Syllabus Introduction to - 62081

Last update 03-09-2019

HU Credits: 3

Degree/Cycle: 2nd degree (Master)

Responsible Department: Law

Academic year: 0

Semester: 1st Semester

Teaching Languages: English

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Dr. Yahli Shereshevsk

Coordinator Email: [email protected]

Coordinator Office Hours:

Teaching Staff: Dr. Yahli Shereshevsk

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Course/Module description: This course provides an overview of the Israeli legal system, on both the normative and institutional levels. It focuses on the constitutional arrangements and the central role of the supreme court in . We will address some of the core issues of the Israeli legal reality, such as judicial activism, the relationship between "Jewish" and "democratic" state, the Occupied Territories, and more.

Course/Module aims: Present the students with the Israeli legal and political systems, against the background of Israeli's special characteristics, including the state and law's history, the state's demography, its varied cultures, and the conflicts existing within it.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to: Define main features of the Israeli legal and political regimes; Identify the basic (formal and historical) sources of the legal system; Recognize the various contexts that influence the development of the system; Conduct basic comparative research which includes Israeli law; Analyze issues of law and society in light of special characteristics of the Israeli society.

Attendance requirements(%): 80

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: Lecures

Course/Module Content: Part I: Sources and Traditions of the Israeli Legal System

1. Introduction: Israeli Law on the Timeline – Major Periods and Events 2. Ottoman Law and English Common Law as sources of Israeli law 3. International Law and Jewish Law as sources of Israeli law

Part II: Public Law and Human Rights

4. Administrative Law – basic principles: The Court versus the Government(?) 5. Constitutional law and the "constitutional revolution”: The Court versus the (?)

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Part III: Fundamental Institutions: the three arms of government and their relationship

6. The Government and the Judiciary 7. The Knesset

Part IV: Law and Culture, Law and Society: Israeli Rifted Society

8. Secular-religious rift – between state and religion 9. The Jewish-Arab rift – are we friends or enemies? Israeli law as a bridge 10. Ashkenazim-Mizrachim rift – legal aspects of the ethnic demon and the unsealed bottle

Part V: Subject-Area Legal Regimes

11. Family Law 12. Criminal Law 13. Private-Commercial Law 14. Judicial Review of Administrative Action in the Occupied Territories

Required Reading: Suzie Navot, Constitutional Law of Israel (2014)

Marcia Gelpe, The Israeli Legal System (2013)

Shapira and Witt-Arar (eds.), Introduction to the Law of Israel (1995)

Additional Reading Material: I. Sources and Traditions of the Israeli Legal System 1. Introduction: Israeli Law on the Time Line – Major Periods and Events (Mon, 23.10) • Yoram Shachar, History and Sources of Israeli Law, Introduction to the Law of Israel, 1-10 • Palestine Mandate http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/palmanda.asp. • The Palestine Order in Council: https://unispal.un.org/DPA/DPR/unispal.nsf/0/C7AAE196F41AA055052565F50054E65 6

2. Ottoman Law and English Common Law as sources of Israeli law (Wed 25.10) • Assaf Likhovski, Law and Identity in Mandate Palestine (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006), 46-83. • London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews v. Orr, 14 Palestine Law Reports 218 (S.C., 1947). • Mixed Jurisdictions Worldwide: The Third Legal Family: Second Edition/ Vernon

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Valentine Palmer (2012) pp. 1-16, 577-614 • Shlomo Guberman, The Development of the Law in Israel: The First 50 Years, at ht tp://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/israelat50/pages/development%20of%20the%2 0law%20in%20israel-%20the%20first%2050%20yea.aspx

3. International Law and Jewish Law as sources of Israeli law (Mon 30.10) • Suzie Navot, Constitutional Law of Israel, 31-34 • HCJ 785/87 Abd Al Nasser Al Aziz Affo v. Commander of IDF Forces (1988) at: http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files_eng/87/850/007/Z01/87007850.z01.htm • CrimA 6182/98 Samuel Sheinbein v. Attorney General (1999) [in Hebrew] (see background and discussion here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Sheinbein http s://blogs.loc.gov/law/2014/03/the-sheinbein-saga-and-the-evolution-of-israels- extradition-law/) • Brahyahu Lifshitz "Israeli Law and Jewish Law – Interaction and Independence" 24 Isr. L. Rev. 507 (1990) • D. B. Sinclair, "Kupat Am Bank LTD v. Hendeles", 5 Jewish Law Annual, 54 (1985)

