Judiciary of Israel

The Israeli judicial system (or judicial branch) in Israel, is an independent branch of the government which includes both secular and religious courts.

Secular courts

Israeli secular courts consist of a three-tier system:

Magistrate courts

also called "Peace Courts". The Magistrate Courts in Israel serve as the courts of first instance up to a ceratin ceiling of a few Million Shekels.

Small Claims Courts

Adjacent to any Magistrate Court, is a Court of Small Claims, for claims up to approximately 18,000 Shekels or $4,500. These Courts do not follow standard evidenciary rules, however they require extensive pleadings and documentation upon filing of a formally written complaint. Verdicts are expected seven days from trial.

Traffic Courts

District courts in Israel

The District Courts in Israel serve both as as the appellate courts and also as the court of first instance for some cases (e.g. real estate or IP);

District Court for Administrative Matters

Adjacent to every District Court is the Court for Administrative Matters, where Petitions against Arms of the Government can be launched.

Court of Admiralty

All matters have to do with admiralty, shipping commerce, accidents on sea and the like are brought to the Court of Admiralty in Haifa, with has exclusive Statewide jurisdiction.

Supreme Court

located in Jerusalem acts as a further appellate court, and as the High Court of Justice as a court of first instance, often in matters concerning the legality of decisions of state authorities.

Jewish religious courts

See also: Religion in Israel

See also: Batei Din

As of 2005, the Jewish religious authorities are under control of the Prime Minister's Office and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. These courts, whose dayanim ("judges") are elected by the Knesset, have jurisdiction in only five areas:

1. Kashrut ("dietary laws" matters),
2. Shabbat (the Jewish "Sabbath"),
3. Jewish burial and
4. marital issues (especially divorce). Divorce can only be obtained at the Rabbinical Batei Din, and there is no civil divorce, and there is no no-fault divorce in Israel. However, if a petition for ancillary matrimonial reliefs, such as custody, support or equitable distribution of property is filed with the Civil Courts before a case for divorce is opened at the Batei Din, then all other marital issues may also be taken by the secular Family Courts. Otherwise, if one spouse opens some sort of an action with the Batei Din, (including the ambigous demand for reconcilliation), the Batei Din assume that all ancillary relief is aggregated into the main complaint, and the spouses may find themselves facing judicial deermination pursuant to ancient and antiquated Halakha, and not pursuant to the secular law. Thus, spouses may lose the equal protection and anti gender discrimination protections of the secular civil law.

5.Conversion to Judaism (mostly dealing with the Jewish status of immigrants.)

Non-Jewish religious courts

The other major religions in Israel such as Islam and Christianity are supervised by their own official religious establishments (although the Muslim and Druze kaddis judges are also elected by the Knesset), which have similar jurisdiction over their followers, although Muslim religious courts have more control over family affairs. This is the maintenance of an agreement reached with the British Mandatory Authorities before the State of Israel's establishment in 1948.

Military courts

The Military Court of Appeals is the highest judicial body in the Israeli military, which also includes the District and Special military tribunals.

Jurisdiction of International Court of Justice Rejected

In December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction.