International Law and the Israeli Legal System
INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DOMESTIC LEGAL SYSTEMS, p. 288, Dinah L. Shelton, ed., Oxford University Press, 2011
66 Pages Posted: 14 Sep 2011 Last revised: 3 Oct 2011
Date Written: September 30, 2010
Abstract
This paper analyzes the whole range of interactions between international law and the Israeli legal system:
Treaties – the treaty-making power, how domestic courts interpret treaties (the rule of interpretation and rule of presumption; issues of standing; the reference to treaties to which Israel is not a party);
Customary law and its hierarchy and application in Israeli law;
Legislative provisions and regulations calling for the application of international law;
The hierarchy of international law within the Israeli legal system – judicial doctrines, recognition of jus cogens, and the extent to which courts use international law to interpret constitutional norms and the scope of fundamental rights;
Jurisdiction in matters of international criminal law, as well as the enforcement of civil law judgments rendered in another country for international law violations;
Other sources of international law that are relied upon in the Israeli legal system – e.g., resolutions and decisions of international organization and international jurisprudence and decisions of international courts and tribunals.
The paper was written as a national report within the framework of the 18th Congress of Comparative Law (General Rapporteur: Professor Dinah L. Shelton, George Washington University). The final, edited reports are forthcoming in a book, to be published by Oxford University Press.
Keywords: International Law, Israeli Law, Treaties, Customary Law, Sources of International Law, International Criminal Jurisdiction
JEL Classification: K33
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation