Constitution of Israel
The State of Israel has an unwritten constitution. Instead of a formal written constitution, and in accordance with the Harari Decision (החלטת הררי) of 13 June 1950 adopted during the Israeli Constituent Assembly, the State of Israel has enacted several Basic Laws of Israel dealing with the government arrangements and with human rights. The Israeli Supreme Court President Aharon Barak ruled that the Basic Laws should be considered the state's constitution, and that became the common approach throughout his tenure (1995-2006). Opponents of this approach include Barak's colleague, Judge of the Supreme Court Mishael Cheshin.
According to Israel's proclamation of independence of May 14, 1948, a constituent assembly should have prepared a constitution by October 1, 1948. The delay and the eventual decision on June 13, 1950 to legislate a constitution chapter by chapter, resulted primarily from the inability of different groups in Israeli society to agree on the purpose of the state, on the state's identity, and on a long-term vision. Another factor was the opposition of David Ben-Gurion himself.[1]
Various bodies in Israel have called for the enactment of a formal constitution as a single document, and have submitted ideas and drafts for consideration.
References
- ↑ Orit Rozin "Forming a Collective Identity: The Debate over the Proposed Constitution, 1948–1950", Journal of Israeli History 26 (2), 2007, p. 251.
External links
- The Constitution from the Knesset website
- Constitution on the Jewish Virtual Library