The legal system of Israel
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.
Legal tradition
Israel belongs to the mixed common law and civil law tradition. 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.
How power is divided
Unitary, with municipalities and regional councils exercising delegated powers. Different legal regimes apply in the West Bank, where military orders and Jordanian-derived law operate alongside Israeli law applied personally to settlers, and the atlas records that separately under Palestine rather than folding it into this entry.
Where law comes from
- Basic Laws
- Function as the constitution; two contain limitation clauses with supra-legislative effect.
- Knesset statutes
- Ordinary primary legislation, published in Reshumot.
- Judicial precedent
- Supreme Court decisions bind lower courts; the Court is not bound by its own.
- Codified private-law statutes
- Contracts, Sale, Agency, Unjust Enrichment and related Acts.
- Religious personal law
- Applied by rabbinical, sharia, druze and Christian courts by community.
The legal profession
A single fused profession of advocates admitted by the Israel Bar Association, which is a statutory body: membership is compulsory and it controls the bar examinations and the mandatory articles year. Israel has one of the highest ratios of lawyers to population in the world. Notarial functions are performed by senior advocates licensed as notaries rather than by a separate notariat, which distinguishes the system from its civil-law neighbours.
Law by topic in Israel
- Civil ProcedureMagistrates and District Courts with new Civil Procedure Regulations from 2021Civil claims are brought in the Magistrates' Courts or the District Courts according to value and subject matter, with appeal to the District Court or the Supreme Court. New Civil Procedure Regulations took effect on 1 January 2021, emphasising proportionality and active case management.
- Family LawReligious courts with exclusive jurisdiction over marriage and divorceMarriage and divorce are governed by the religious law of the parties' community and administered by religious courts — rabbinical, sharia, Druze and Christian ecclesiastical. There is no civil marriage in Israel, though marriages validly contracted abroad are registered.
- Constitutional LawBasic Laws in place of a single written constitutionIsrael has no single constitutional document. A series of Basic Laws, enacted since 1958, perform constitutional functions, and since the 1995 Bank Mizrahi decision the Supreme Court has asserted the power to review ordinary legislation for compatibility with the Basic Laws on human rights.
- Criminal LawThe Penal Law of 1977 with no jury and no death penalty in practiceThe Penal Law 5737-1977 is the principal substantive criminal statute, and the Criminal Procedure Law governs process. Trials are before professional judges without a jury. Capital punishment exists only for genocide and crimes against humanity and has been carried out once.
- Business & CorporateThe Companies Law 5759-1999 with strong minority protectionsThe Companies Law of 1999 replaced the Mandate-era Companies Ordinance and governs incorporation, governance and shareholder remedies. It is notable for strict rules on related-party transactions, mandatory external directors in public companies, and an accessible derivative action.
- Property & LandMost land is state-owned and held on long leaseApproximately 93 percent of land in Israel is owned by the state, the Jewish National Fund or the Development Authority, and is administered by the Israel Land Authority. What is transacted is usually a long lease, typically 49 or 98 years, rather than freehold.
- Employment & LabourProtective statutes enforced by a dedicated Labour Court systemEmployment rights derive from mandatory statutes including the Hours of Work and Rest Law, the Annual Leave Law and the Severance Pay Law, which cannot be contracted out of. A separate Labour Court system with regional courts and a National Labour Court has exclusive jurisdiction.
- Tax LawResidence-based taxation with a 23 percent corporate rateThe Income Tax Ordinance taxes residents on worldwide income and non-residents on Israeli-source income. Corporate tax is 23 percent, personal income tax is progressive to 47 percent with a surtax on high income, and VAT is 17 percent.
- Immigration & NationalityThe Law of Return alongside a restrictive general immigration regimeIsraeli immigration divides sharply. The Law of Return 1950 gives every Jew, and defined family members, the right to immigrate and acquire citizenship almost automatically. All other immigration is governed by the Entry into Israel Law 1952 and is comparatively restrictive.
Found something out of date on Israel?
Corrections are reviewed against the primary source before anything changes.