II. Public Law and Human Rights 4. Administrative Law – basic principles: The Court versus the Government(?) (Wed 1.11)

• Zeev Sagal, Administrative Law, Introduction to the Law of Israel, 59-74 • David Kretzmer, “Forty Years of Public Law”, 24 Isr. L. Rev. 341 (1990) • Menachem Mautner, "Law and Culture in Israel: The 1950s and the 1980s", in The History of Law in a Multicultural Society: Israel 1917-1967, (Ron Harris et al. eds, Dartmouth: Ashgate, 2002), 175-214. • Margit Cohn, “Pure or Mixed? The Evolution of Three Grounds of Judicial Review of the Administration in British and Israeli Administrative Law”, 6 Journal of Comparative Law 86-114 (2012) • Daphna Barak-Erez "Israeli Administrative Law at the Crossroads: Between the English Model and the American Model" 40 ISR. L. REV. 56 (2007) • HCJ 40/70 Becker v. Minister of Defence (1970) • HCJ 910/86 Resler v. Minister of Defence (1988)

5. Constitutional law and the "constitutional revolution”: The Court versus the Knesset(?) • Suzie Navot, Constitutional Law of Israel, 35-54, 164-176 • Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, available at: http://www.knesset.gov.il/laws/special/eng/basic3_eng.htm • Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation, available at: http://www.knesset.gov.il/laws/special/eng/basic4_eng.htm • CA 6821/93 United Mizrahi Bank Ltd. v. Migdal Cooperative Village (1995), available at: http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files_eng/93/210/068/z01/93068210.z01.htm (Declaration of the "constitutional revolution") • HCJ 3267/97 Rubinstein v. Minister of Defense (1998) • HCJ 6427/02 The Movement for Quality of Government in Israel (2006)

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• HCJ 6298/07 Resler v. The Knesset (2012). • HCJ 1877/14 The Movement for Quality of Government in Israel v. The Knesset (2017) • HCJ 4885/03 Israel Poultry Farmers Association v. Government of Israel (2004) • HCJ 10042/16 Kwantinski v. The Knesset (2017) • HCJ 10662/04 Salah Hassan v. National Insurance Institute (2012) http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files_eng/04/620/106/n44/04106620.n44.htm (denial of eligibility for income support from those who owned or regularly used someone else’s car as unconstitutional) • HCJ 2605/05 Academic Center of Law and Business, Human Rights Division et at. v. Minister of Finance (2009), aavailable at: http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files_eng/05/050/026/n39/05026050.n39.htm ( Privatization of prisons as unconstitutional)

III. Fundamental Institutions: the three arms of government and their relationship

6. The Government and the Judiciary (Wed 8.11) • Suzie Navot, Constitutional Law of Israel, 133-163 • The Judicial Authority, at http://elyon1.court.gov.il/eng/system/index.html • Israeli Democracy: How Does It Work? • http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/AboutIsrael/State/Democracy/Pages/Israeli%20Democracy% 20-%20How%20does%20it%20work.aspx • Summary of the Basic Laws: http://www.knesset.gov.il/description/eng/eng_mimshal_yesod2.htm

7. The Knesset (Mon 13.11) • Democracy in Practice: A mostly theoretical tour, which focuses primarily on all facets of the work of the Knesset: the election process; the roles of the Knesset members; the work of the committees and more; while emphasizing the close link between the work of the Knesset and the daily lives of Israeli citizens. The main stops along the tour are: The Committee Rooms, the Plenary Chamber, and the display of the Declaration of Independence. This tour does not provide information about the art works and archeological findings or the architecture of the Knesset building, as it is meant for groups of a maximum of 50 adults interested in parliamentary work. Duration of the tour: About an hour and a half. • Powers and Functions of the Knesset – a gateway for additional information at the Knesset’s website: https://www.knesset.gov.il/description/eng/eng_mimshal0.htm • Suzie Navot, Constitutional Law of Israel, 104-132

IV. Law and Culture, Law and Society: Israeli Rifted Society

8. Secular-religious rift – between state and religion (Wed 15.11) • Menachem Mautner, LAW AND THE CULTURE OF ISRAEL, chapter 1 (2011) (available in electronic version through the Law Library Electronic Databases – Oxford Scholarship Online)

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• Shlomo Hasson, State and Religion in Israel: Possible Scenarios, The Joseph and Alma Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies, University of Maryland (2015) at http://i sraelstudies.umd.edu/Israel%202023%20State%20and%20Religion%20in%20Israel. pdf • A selection of articles and discussions on current event in Israeli reality are found in the Center for Religion, Nation and State of the Israel Democracy Institute, at https://en.idi.org.il/centers/1157

