Israel

• The Basic Laws, which act as the constitution in pieces
• Statutes passed by the Knesset (parliament)
• Court decisions, especially of the Supreme Court, as in common-law systems
• Religious law, for marriage and divorce, applied by religious courts

• The Supreme Court, which also sits as the High Court of Justice to review government acts
• District courts and magistrates' courts
• Labour courts, family courts, and religious courts (Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze) for marriage and divorce

A law degree, a period of internship and the bar examination of the Israel Bar Association.

• There is no single document called the Constitution, but the Basic Laws have been treated as having higher rank.
• Personal status law (marriage and divorce) is handled by each community's religious courts.
• Trials follow the adversarial common-law pattern, but judges decide without juries.
• Judicial review and the role of the Supreme Court are the subject of strong public debate, so check current developments.

United Kingdom, South Africa, France, Germany, India

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Israel as: Civil law, Common law, Jewish, Muslim. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Botswana, Cameroon, Cyprus, Guyana, Lesotho, Malta, Mauritius, Namibia, Northern Cyprus, Philippines, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, South Africa, Sri Lanka.

• Supreme Court of Israel (English pages)
• Knesset: the Basic Laws

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.