates liability for international carriage of persons, luggage or goods performed by aircraft for reward....
.
During the 1960s there was a rush to codify much of the Common Law in areas of contracts and torts. The new laws were a blend of Common Law, local case law, and fresh ideas. In 1977 the Knesset codified the penal code. Since the 1990s the Israeli Ministry of Justice, together with leading jurists, has been laboring on a complete recodification of all laws pertaining to civil matters. This new proposed civil codex was introduced in 2006, however, its adoption through legislation is expected to take many years, if not decades. This would further slant the Israeli legal system away from the Common Law and towards the Civil Law model. Nevertheless, important historical influences of the Common Law such as the adversarial system
Adversarial system
The adversarial system is a legal system where two advocates represent their parties' positions before an impartial person or group of people, usually a jury or judge, who attempt to determine the truth of the case...
and continued significance accorded to precedent
Precedent
In common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a principle or rule established in a legal case that a court or other judicial body may apply when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts...
will remain.
Israeli court system
The Shalom Court (Beit Mishpat HaShalom) handles civil cases of less than 2.5 million shekelShekel
Shekel , is any of several ancient units of weight or of currency. The first usage is from Mesopotamia around 3000 BC. Initially, it may have referred to a weight of barley...
s, but not disputes over the ownership of land and criminal cases in which the maximum sentence is 7 years or more. Shalom Courts are to be found in most Israeli towns. The Shalom Court has 6 subdivisions. (1) The Juvenile Court deals with criminal offenses committed by people who were not 18 on the date of prosecution and some issues relating to the removal of children from parental custody. (2) The Family Court deals with all civil cases where the parties are close family members. (3) The Small Claims Court deals with cases of less than 30 thousand shekels. (4) "Hotsa'a Lapoal" is the bailiff's office for judgment debt collection. (5) The Traffic Court deals with all traffic offenses. (6) The Court of Local Issues deals with all offenses prosecuted by local authorities (parking tickets, planning violations etc.).
The District Court (Beit Mishpat Mehozi) deals with all civil and criminal matters not under the jurisdiction of the Shalom Court including disputes over the ownership of land. This court also has jurisdiction over most administrative cases. This court also hears appeals from the Shalom Court. There are 6 District Courts: Jerusalem (also has extra jurisdiction of extra territorial matters), Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
, Center (in Petah Tiqwa), South (in Beer-Sheva), and North (in Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
).
The Israeli Supreme Court (Beit Mishpat Elyon) mostly hears appeals from the District Court but also sits as the High Court of Justice and as such hears administrative cases not under the jurisdiction of the District Courts. Many political cases and cases of international interest are heard by the Supreme Court sitting as the High Court of Justice.
The Labour Tribunals (Batei Ha'din Le'avoda) hears all cases where the parties are employer and employee, all cases against the National Insurance Institute and some other socially oriented matters. it is an independent system composed of 5 district tribunals (Jeruslem, Tel-Aviv, Haifa, South and North) and one national tribunal in Jerusalem (Beit Ha'din Ha'artzi).
There are also religious tribunals in Israel. Some specific legal matters in Israel (e.g., matters of personal status such as marriage and divorce
Marriage in Israel
Marriages in Israel can only be performed under the auspices of the religious community to which couples belong. Matrimonial law is based on the Millet or confessional community system employed in the Ottoman Empire, which was not modified during the British Mandate and remains in force in the...
) come under the jurisdiction of the religious tribunal system. There is a list of legally recognized religious communities: Jewish, Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
, Greek Orthodox Christian, Catholic Christian etc. The small Protestant Christian community in Israel is not recognized; the Jewish community for this purpose does not include the non-Orthodox denominations, Reform and Conservative. Each religious community has its own religious court. For example, Jewish weddings are sanctioned only by the local Religious Council, and divorces of Jews are handled exclusively by the Rabbinical Courts. The judges (dayanim) of the Jewish Rabbinical Courts are all Orthodox rabbis. (Matters incidental to divorce such as distribution of property, child custody etc. are dealt with in the Family Courts, but the personal law of the parties will be applied.)
The judges of the various courts are chosen by a committee comprising 9 members: 3 Supreme Court Judges, 2 government ministers (one is the Minister of Justice), 2 members of the Knesset (one from the opposition), and 2 representatives of the Israel Bar Association
Israel Bar Association
The Israel Bar Association is the bar association for all Israeli lawyers.The Israel Bar is organized as a corporation, with a Central Committee, a National Assembly and five districts. Membership is mandatory for lawyers licensed in Israel. The top positions are filled by elections held every...
The composition of the committee is slightly different when it chooses Labour Court Judges or judges of the religious tribunals.
See also
- Legal systems of the worldLegal systems of the worldThe legal systems of the world today are generally based on one of three basic systems: civil law, common law, and religious law – or combinations of these...
- Basic laws of IsraelBasic Laws of IsraelThe Basic Laws of Israel are a key component of Israel's constitutional law. These laws deal with the formation and role of the principal state's institutions, and the relations between the state's authorities. Some of them also protect civil rights...
- Land and Property laws in IsraelLand and Property Laws in IsraelLand and property laws in Israel provide a legal framework which governs land and property issues in Israel. At its establishment, Israel continued to apply the pre-existing Ottoman and British land law...
- Prevention of Infiltration LawPrevention of Infiltration LawThe Prevention of Infiltration Law is an Israeli law enacted in 1954, which defines offenses of armed and non-armed infiltration to Israel and from Israel to hostile neighboring countries...
External links
- Basic Laws of the State of Israel from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- The Judiciary
- The Bar of Israel
- The Courts of Israel (Judicial branch of Israel)
- The Knesset (Legislative branch of Israel)
- Israeli Ministry of Justice (Executive branch body responsible for the judicial branch of Israel)
- Regularly updating articles on law in Israel
- Selection of articles for legal consumers in Israel