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LawLegianceWorld Legal Atlas
New editioncountry guide

The Israel Legal System

A complete plain-language guide to State of Israel

4.7(1448 reviews)From $29
Edition
2026 Edition
Extent
2456 pages
Language
English
ISBN
978-1-0000-228-1

About this book

A structured tour of how law actually works in Israel — where it comes from, who makes it, which court hears what, and how an ordinary person or business interacts with the system. Written for readers with no legal training, with every institution named and every primary source cited so you can verify the position yourself. A mixed system with an unusual constitutional structure. The common-law inheritance came through the British Mandate — binding precedent, adversarial procedure, judicial development of doctrine — but since 1980 the Foundations of Law Act has directed courts to fill gaps from Israel's own heritage of freedom, justice, equity and peace rather than from English law. Private law has been progressively codified in civil-law style through separate statutes on contract, sale, agency and unjust enrichment. Personal status is governed by religious law and administered by the recognised communities' own courts: rabbinical courts for Jews, sharia courts for Muslims, and druze and Christian ecclesiastical courts.

What is inside

  • Full Israel court hierarchy explained tier by tier
  • Named regulators with contact routes and response times
  • Step-by-step procedures for the most common legal tasks
  • Every claim footnoted to an official primary source
  • Glossary of local legal terminology in plain English

Table of contents

5 parts · 18 chapters

Part I — Foundations

  1. 01The legal tradition
  2. 02Constitutional framework
  3. 03Sources of law

Part II — Institutions

  1. 01The court hierarchy
  2. 02Government and regulators
  3. 03Enforcement bodies
  4. 04The legal profession

Part III — Everyday Law

  1. 01Work and employment
  2. 02Housing and property
  3. 03Family and personal status
  4. 04Criminal process

Part IV — Doing Things

  1. 01Starting a business
  2. 02Immigration and residence
  3. 03Tax obligations
  4. 04Making a complaint

Part V — Reference

  1. 01Procedure checklists
  2. 02Glossary
  3. 03Official sources index

Who this is for

  • Residents and newcomers who need to understand their rights
  • Businesses entering or operating in the jurisdiction
  • Lawyers taking a first look at an unfamiliar system
  • Students of comparative law

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