RSS FeedConstitutional Lessons from an Israeli Supreme Court Justice
I had the opportunity to hear one of the Chief Justices speak at the Israeli Supreme Court today. He explained some of the basics of the Israeli judicial system, and shared some of the challenges that they currently face.
Unlike some jurisdictions, Israel has had no problem drawing on international law for their domestic discourse. For example, when developing their position on freedom of expression, they looked to the most robust and liberal legal discourse on the subject and borrowed freely from American case law.
As a Jewish state they also do use some Jewish religious law, although in a more limited fashion. All family law in Israel is conducted under separate religious courts for their respective adherents. The Supreme Court is primarily a court of appeal for criminal and civil cases.
But the Israeli Court also acts as a court of first instance for human rights issues. The history of this structure goes back to the British Mandate, when the British did not want complaints of this nature brought to the lower courts, which were staffed by Arabs and/or Jews, and instead staffed this court by judges brought for short terms from Britain.