9. The Jewish-Arab rift – are we friends or enemies? Israeli law as a bridge (Mon 20.11) Film: Sayid Kashu’a, Forever Scared / Directed by Dorit Zimbalist (intro: http://heymannfilms.com/film/sayed-kashua-forever-scared/) • HCJ 6698/95 Adel Ka'adan v. Israel Land Administration [March 8, 2000], available at: http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files_eng/95/980/066/a14/95066980.a14.htm • HCJ 4112/99 Adala v. -Jaffa Municipality et al. [July 25, 2002], available at: http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files_eng/99/120/041/g11/99041120.g11.pdf • Ruth Gavison "Contemplations on State Commissions of Inquiry and the Status of the Arab Minority in Israel", available at: http://www.metzilah.org.il/webfiles/fck/GavisonENG(1).pdf Additional Reading: • Yair Sheleg, “Clear-Cut Racism or Complicated Relationship?”, Op-Ed, IDI Website (2011), at http://en.idi.org.il/analysis/articles/clear-cut-racism-or-complicated- relationship/ • Gil Troy and Martin J. Raffel, Israel: Jewish and Democratic (2013), at http://israela ctionnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Israel-Jewish-and-Democratic-.pdf • Additional material on Israeli-Arabs-Palestinian legal issues are found at Professor Duncan Kennedy’s course’s website: http://duncankennedy.net/teaching%20materials/Is-Pal/syllabus.html

10. Ashkenazim-Mizrachim rift – legal aspects of the ethnic demon and the unsealed bottle (Wed 22.11) • Novel: Scapegoat/ Eli Amir (1983) (available in five scanned parts at: http://jewishandisraeliliterature.wikispaces.com/) • Film: Sallah Shabati/ Directed by Efraim Kishon (background: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sallah_Shabati) • HCJ 1067/08 Noar KeHalacha Association v. Ministry of Education (2009), available at: http://www.dindayan.com/rulings/08010670.o24.pdf • Yifat Bitton, Finally, Our Own Brown!(?), 45 Isr. L. Rev. 267, available at: http://law.huji.ac.il/upload/Yifat_Bitton.pdf • Menachem Mautner, The Immanuel Affair and the Problems of Intercultural Encounter, 15 Democratic Culture in Israel and in the World (2013), available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id2257217

V. Subject-Area Legal Regimes

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11. Family Law (Mon 27.11) • Marcia Gelpe, The Israeli Legal System, 349-392 (2013)

12. Criminal Law – general principles and defenses (Wed 29.11) • Marcia Gelpe, The Israeli Legal System, 253-266 (2013)

• Miriam Gur-Arye & Thomas Weigend, “Constitutional Review of Criminal Prohibitions Affecting Human Dignity and Liberty: German and Israeli Perspectives”, 44 Isr. L. Rev. 63 (2011)

• CrimA 5121/98 Yissacharov v. Chief Military Prosecutor 60(1) PD 461 [2006], at http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files_eng/98/210/051/n21/98051210.n21.htm • CrimA 11196/02 Frudenthal v. State of Israel 57 PD (6) 40 [2003] (Isr.), at http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files_eng/02/960/111/n03/02111960.n03.htm)

13. Private-Commercial Law (Mon 4.12) • Eyal Zamir, “Private Law Codification in a Mixed Legal System – The Israeli Successful Experience,” in THE SCOPE AND STRUCTURE OF CIVIL CODES – A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS 233-48 (Julio Cesar Rivera ed., Springer 2014).

14. Judicial Review of Administrative Action in the Occupied Territories (Wed 6.12) • HCJ 7957/04 Mara'abe et al v. The Prime Minister of Israel et al 60(2) IsrSC 477, (Israel Supreme Court) (2005) [Security Barrier case] , available at: http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files_eng/04/570/079/A14/04079570.a14.pdf • HCJ 3799/02 Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel et al v. GOC Central Command, IDF 60(3) IsrSC 67 (2005)[the "Early Warning" case] available at: http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files_eng/02/990/037/A32/02037990.a32.htm • HCJ 769/02 Public Committee against Torture in Israel v. Government of Israel (2006) [Targeted Killing case] available at: http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files_eng/02/690/007/e16/02007690.e16.htm • Ronen Shamir, "Landmark Cases" and the Reproduction of Legitimacy: The Case of Israel's High Court of Justice, 24 Law & Society Review 781, 795 (1990) • Guy Davidov, Amnon Reichman, Prolonged Armed Conflict and Diminished Deference to the Military: Lessons from Israel, Forthcoming in LAW & SOCIAL INQUIRY (2010)

Course/Module evaluation: End of year written/oral examination 100 % Presentation 0 % Participation in Tutorials 0 % Project work 0 % Assignments 0 % Reports 0 % Research project 0 %

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Quizzes 0 % Other 0 %

Additional information:

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