Israeli law is based mostly on a

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

legal system, though it also reflects the diverse

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

of the territory of the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

throughout the last hundred years (which was at various times prior to independence under Ottoman, then

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

sovereignty), as well as the legal systems of its major religious communities. The Israeli legal system is based on

, which also incorporates facets of civil law. The

Israeli Declaration of Independence The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 (5 Iyar 5708), at the end of the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war phase and ...

asserted that a formal

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

would be written, though it has been continuously postponed since 1950. Instead, the

Basic Laws of Israel The Basic Laws of Israel () are fourteen quasi-constitutional laws of the Israel, State of Israel, some of which can only be changed by a supermajority vote in the Knesset (with varying requirements for different Basic Laws and sections). Many of ...

() function as the country's

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

s. Statutes enacted by the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

, particularly the Basic Laws, provide a framework which is enriched by political

precedent Precedent is a judicial decision that serves as an authority for courts when deciding subsequent identical or similar cases. Fundamental to common law legal systems, precedent operates under the principle of ''stare decisis'' ("to stand by thin ...

and

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

. Foreign and historical influences on modern-day Israeli law are varied and include the

Mecelle The Mecelle-i Ahkâm-ı Adliye (), or the Mecelle in short, was the civil code of the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th and early 20th century. It is the first Codification (law), codification of Sharia law by an Islamic nation. Name The Ottoman ...

(; the civil code of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

) and German civil law, religious law (Jewish

Halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

and Muslim

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

; mostly pertaining in the area of

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

), and

common law. The Israeli courts have been influenced in recent years by

American Law The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the supreme law is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as v ...

and

Canadian Law The legal system of Canada is pluralist: its foundations lie in the English common law system (inherited from its period as a colony of the British Empire), the French civil law system (inherited from its French Empire past), and Indigenous ...

and to a lesser extent by

Continental Law Civil law is a legal system rooted in the Roman Empire and was comprehensively codified and disseminated starting in the 19th century, most notably with France's Napoleonic Code (1804) and Germany's (1900). Unlike common law systems, which re ...

(mostly from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

History

The core of Israeli law derives from the common law legal system established by the British in the territories they captured during the

Palestine Campaign The Sinai and Palestine campaign was part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, taking place between January 1915 and October 1918. The British Empire, the French Third Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy fought alongside the Arab Revolt ...

of 1918. This legal system was established by senior judicial officer,

Orme Bigland Clarke Orme Bigland Clarke, 4th Baronet (8 October 1880 in Calcutta, India – 31 March 1949) was a British lawyer and military officer. Biography He was the son of Frederick Clarke, second son of Sir Charles Clarke, 2nd Baronet, and Adelaide Catherine ...

, who was appointed by General

Edmund Allenby Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was a senior British Army Officer (armed forces), officer and imperial governor. He fought in the Second Boer ...

in 1918. This legal system continued to operate during the British military administration of Palestine (1917–20) and the civilian government of

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

, which operated under the Constitution of Mandatory Palestine, as enacted through a British

Order in Council An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom, this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' ...

. This common-law system derived from

English law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

, with certain modifications such as the absence of jury trials. Other aspects of the law were codified, such as the

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

, which was practically the same as the

criminal code A criminal code or penal code is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

used in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

and various other British colonies. On 14 May 1948 the

was signed, declaring the creation of the new State of Israel. This declaration includes a list of principles of the new state: However, the declaration is not a constitution and the principles outlined have been held to not be legally binding directly by

Israeli Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...

. Instead, the declaration is seen as a outlining the principles of the Israeli state that are to be taken into account by judges when interpreting legislation or the common law. For example, in ''Movement for Quality Government in Israel v. The Knesset'' (2024), president Esther Hayut stated "In my view, the Declaration of Independence, the Basic laws, and the statutes enacted by the Knesset over the years, as well as the case law of this Court, clearly inform us that the identity of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state cannot be questioned – not even by the constituent authority." The existing British common law as used within Mandatory Palestine at the date of independence remained binding; however it became subject to modification by Israeli judges in developing case law and legislation passed by the Knesset. This reception of existing law was enabled the first legislative act of the Provisional State Council, which enacted a

reception statute A reception statute is a statutory law adopted as a former British colony becomes independent by which the new nation adopts, or receives, the English common law (and in some cases the statute law) before its independence to the extent not explicit ...

as part of the "Law and Administration Ordinance" published on 19 May 1948, four days after the Declaration of Independence. Some aspects of Turkish

Ottoman law The Ottoman Empire was governed by different sets of laws during its existence. The '' Qanun'', sultanic law, co-existed with religious law (mainly the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence). Legal administration in the Ottoman Empire was part ...

still remain operational , such as placing personal status and

marriage law Marriage law is the body of legal specifications and requirements and other laws that regulate the initiation, continuation, and validity of marriages, an aspect of family law, that determine the validity of a marriage, and which vary consider ...

in the hands of religious courts. Also the Turks had adopted a Napoleonic-style land-registration system, by documenting land ownership through a sequence of "block and lot entries" to manage and record land ownership. Many Turkish land laws remain in force. 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 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 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 Enclave law, large portions of Israeli law apply in

Israeli settlements Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Jewish identity or ethnicity, and hav ...

and to Israeli residents in the occupied territories.

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 shekels, excluding disputes over the ownership of land, as well as criminal cases in which the maximum sentence is 7 years. Magistrate Courts are found in most Israeli towns. The Magistrate 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 bailiffs 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'') 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 shekels, real estate ownership disputes, and specific issues determined by law. It has jurisdiction over most administrative cases and hears appeals from the Magistrate Court. There are six courts, one in each of Israel's districts:

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

(also has extra jurisdiction of extra territorial matters),

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

, Center (in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

), South (in Beer-Sheva), and North (in

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

).יורש מסרב למכור דירה
/ref> The

(''Beit Mishpat Elyon'') mostly hears appeals from the District Court but also sits as the High Court of Justice (Bagatz), with the authority to review petitions against state authorities, other bodies, or individuals holding public positions. It can adjudicate on any matter it deems necessary for justice, especially those outside the jurisdiction of other courts or tribunals. 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 marriage and divorce) come under the jurisdiction of the religious tribunal system. There is a list of legally recognized religious communities:

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Greek Orthodox Christian Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Roma ...

, Catholic Christian etc. The small

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Christian community in Israel is not recognized; the Jewish community for this purpose does not include the non-Orthodox denominations,

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

. 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. The Family Court holds parallel authority over matters incidental to divorce, such as property distribution and child custody, enabling both the family and rabbinical courts to address these issues, contingent on the preferences of the couple or individual involved. 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 Israel Bar Association (; IBA) is the bar association for all Israeli lawyers. History The Israel Bar Association was established by The Bar Association Law, 1961. The law went into effect in March 1962. The Association is organized as a cor ...

. 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 A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

and

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Yariv Levin and the Chair of the

'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 In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

's power to exercise

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

, 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 12 September 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.

References

Bibliography

* Shimon Shetreet, Walter Homolka, ''Jewish and Israeli Law – An Introduction'', De Gruyter Boston/Berlin 2017.

External links