Same-sex Marriage in Israel (Part 3)
by An overview of Israel’s history, as well as the current legal standing of same-sex couples within its borders, this multi-part article also ultimately offers suggestions for how to fuse civil and religious law into something harmonious for both sides of the issue.
The Israeli Legal System Today: Characteristics
Israel’s current legal system is derived from Western legal concepts and culture; the country’s principles and ideas are governed by the rule of secular, rational law, and special emphasis is given to solving the problems of members of its society through the court system and by application of germane laws.[1] The law in Israel is understood to be a concept that enables both social progress and change in Israeli society today.[2]
First and foremost, Israel’s legal system differs from that of many of its Western counterparts’ in that it does not have a single document, written constitution.[3] While Israel does have a Declaration of Independence that was issued subsequent to the termination of the British mandate in Palestine and on the day of Israel’s formation as a modern country, this declaration is not viewed as a constitution in and of itself.[4] It has instead been interpreted by Israel’s Supreme Court simply to personify the wishes and aspirations of the founding fathers for their new country.[5] Consequently, no power is granted to the judiciary in vetoing legislation that runs contrary to its content.[6] The Supreme Court, however, has managed to develop basic constitutional rules without the existence of a single document constitution that is so vital to many other Western democracies, because the Court has held that matters which can be interpreted many different ways must be read in a way that is consistent with the ideals found in its original Declaration of Independence.[7] In 1992, the judiciary began to recognize the eleven Basic Laws that related to different aspects of Israeli law[8] as a form of constitution, although this too did not form a single document and remains a matter of social debate in Israel today.[9] Legislation instead is the basis of the Israeli legal system and is not supplemented by case law, as most areas of law in Israel have been codified in statutes since the government was first formed in 1948.[10]
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