Administrative Law Commons^™

Israel Poultry Farmers Association V. Government Of Israel, Dorit Beinisch, Aharon Barak, Mishael Cheshin

Translated Opinions

Petition to the Supreme Court sitting as the High Court of Justice

Facts: The Knesset enacted the Israel Economic Recovery Programme (Legislative Amendments for Achieving Budgetary Goals and the Economic Policy for the 2003 and 2004 Fiscal Years) Law, 5763-2003, which contained, in chapter 11, major changes to the regulation of the agricultural sector in Israel. This law, which contains many diverse provisions, was passed in a rushed process with very little debate either in the House or the committees of the Knesset.

The petitioners claimed, for a wide variety of reasons, that chapter 11, the ‘Agriculture Chapter,’ should be …

Litzman V. Knesset Speaker, Aharon Barak, Asher Grunis, Salim Joubran

Translated Opinions

Facts: Various irregularities occurred during votes in the Knesset, in which certain Knesset members voted instead of other Knesset members. The petitioner asked the court to void the votes in which the irregularities occurred.

Held: Judicial scrutiny of legislative proceedings in the Knesset should be done with great caution, and only when the defect in the proceedings goes to the heart of the matter. In this case, the irregularities did not affect the outcome of the voting, and therefore judicial intervention was unwarranted.

Petition denied.

Saif V. Government Press Office, Dalia Dorner, Salim Joubran, Eliezer Rivlin

Translated Opinions

Facts: At the end of 2001, the Government Press Office decided that it would no longer give press badges to Palestinian journalists who were residents of Judaea and Samaria, because of the security risk. The petitioners in the two petitions challenged this policy.

Held: The court held that the refusal to give press badges to Palestinian journalists who were residents of Judaea and Samaria, without any consideration of the individual cases of the persons applying for a press badge, could not be justified on security grounds alone. The respondents had not considered the right of freedom of expression that conflicted …

Hass V. Idf Commander In West Bank, Ayala Procaccia, Aharon Barak, Mishael Cheshin

Translated Opinions

Facts: The Machpela Cave is believed to be the burial site of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah. As such, it is holy to Jews and Moslems. Over the years, the site has seen acts of violence by members of one religion against the other, resulting in casualties.

On Sabbaths and festivals, large numbers of Jews, sometimes in the thousands, go from the nearby town of Kiryat Arba to the Machpela Cave on foot, since the use of vehicles is prohibited by Judaism on these days. They go to the Cave  by means of the ‘worshippers’ route,’ …

Beit Sourik Village Council V. Government Of Israel, Aharon Barak, Eliahu Mazza, Mishael Cheshin

Translated Opinions

This abstract is not part of the Court's opinion and is provided for the reader's convenience. It has been translated from a Hebrew version prepared by Nevo Press Ltd. and is used with its kind permission.]

According to government decisions as to constructing the borderline barrier, the Second Respondent (hereinafter: the Respondent) issued orders for the seizure of land, some privately owned, in the West Bank in order to build the barrier fence. The Petitioners, landowners and residents of villages in the borderline area, challenge the legality of the orders. They claim the Respondent lacks authority, under international law, to …

The Movement For Quality Government In Israel V. The Prime Minister, Mr. Ariel Sharon, Eliezer Rivlin, Eliahu Mazza, Jacob Turkel, Dalia Dorner, Theodor Or, Dorit Beinisch, Mishael Cheshin

Translated Opinions

Facts: The Prime Minister appointed respondent 3 to the position of Minister of Public Security. Petitioner asks that the High Court of Justice order the Prime Minister to refrain from making the appointment.

Held: The Court, by majority vote, held that it would not intervene in the Prime Minister’s decision to appoint respondent 3 to the position of Minister of Public Security.

Salama V. Idf Commander In Judea And Samaria, Aharon Barak, Jacob Turkel, Eliezer Rivlin

Translated Opinions

Facts: Based on classified evidence tying them to terror organizations, detention orders were issued against the three petitioners. The orders were extended by respondent, and these extensions were confirmed by the Military Appeals Court. Petitioners claim that the extensions are not legal. They argue that respondents should corroborate the suspicions against them with further investigation. This would allow the detention orders to be replaced by a criminal proceeding.

Held: The Court noted that the basic premise of administrative detention is the need to prevent future danger to the security of the state of public safety. Administrative detention is not meant …

Doe V. District Psychiatric Board For Adults, Aharon Barak, Dorit Beinisch, Eliahu Mazza

Translated Opinions

Facts: The Treatment of the Mentally Ill Law-1991 provides that, when a court is of the opinion that one accused of a criminal offence is unfit to stand trial, the accused may be hospitalized. The District Psychiatric Board is responsible to review the case of such a mentally ill accused person, and it can order the accused’s release from the hospital. This petition concerns the amount of time a mentally ill accused person may be hospitalized on the authority of the initial judicially issued criminal hospitalization order.

Held: The Supreme Court held that the treatment of the psychiatric patient must …

Herut--The National Jewish Movement V. Cheshin, Eliahu Mazza, Tova Strasberg-Cohen, Aharon Barak

Translated Opinions

Facts: Petitioner attacked the decision of the respondent to disqualify an election commercial it had prepared for broadcast over both radio and television. The jingle included praise for Yasir Arafat and a call for the expulsion of Jews from Jaffa and Ramle. In addition, the television version of the commercial depicted an Israeli flag, flying over the Knesset, as it changed into a Palestinian flag. The Chairman of the Elections Committee disqualified this commercial, reasoning that the jingle caused severe injury to the dignity of the flag and the national anthem. In the context of the petition, respondent also asserted …

Negev Coexistence Forum V. Ministry Of Infrastructure, Eliahu Mazza, Edmond E. Levy, Dalia Dorner

Translated Opinions

Facts: This petition concerns an urgent petition for an interim order. Petitioners request that the State build a bridge over Wadi Hebron in order to enable children to reach the regional public school. The State recognizes the urgent need for erecting a bridge, but claims that it is not possible within the framework of current regional planning laws.

Held: The Supreme Court held that the Basic Law: the Judiciary has a constitutional status superior to ordinary legislation. This superior status is not limited to the Basic Law’s grant of jurisdiction but also applies to its conferral of power to grant …

Faiglin V. Cheshin, Shlomo Levin, Izhak Englard, Edmond E. Levy, Tova Strasberg-Cohen, Ayala Procaccia, Aharon Barak, Eliahu Mazza, Jacob Turkel, Dorit Beinisch, Dalia Dorner, Eliezer Rivlin

Translated Opinions

Facts: Petitioner wished to be a candidate in the elections for the sixteenth Knesset. Petitioner included, with his candidacy application, a “Statement of Agreement” pursuant to section 57(i) of the Knesset Elections Law. Petitioner did not add any additional materials to note that he had been convicted of the criminal offense of incitement and sentenced to six months imprisonment, to be served as community service. Additionally, petitioner did not subject a request “to expunge the disgrace” of his conviction to the Chairman of the Central Elections Committee. In light of these circumstances, petitioners asked the Court to hold that petitioner …

Yassin V. Ben-David, Aharon Barak, Dorit Beinisch, Izhak Englard

Translated Opinions

Facts: In the context of IDF operations against the terrorist infrastructure in areas of the Palestinian Authority (“Operation Defensive Wall”), thousands of suspects were detained. Due to overcrowding, some of these petitioners were transferred to the Kziot detention facility in the Negev region. Most of the detainees were detained pursuant to administrative detention orders. This petition concerns the detention conditions of these detainees.

