Israeli law
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Israeli law is a mixed legal system reflecting the history of Israel of the last 100 years. It is a common law based system. An important source of Israeli law is the Mecelle (מג'לה) of the Ottoman (matrimonial and Real Estate Registration). Other important sources are religious law mostly Jewish law and also Muslim law; British common law; modern Israeli codification (torts and contracts) as enacted by the Knesset; International treaties voted by Knesset into local law; the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel which is a non binding manifesto. The Israeli courts have been influenced in recent years by United States Law and Canadian Law and to a lesser extent by Continental Law (mostly from Germany)[1].
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[edit] Historical perspective
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.
The British who were 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.
With the establishment of Israel in 1948, English law as it was on the date of independence remained binding, with post-1948 English law developments being persuasive and not binding.
Upon Independence, a Bill of Independence was signed as a manifesto for the new born 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.
Since independence, the young State of Israel was eager to gain recognition in the international arena by way of joining international treaties, and participating heavily in the negotiations of such international treaties. To the extent they were ratified and voted by the Knesset as a law, they are binding just like any other domestic law. For example, see the Warsaw convention.
During the 1960s last century, 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.
[edit] The Israeli Court System
The Shalom Court (named after the Justices of Peace in England) deal with civil of less than 2.5 million Sheqel but not disputes over the ownership of land and criminal cases of offences for which the maximum sentence is 7 years or less. Shalom Courts are to be found in most Israeli towns. The Shalom Court has 6 subdivisions. (1) The Juvenile Court deals with criminal offences 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 Sheqel where the parties are not legally represented. (4) "Hotsa'a Lapoal" is the bailiff's office for judgement debt collection. (5) The Traffic Court deals with all traffic offences. (6) The Court of Local Issues deals with all offences prosecuted by local authorities (parking tickets, planning violations etc).
The District Court ("Mehozi" in Hebrew) 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, Central (in Petah Tiqwa), Beer-Sheva, Haifa and Nazareth.
The Supreme Court ("Elyon" in Hebrew) 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 Court hears all cases where the parties are employer and employee, all cases against the National Insurance Institute and some other socially orientated matters.
There are also religious tribunals in Israel. Some specific legal matters in Israel 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. (Notably the small protestant community in Israel is not recognized and the Jewish community 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 male Orthodox rabbis. (Matters incidental to divorce, 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 compromised of 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. The composition of the committee is slightly different when it chooses Labour Court Judges or judges of the religious tribunals.
[edit] See also
- Legal systems of the world
- Basic laws of Israel
- Land and Property laws in Israel
- Prevention of Infiltration Law
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Basic Laws of the State of Israel from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- 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
