Israeli law
Israeli law is based mostly on a
History
The modern judicial system in Palestine, later the State of Israel, was established by a British senior judicial officer,
Britain, which in 1920 received a
On 14 May 1948 a Bill of Independence was signed as a manifesto for the new State of Israel. While it was drafted as a universal and democratic declaration expressing noble ideas prevalent at the time, it is non-binding, although it has occasionally been used as a guiding tool by the courts.
With the establishment of the Israeli 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 as part of the "Law and Administration Ordinance" published on 19 May 1948, four days after the Declaration of Independence.[5]
Some aspects of Turkish
Following 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 1929
During the 1960s there was a rush to codify much of the common law in areas of contracts and torts. The new laws blended 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, but its adoption through legislation is expected to take many years, if not decades.
As a result of "
Court system
The Israeli legal system is structured around three main levels of courts, operating in a hierarchical manner: the Magistrate Courts, the District Courts, and the Supreme Court.
The Magistrate Court (Beit Mishpat Hashalom) handles civil cases of less than 2.5 million
The District Court (Beit Mishpat Mehozi) serves as the court of first instance in a wide range of cases, including serious criminal offenses, civil claims for amounts exceeding 2.5 million
The
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 five district tribunals (Jerusalem, 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
The judges of the various courts are chosen by a committee comprising nine members: three Supreme Court Judges, two government ministers (one is the Minister of Justice), two members of the Knesset (one from the opposition), and two 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.
Current legislative proposals to alter the judicial system
The 2023 Israeli judicial reform is a proposed series of changes to the judicial system and the balance of powers in Israel put forward by the current Israeli government, and spearheaded by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Yariv Levin and the Chair of the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, Simcha Rothman. It seeks to curb the judiciary's influence over lawmaking and public policy by limiting the Supreme Court's power to exercise judicial review, granting the government control over judicial appointments and limiting the authority of government legal advisors. If adopted, the reform would grant the Knesset the power to override Supreme Court rulings by a majority of 61 or more votes, diminish the ability of the court to conduct judicial review of legislation and of administrative action, prohibit the court from ruling on the constitutionality of basic laws, and change the makeup of the Judicial Selection Committee so that a majority of its members are appointed by the government. The legislation is currently being considered by the Knesset and the relevant committees.
On September 12, 2023, Israel's High Court of Justice (Bagatz) conducted a pivotal session to evaluate the "reasonableness clause." This session led to the annulment of a specific amendment to the Basic Law: The Judiciary. This amendment had previously stipulated that the Court was barred from assessing the reasonableness of decisions made by the government, including those by the Prime Minister and other ministers. The majority ruling granted the High Court the authority to annul Basic Laws and intervene in extreme and exceptional cases where the Knesset exceeds its foundational authority. This decision sparked wide public and political reactions, with significant implications for Israel's democratic framework and the balance of power between its branches of government.
See also
References
- ^ ...WE DECLARE that, with effect from the moment of the termination of the Mandate being tonight, the eve of Sabbath, the 6th Iyar, 5708 (15th May, 1948), until the establishment of the elected, regular authorities of the State in accordance with the Constitution which shall be adopted by the Elected Constituent Assembly not later than the 1st October 1948
- ^ Slaughter, Anne-Marie. "The Real New Order," Foreign Affairs, 76.5(14):183-97.
- LLRX. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
- Jerusalem Post
- ^ Law and Administration Ordinance, 1948 – №1, Section 11
- ISBN 978-1-107-15652-4.
Bibliography
- Shimon Shetreet, Walter Homolka, Jewish and Israeli Law – An Introduction, De Gruyter Boston/Berlin 2017.
External links
- Israeli Law Guide
- 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)
- Contract Law of Israel