Held: The Supreme Court held that the presumption of innocence should be applied to the detainees, as they are being held under administrative detention orders, and have neither been tried nor convicted. The Court further held that …

Wallace V. Egged, Eliezer Rivlin, Aharon Barak, Jacob Turkel

Translated Opinions

Facts: On August 30, 1995, while the appellant was waiting for a bus at an Egged bus station, the respondent no. 2 and his friends beat up the appellant. Passersby came to the appellant’s aid but he suffered serious injuries and required hospitalization. Respondent no. 2 was convicted in the Magistrates Court in Jerusalem of an offense according to section 380 of the Penal Law 5737-1977. The appellant filed a lawsuit against Egged and respondent no. 2 for damages, claiming against Egged negligence and breach of a statutory duty. The Magistrates Court summarily dismissed the appellant’s lawsuit for failure to …

Association For Civil Rights In Israel V. State Of Israel, Itzchak Zamir, Mishael Cheshin, Dorit Beinisch

Translated Opinions

Facts: In this petition, the petitioner, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, asked the Court to direct the Government of Israel, the Minister of National Infrastructures, and the Minister of Finance to nullify the appointment of some of the representatives on behalf of the Government in the Israel Lands Council and to appoint in their stead, Arabs as members of the Council.

Held: The court analyzed the substance and applicability of the principle of equality and decided that given that the Government is to appoint an additional six representatives on its behalf as members of the Council, the order …

Local Building V. Holzman, Dalia Dorner, Theodor Or, Eliahu Mazza, Itzchak Zamir, Aharon Barak, Shlomo Levin, Izhak Englard

Translated Opinions

Facts: Two appeals (CA 5546/97 and CA 6417/97) were joined in this case due to the similarity of the legal question they raised.   In both cases the question arose as to the authority to reduce compensation in the expropriation of land for public purposes and in particular the question arose whether a plot of land can be expropriated in its entirety with significant reduction in compensation.

Held: The appeal in CA 5546/97 was dismissed and the appeal in CA 6417/97 was partially affirmed.  In that case the Local Planning and Construction Committee in Haifa was ordered to pay the appellants …

Karsik V. State Of Israel, Mishael Cheshin, Aharon Barak, Tova Strasberg-Cohen, Aharon Barak, Shlomo Levin, Dalia Dorner, Dorit Beinisch

Translated Opinions

Facts: In the late 1950’s the army needed training area and for this purpose the authorities worked to expropriate a range of about 137 dunam of land in the region of Hadera in accordance with the Lands Ordinance (Purchase for Public Purposes) 1943.  After a number of years – on 24 March 1966 – and according to his authority in section 19 of the Expropriations Ordinance, the Minister of Finance published a notice as to the granting of the land to the State and the land was registered in the land registration books in the name of the State.

The …

Weiss V. Prime Minister, Aharon Barak, Izhak Englard, Theodor Or, Eliahu Mazza, Shlomo Levin, Itzchak Zamir, Jacob Turkel

Translated Opinions

Facts: The Prime Minister resigned, and he and the Ministers of the outgoing government continued to fulfill their duties as prime minister and ministers until the new government was to take office. In this framework the outgoing government continued to conduct political negotiations with the Palestinian Authority with the aim of reaching an agreement before the elections.

Held: The majority opinion was written by President Barak. The petitioners claimed that the outgoing government was not authorized to conduct the political negotiation. They asked the court to direct the government to end the political negotiation until the establishment of a new …

State Of Israel V. Jabarin, Theodor Or, Aharon Barak, Dalia Dorner, Jacob Turkel, Dov Levin, Yaakov Kedmi, Eliahu Mazza

Translated Opinions

Facts: A further hearing on the judgment of the Supreme Court in CrimA 4147/95 Muhammad Yousef Jabarin v. State of Israel in which the appellant was convicted of an offense under section 4(a) of the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance 5798-1948 for an article he had published.  This further hearing addresses the question whether the construction of section 4(a) of the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance requires a causal connection   between the publication of the words of praise, sympathy, or encouragement and the risk of the occurrence of acts of violence pursuant to the publication, for a conviction.  The court further …

State Of Israel V. Kahane, Theodor Or, Aharon Barak, Shlomo Levin, Yaakov Kedmi, Dalia Dorner, Jacob Turkel, Eliahu Mazza

Translated Opinions

Facts: Further hearing in the judgment of the Supreme Court (President A.  Barak and Justices A. Goldberg and E. Mazza) dated March 2, 1998 in CA 6696/96 Benyamin Kahane v. State of Israel, in which Benyamin Kahane was acquitted of offenses based on sections 133 and 134(c) of the Penal Code 5737-1977.  The acquittal overturned a conviction in the District Court which in turn had overturned an acquittal in the Magistrate’s Court.  Two main issues were under consideration in the further hearing.  The first dealt with the characteristics of the protected value or values in the offense of sedition …

Schwartz V. State Of Israel, Dorit Beinisch, Aharon Barak, Dalia Dorner, Eliahu Mazza, Mishael Cheshin, Shlomo Levin, Theodor Or, Tova Strasberg-Cohen, Yaakov Kedmi

Translated Opinions

Facts: The applicant was convicted in the District Court in Tel-Aviv-Jaffa of two offenses: the commission of rape under section 345(A)(1) of the Penal Law 5737-1977 and the commission of sodomy, an offense under section 347(A) of the Penal Law.  The applicant was sentenced to four years in prison, of which three years were of actual imprisonment and one year was on probation.  In addition the court ordered the applicant to compensate the complainant in the amount of NIS 10,000.  At the time the conviction was handed down, at the request of the applicant’s counsel, the District Court stayed …

Does V. Ministry Of Defense, Aharon Barak, Theodor Or, Eliahu Mazza, Itzchak Zamir, Mishael Cheshin, Shlomo Levin, Yaakov Kedmi, Jacob Turkel, Dalia Dorner

Translated Opinions

Facts: The petitioners were citizens of Lebanon, who were brought to Israel between the years 1986-1987 by the security forces, and put on trial for their membership in hostile organizations and for their involvement in attacks against IDF and LDF. The petitioners had been convicted and sentenced to various sentences of imprisonment, which they served. Subsequently, the petitioners were held in administrative detention under section 2 of the Emergency Powers (Detentions) Law 5739-1979. This administrative detention was extended from time to time, for additional six month periods, in accordance with the same section. The question before the court was whether …

Ka’Adan V. Israel Land Administration, Aharon Barak, Theodor Or, Itzchak Zamir, Mishael Cheshin, Yaakov Kedmi

Translated Opinions

Facts: The State of Israel, through the Israel Lands Administration, allocated land in the Eron valley region to the Jewish Agency for Israel.  The Jewish Agency, through a cooperative society, set up the settlement of Katzir on this land. The objectives of the Jewish Agency for Israel include the settlement of Jews throughout the land of Israel. For its part, the cooperative society will only grant membership to Jews. Petitioners, a couple with two daughters, are Arabs. They requested to live in the settlement of Katzir. According to petitioners, their request was immediately denied by reason of their being …

Tzemach V. Minister Of Defense, Itzchak Zamir, Aharon Barak, Dov Levin, Theodor Or, Eliahu Mazza, Mishael Cheshin, Tova Strasberg-Cohen, Dalia Dorner, Jacob Turkel, Dorit Beinisch, Yaakov Kedmi

Translated Opinions

Facts: The petitioners, Members of Knesset, reserve military officers, and student organizations, challenged a practice in which the Minister of Defense routinely grants deferrals of and exemptions from required military service to ultra-Orthodox Jewish Yeshiva students who engage in full-time religious study. They claimed the exemptions, granted to an ever-growing percentage of enlistment candidates (8% in the year 1997), violate the principle of equality, exceed the zone of reasonableness, and are disproportionate. They further claimed that the Minister of Defense lacks the authority to regulate the matter and that it must be done so through legislation.

Held: The Knesset, not …

Lam V. Dal, Dalia Dorner, Aharon Barak, Dorit Beinisch

Translated Opinions

Facts: Diagnosticians of children’s learning disabilities and a nonprofit organization representing them challenged a decision by the Ministry of Education to cease recognizing diagnoses of learning disabilities, generally conducted for students seeking eligibility for special governmental conditions and services, unless the diagnoses are conducted by educational psychologists. Petitioners alleged that the decision violated the Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation.

Held: The decision to cease recognizing diagnoses conducted by the petitioners violates the freedom of occupation and does so neither by force of a statute nor or in accordance with any statute, by virtue of express authorization therein, as required by …

Shavit V. Rishon Lezion Jewish Burial Society, Mishael Cheshin, Aharon Barak, Izhak Englard

Translated Opinions

Facts: Petitioner challenged the refusal of a Jewish burial society to allow an inscription on her mother's tombstone recording the dates of birth and death according to the Gregorian, as well as the Hebrew, calendar. The district court held that the recently-passed Alternative Burial Law permitted Jews to bury their loved ones in civilian cemeteries, not according to Jewish religious law, had the effect of overturning previous court rulings requiring Jewish burial societies to permit non-Hebrew characters and dates on tombstones. Sites have yet to be established for alternative burial.

Held:  Jewish burial societies have a public, as well as …

Rubinstein V. The Minister Of Defense, Aharon Barak, Shlomo Levin, Theodor Or, Eliahu Mazza, Itzchak Zamir, Dalia Dorner, Jacob Turkel, Dorit Beinisch, Izhak Englard, Mishael Cheshin, Tova Strasberg-Cohen

Translated Opinions

Facts: The petitioners, Members of Knesset, reserve military officers, and student organizations, challenged a practice in which the Minister of Defense routinely grants deferrals of and exemptions from required military service to ultra-Orthodox Jewish Yeshiva students who engage in full-time religious study. They claim the exemptions, granted to an ever-growing percentage of enlistment candidates (8% in the year 1997), violate the principle of equality, exceed the zone of reasonableness, and are disproportionate.  They further claim that the Minister of Defense lacks the authority to regulate the matter, and that it must be done so via legislation.

Held:  The Knesset, not …

Conterm Ltd. V. Finance Ministry, Itzchak Zamir, Aharon Barak, Mishael Cheshin

Translated Opinions

Facts: The petitioner acquired a license from the Customs Authority to operate a licensing warehouse on land in dispute between it and the Port and Train Authority. The Customs Authority asked for proof that the petitioner had a right in the land, as required by the regulations, and in return it received an agreement that did not appear to address such a right. The Customs Authority granted the license anyway. When it became aware of the dispute over the land, it refused to renew the license. The central question is whether the petitioner had a duty to disclose the existence …

Her Majesty The Queen In Right Of Canada V. Edelson, Aharon Barak, Eliahu Mazza, Tova Strasberg-Cohen

Translated Opinions

Facts: Respondents leased a house to the appellant, a foreign sovereign. The house was to serve as the residence of the Canadian ambassador to Israel. The parties disputed the right of the appellant to exercise his option to extend the lease. The magistrate court, in a declaratory judgment, rejected the appellant's claim of absolute immunity, held that the lease had ended, and ordered the appellant to vacate the property. The district court upheld the decision of the magistrate court. Appellant appealed to the Supreme Court.

Held: The Supreme Court held that a foreign sovereign enjoys only relative immunity, and not …

Horev V. Minister Of Transportation, Aharon Barak, Theodor Or, Mishael Cheshin, Shlomo Levin, Eliahu Mazza, Dalia Dorner, Tzevi Eliyahu Tal

Translated Opinions

Facts: The Minister of Transportation, assuming the powers of the Traffic Controller, ordered the closure of Bar-Ilan Street in Jerusalem to motor traffic on Sabbaths and Jewish holidays during hours of prayer. Petitioners are secular residents of the area and representatives of the secular population in Jerusalem, who claim that the decision of the Minister infringes their right to freedom of movement. One petitioner—the Association for the Rights of the Religious Community in Israel—counter-petitioned that Bar-Ilan should be closed to motor traffic for all hours on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays.

Held: The Court held that the Traffic Controller was …

Station Film Co. V. The Film Review Board, Aharon Barak, Eliahu Mazza, Mishael Cheshin

Translated Opinions

Facts: Respondent no. 1 decided to allow the screening of the film "L'Empire Des Sens," on the condition that several scenes be omitted from the film, and that the film only be shown to adults. According to respondent no. 1, these scenes were of a pornographic nature, and there was a near certainty that screening these parts of the film would cause serious, grave and severe harm to societal sensibilities and public morality. Petitioner accepted that the film could only be shown to adults. In this petition, it contests the deletion of the omitted scenes, except for scenes …