Israel Legal Profile

Israel has a mixed legal system of English common law, British Mandate era regulations and Jewish, Christian and Islamic religious law. Israel has no formal constitution but the functions of a constitution are fulfilled by the Declaration of Establishment, which established the twelve Basic Laws.[1] These are entitled, respectively: The Knesset, Israel Lands, The President of the State, the Government, The State Economy, The Army, Jerusalem the Capital of Israel, The Judiciary, The State Comptroller, Freedom of Occupation, Human Dignity and Liberty, and Referendum.

The superiority of the Basic Laws is questioned as they are a product of the of the Knesset acting as a Constituent Assembly. Nevertheless, according to judicial interpretations, Basic Law: Human Dignity and Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation hold the highest normative status.[2] Otherwise, legislation holds the highest status.

Legislation appears in three forms. Primary legislation are the statutes of the Knesset, secondary legislation is formed by regulations and by-laws. Emergency legislation forms the third form.

Basic Law: The Judiciary establishes three hierarchical bodies. At the apex is the Supreme Court, followed by the District Courts and subsequently the Magistrate’s Courts.

Magistrate’s Courts act as civil trial courts, whilst District Courts have authority as trial and appellate courts, hearing civil and criminal appeals; the Supreme Court is the final court of civil and criminal appeals.[3]

Specialist, limited jurisdiction courts also exist, such as religious, labour and military courts. The judiciary does not carry corruption risks for business interests and is not an obstacle for companies wishing to operate in Israel. Bribes are not exchanged, and the judiciary is independent as confirmed in Basic Law: The Judiciary.

Indeed, judges are appointed by a committee of members from the Supreme Court, cabinet, the Knesset and the Israel Bar Association.[4]

Israel possesses a strong legal anti-corruption framework and anti-corruption laws are implemented effectively, and as such impunity is not seen as an issue. Nevertheless, Prime Minster Netanyahu is embroiled in multiple corruption scandals.

On 13 February 2018, Israeli police stated that they possessed enough evidence to charge Netanyahu in two separate corruption cases

Israeli contract law is governed by the Contracts (General Part) Law of 1973, whilst the Companies Law 1999 regulates the structure and operations of business entities.[5]

The Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation forms the basis of Israeli labour laws, but there are also swathes of further protections for labour, such as the Minimum Wage Law 1987. Nevertheless, Israel does offer incentives, such as tax benefits, to businesses that meet requirements under the Law for the Encouragement of Capital Investment. The Penal Law of 1977 is the core legislation relating to criminal matters and forms Israel’s primary anti-corruption legislation.[6]

Israel is a participant to several treaties and agreements. These include the Israel-Egypt and Israel-Jordan peace treaties as well as the Oslo Accords, Geneva Conventions, Framework Agreement on Climate Change and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Israel is also a member of numerous international organisations including the Paris Club, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Organisation for Nuclear Research.

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References

[1] http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/foreignpolicy/peace/guide/pages/declaration%20of%20establishment%20of%20state%20of%20israel.aspx.

[2] https://www.knesset.gov.il/description/eng/eng_mimshal_yesod.htm; https://www.loc.gov/law/help/legal-research-guide/israel.php.

[3] Ibid. 

[4] https://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/israel.

[5] http://policy.mofcom.gov.cn/english/flaw!fetch.action?libcode=flaw&id=4a6e813b-31f7-4942-867c-a63e0c9ad43d&classcode=180; http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex4.detail?p_lang=en&p_isn=79956&p_country=ISR&p_count=178&p_classification=01.03&p_classcount=3.

[6] https://www.chamber.org.il/37674/37676/38626/; https://www.oecd.org/daf/anti-bribery/anti-briberyconvention/43289694.pdf.