Israeli judicial system
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The Israeli judicial system (or judicial branch) in Israel, is an independent branch of the government which includes both secular and religious courts.
[edit] Secular courts
Israeli secular courts consist of a three-tier system:
- Magistrate Courts serve as the courts of first instance.
- District Courts serve as the appellate courts and also serve as the court of first instance for some cases;
- The 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.
In December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction.
[edit] Jewish religious courts
- See also: Religion in Israel
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:
- Kashrut ("dietary laws" matters),
- Shabbat (the Jewish "Sabbath"),
- Jewish burial and marital issues (especially divorce). However, except for determining a person's marital status, all other marital issues may also be taken to secular Family Courts.
- Conversion to Judaism (mostly dealing with the Jewish status of immigrants.)
[edit] 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.
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