Israel · Courts
Court structure of Israel
Every tier of the judiciary, what it hears, and where an appeal goes next.
The hierarchy, top to bottom
- Apex — Supreme Court
- Civil and criminal appeals, and sitting as the High Court of Justice at first instance.
- Intermediate — District Courts
- Serious civil and criminal matters; appeals from magistrates' courts.
- First instance — Magistrates' Courts
- The bulk of civil claims and less serious offences.
- Specialist — Labour Courts, Family Courts, Administrative Affairs Courts
- Regional labour courts with a National Labour Court above them.
- Religious — Rabbinical, Sharia, Druze and Christian courts
- Exclusive jurisdiction over marriage and divorce of their communities.
Every court in the hierarchy
- supremeJerusalemSupreme Court of IsraelAppeals from the District Courts, and — sitting as the High Court of Justice — direct first-instance jurisdiction over petitions against state authorities, including the government, the military and administrative bodies.
- appellateJerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Be'er Sheva, Nazareth, LodDistrict Courts of IsraelFirst-instance jurisdiction over serious criminal offences, higher-value civil claims, company and insolvency matters, and appeals from the Magistrates' Courts.
- specialisedNationwideReligious CourtsExclusive jurisdiction over marriage and divorce of members of the recognised community, and concurrent jurisdiction with the Family Courts over related matters such as maintenance.
Found something out of date on Israel · Courts?
Corrections are reviewed against the primary source before anything changes.