Fundamental laws of Israel

The fundamental laws of Israel are texts with character Constitution nel adopted by the Knesset like chapters of a future constitution of the State of Israel.

History

The State of Israel does not have a formal Constitution. Although the declaration of independence of May 14th, 1948 announces “a Constitution which will have to be adopted by a constituent Assembly by on October 1st, 1948”, the dissensions between monk and the laic ones prevented the drafting of a single constitutional text. The Prime Minister David Ben Gourion urged the assembly not to complete her constitutional work before the return of the Jews of the whole world in their fatherland. According to certain historians, it also wished to push back the introduction of capacities likely to be opposed to his.

Part of the religious Jews rejected the idea of a document which would have for the State an authority higher than the religious texts like the Torah, the Tanakh or the Choulhan Aroukh. With the beginning of the year 1990, the chief of the Shass, Aryé Déri, still declared which if the Ten Commands were presented to him like a constitution project, he would refuse to sign them.

June 13rd, 1950, the first Knesset found a compromise with the Résolution Harari: rather than to write a complete constitution immediately, it charged its committee with the constitution, the laws and justice to adopt the document chapter by chapter. Each one would come into effect with the character of fundamental law, and they would be assembled in a constitution after the adoption of the last.

From 1958 to 1988, nine fundamental laws were adopted which had the organization of the political institutions. In 1992, Knesset adopted the first two relating to the basic rights, which made it possible thereafter the Supreme court of Israel to be declared qualified as regards Contrôle of constitutionality.

The committee of the constitution, the laws and the justice of Knesset recently recovered to its task of drafting from a complete constitution. It presented series of proposition on February 13rd, 2006, which could make it possible to put an end to the system fundamental laws and to finish applying the Harari resolution. The principal chiefs of the three political parties - Ehud Olmert for Kadima, Amir Peretz for the Workers party and Benyamin Netanyahou for the Likoud - accepted this work and declared that the 17 {{E}} Knesset should examine the project of a complete text in plenary session.

List fundamental laws

The name of the texts in force is indicated in fat.

1958 : Knesset
1960: grounds of Israel
1964: the president of the State
1968: The Government
1975: the nation's economy
1976: Defense forces of Israel
1980: Jerusalem, capital of Israel
1984: judicial power
1988: the controller of the State
1992: Human dignity and freedom
1992: The Government
1992: Professional freedom
1994: professional Freedom
2001: the Government

Critical

The system resulting from the Harari resolution is criticized with the reason which the laws were adopted by a committee gathering only one small portion of the Knesset, were not the subject of a national debate and were not legitimated by a Référendum or another democratic procedure. Moreover, these laws can be amended in the majority absolute, whereas the normal practice in the democracies is a qualified Majorité or a referendum. This mode of adoption and amendment would make it possible to call into question their constitutional character.

Others consider that the simple fact that they were adopted by Knesset acting as quality of constituent Assembly gives them their character constitutional and higher than the other laws.

Source

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