Israeli law operates without a single written constitution. Instead, it rests on a set of Basic Laws that function as the country’s highest legal authority, ordinary statutes passed by the Knesset, an independent civil court system, and religious courts that hold exclusive authority over marriage and divorce. The result is a layered system drawing on Ottoman codes, British common law, Knesset legislation, and religious tradition, and it works differently from almost any other legal system in the world.
The Basic Laws Stand in for a Constitution
When Israel declared independence in 1948, the Knesset did not adopt a constitution. In 1950 it passed the Harari Decision, choosing to build the constitutional framework gradually, chapter by chapter, with each chapter enacted as a separate Basic Law.1The Knesset. Basic Laws Roughly fifteen Basic Laws have followed, covering the structure of government, the judiciary, the military, state finances, and individual rights. They sit above ordinary legislation, and some include entrenchment clauses requiring a special Knesset majority to amend.
Two Basic Laws from 1992 anchor the rights framework. Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty protects life, bodily integrity, personal dignity, property, and privacy. Rights under it may only be restricted by a law that fits the values of the state, serves a proper purpose, and goes no further than necessary.2Refworld. Israel Basic Law of 1992, Human Dignity and Liberty Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation guarantees every citizen or resident the right to work in any profession or trade.3The Knesset. Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation (1994)
A more contested addition came in 2018 with Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People. It declared Hebrew the sole official state language and gave Arabic a “special status,” though a savings clause preserved Arabic’s existing practical use in state institutions.4The Knesset. Basic Law: Israel – The Nation State of the Jewish People It also defined Jewish settlement as a national value.
How the Knesset Passes Laws
The Knesset is a single-chamber parliament of 120 members and holds the sole authority to legislate.5Gov.il. Knesset Bills can originate from a government ministry, a Knesset committee, or an individual member.
A private member’s bill goes first to a preliminary reading in the full plenum, then to a committee for detailed review. Government and committee bills skip the preliminary step. Every bill then passes a first reading on the general concept, returns to committee for clause-by-clause work, and faces second and third readings back in the plenum.6The Knesset. Legislative Process The second and third votes usually happen in quick succession. Once a bill clears its third reading, it becomes law and is published in the Official Gazette.
The Civil Court System
Basic Law: The Judiciary vests judicial power in three tiers of civil courts: Magistrate Courts, District Courts, and the Supreme Court.7Refworld. Israel Basic Law of 1984, the Judiciary Religious courts and specialized tribunals are also recognized, but the three civil tiers handle most litigation.
Magistrate Courts
Most people first encounter the system at the Magistrate Court level. These courts hear civil claims up to NIS 2.5 million and criminal cases carrying a maximum sentence of up to seven years.8The Israeli Judicial Authority. About the Magistrates Courts Traffic violations, landlord-tenant disputes, and small business claims land here. A small claims track inside the Magistrate Courts handles monetary disputes up to NIS 38,900, designed so parties can usually represent themselves.9The Israeli Judicial Authority. Filing a Small Claim in the Small Claims Court
District Courts
District Courts serve a dual role. They are the first-instance trial court for civil claims above NIS 2.5 million, land ownership disputes, and serious criminal cases carrying potential sentences above seven years.10Gov.il. District Courts They also hear appeals from Magistrate Court judgments.
Supreme Court and the High Court of Justice
The Supreme Court is the final appellate authority, reviewing District Court decisions and keeping the law consistent across the country. It has a second role too. Sitting as the High Court of Justice (known by its Hebrew acronym, Bagatz), it hears petitions from any person against government authorities, reviewing the legality of administrative decisions, legislation, and official actions.11The Judicial Authority. Overview – Section: The Powers of the Supreme Court A citizen who believes a ministry acted unlawfully or that a regulation violates a Basic Law can petition the High Court directly, without working up through lower courts. That direct access has made the Supreme Court one of the most active constitutional courts anywhere.
Labor Courts
Labor Courts sit outside the civil hierarchy and handle disputes between employees and employers, including claims for unpaid wages and severance, collective bargaining conflicts, and appeals involving the National Insurance Institute (which administers unemployment allowances, disability payments, and pensions).12The Israeli Judicial Authority. The Labor Courts – Guide Regional Labor Courts hear first-instance cases; appeals go to the National Labor Court.
Religious Courts Govern Marriage and Divorce
One of the most distinctive features of the system is that marriage, divorce, and certain other personal status matters go to religious tribunals rather than civil courts. Separate systems operate for Jews, Muslims, Druze, and ten recognized Christian denominations. For Jews, the Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction (Marriage and Divorce) Law gives rabbinical courts sole authority over marriage and divorce. The other recognized communities have parallel arrangements under their own tribunals.
The practical consequence is sharp: there is no civil marriage ceremony available inside Israel. Couples who do not belong to the same recognized community, who are not members of any recognized religion, or who are in interfaith relationships have no domestic path to a legally recognized wedding.
Shared Jurisdiction Over Alimony, Custody, and Property
For issues beyond the ceremony and divorce themselves, religious courts share jurisdiction with the civil Family Courts over alimony, child custody, and property division. Whichever spouse files first effectively picks the forum. A spouse who files for divorce in a rabbinical court and bundles custody and property claims into that filing can pull the whole dispute into the religious system. The reverse works the same way. Since religious and civil courts can apply different legal standards to the same questions, that first filing matters a great deal.
Marrying Abroad
Because no civil marriage exists domestically, tens of thousands of Israeli couples marry abroad each year, often in Cyprus or through online ceremonies officiated in jurisdictions that permit remote weddings. The Supreme Court has confirmed that the Population and Immigration Authority must register a marriage performed abroad as long as it was legally valid where it took place, even if the couple was physically in Israel during a remote ceremony. Registration requires an original marriage certificate with a valid apostille from the issuing country, with all personal details matching across passports, birth certificates, and any prior divorce records.
Couples who live together without marrying can gain certain legal rights through recognized cohabitation, but Israeli law has not fixed clear criteria for when a relationship qualifies. Courts have recognized partnerships as short as a few months for purposes of inheritance and other rights, and the lack of formal rules makes outcomes hard to predict.
Judicial Review After the 2024 Ruling
Whether the Supreme Court could strike down a Basic Law was for decades an open question. There is no explicit constitutional provision granting that authority. The court had long exercised judicial review over ordinary statutes but had never invalidated a Basic Law.
That changed after July 2023, when the Knesset passed Amendment No. 3 to Basic Law: The Judiciary by a vote of 64 out of 120, stripping the Supreme Court of the power to review government and ministerial decisions on reasonableness grounds. The reasonableness doctrine had been one of the court’s primary tools for checking arbitrary executive action. The amendment triggered mass protests and a constitutional crisis.
On January 1, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled in Movement for Quality Government v. Knesset (HCJ 5658/23) that it has the authority to review Basic Laws and to intervene when the Knesset exceeds its constituent power. Twelve of fifteen justices affirmed that authority, and eight voted to void the reasonableness amendment, the first time the court struck down a Basic Law.13Cardozo Israeli Supreme Court Project. Basic Law: The Judiciary The ruling set a high threshold, limiting judicial review of Basic Laws to “exceptional and extreme” cases, but it put the court on record as the ultimate guardian of the constitutional order, even against the Knesset.
Rights of the Accused
Criminal defendants are protected by both the Basic Laws and ordinary legislation. Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty prohibits violations of personal liberty except under conditions that satisfy the limitation clause: any restriction must be authorized by law, serve a legitimate purpose, and be proportionate.2Refworld. Israel Basic Law of 1992, Human Dignity and Liberty
The Public Defender’s Office provides court-appointed representation, but eligibility is not automatic. Under the Public Defender’s Office Law, a public defender is assigned where proceedings could result in serious consequences such as prolonged detention or actual imprisonment, where the defendant has limitations that impair the ability to mount a defense (such as being a minor or having a mental health condition), or where the defendant lacks the financial means to hire a lawyer.14Gov.il. About Public Defense A court can also appoint representation whenever doing so is necessary to prevent a miscarriage of justice, even if none of the specific criteria apply.
A Note on Land Ownership
Anyone looking at property in Israel runs into a feature of the system worth flagging. Roughly 93 percent of land in Israel is owned by the state, the Development Authority, or the Jewish National Fund, all managed by the Israel Land Authority (ILA). Most people who “buy property” in Israel are actually purchasing a long-term leasehold, typically 49 or 98 years, rather than outright freehold ownership. In practice these leases confer most of the rights associated with ownership, and leaseholders can sell, mortgage, and transfer their rights.
The remaining roughly 7 percent is held as private freehold, which offers the broadest ownership rights without ILA oversight. Lease renewals on ILA land are generally available but require approval and payment of fees, and in some cases leaseholders can convert their rights to full freehold. Foreign nationals generally cannot lease ILA land unless they qualify under the Law of Return. Transactions are recorded in the Tabu (land registry), which provides legal certainty and protection against competing claims.