Ministry of Justice (Israel)

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Ministry of Justice
משרד המשפטים
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Agency overview
Formed1948
Jurisdiction Government of Israel
Minister responsible
Agency executive
Website www.justice.gov.il
Ministry of Justice building in Givat Ram in 2024 Israel's Ministry of Justice building in Givat Ram, July 2024.jpg
Ministry of Justice building in Givat Ram in 2024
Judicial swearing-in ceremony in 2015 tqs hSHb`t SHvpty byt mSHpt SHlvm vmKHvzy bySHrAl.jpg
Judicial swearing-in ceremony in 2015

The Justice Ministry (Hebrew : מִשְׂרָד הַמִשְׁפָּטִים, Misrad HaMishpatim; Arabic : وزارة العدل) is the Israeli government ministry that oversees the Israeli judicial system.

Contents

History

The office was established with the establishment of the Provisional Government in 1948. The first minister who headed it was Pinchas Rosen, and at the beginning of his career he had only three employees. The first goal of the office was to create continuity in the activity of the essential legal institutions during the transition period from British rule. In particular, there was a need to fill the positions of judges in the courts, as the British and Arab judges left. The appointment of the first judges of the Supreme Court in its incarnation as an Israeli court was approved by the Provisional Government and the Provisional Council of State in July of that year. In 1948, the Office of the General Custodian was also staffed.

Another goal that stood before the eyes of the heads of the ministry in the early years of the State of Israel was the formation of Israeli laws that would replace the Ottoman and Mandatory legal systems. However, the connection to British law was severed only in 1980, with the enactment of the Law on the Foundations of Law, which repealed a section of the King's Word in the Council on the Land of Israel that stated that where provisions were not established in the local law, the courts would rule according to common law and the laws of honesty. Also, even nowadays, more than 70 years after the establishment of the State of Israel, laws enacted by the mandatory legislature or new versions of such laws (such as the Torts Ordinance, the Evidence Ordinance or the Municipalities Ordinance) remain in force. The last piece of Ottoman legislation, the Majela, was abolished in 1984.

In 1949 the office consisted of three main departments: consulting, legislation and advocacy. The office also included the administrative departments: land registrar, general guardian and general registrar. [1] 506 employees worked in the office. In April 1949, the prosecutor's office and the general registrar moved to Jerusalem. [2]

Structure

Office of the State Attorney

The Office of the State Attorney constitutes a part of the law enforcement system, representating the State before the courts. The Office of the State Attorney is headed by the State Attorney and is subject to the Attorney General's directives. The State Attorney has four deputies: Criminal Matters Deputy, Civil Matters Deputy, Economic Enforcement Deputy and Special Matters Deputy. [4]

List of ministers

The Justice Minister (Hebrew : שַׂר הַמִשְׁפָּטִים, Sar HaMishpatim) is the political head of the ministry. Unlike other ministries, there has never been a Deputy Minister.

#MinisterPartyGovernmentTerm startTerm endNotes
1 Pinchas Rosen Progressive Party P, 1, 214 May 19488 October 1951
2 Dov Yosef Mapai 38 October 195125 June 1952
3 Haim Cohn Not an MK325 June 195224 December 1952
Pinchas Rosen Progressive Party 4, 5, 6, 724 December 195213 February 1956
4 David Ben-Gurion Mapai 713 February 195628 February 1956Serving Prime Minister
Pinchas Rosen Progressive Party, Liberal Party 7, 8, 928 February 19562 November 1961
Dov Yosef Mapai 10, 11, 122 November 196112 January 1966
5 Ya'akov Shimshon Shapira Mapai 13, 14, 1512 January 196613 June 1972
Ya'akov Shimshon Shapira Mapai 1512 September 19721 November 1973
6 Haim Yosef Zadok Alignment 16, 1710 March 197420 June 1977
7 Menachem Begin Likud 1820 June 197724 October 1977Serving Prime Minister
8 Shmuel Tamir Democratic Movement for Change 1820 June 19775 August 1980
9 Moshe Nissim Likud 18, 19, 20, 2113 August 198016 April 1986
10 Yitzhak Moda'i Likud 2116 April 198623 July 1986
11 Avraham Sharir Likud 21, 2230 July 198622 December 1988
12 Dan Meridor Likud 23, 2422 December 198813 July 1992
13 David Libai Labor 25, 2613 July 199218 June 1996
14 Yaakov Neeman Not an MK2718 June 199610 August 1996
15 Benjamin Netanyahu Likud 2718 June 19964 September 1996Serving Prime Minister
16 Tzachi Hanegbi Likud 274 September 19966 July 1999
17 Yossi Beilin One Israel 286 July 19997 March 2001
18 Meir Sheetrit Likud 297 March 200128 February 2003
19 Tommy Lapid Shinui 30 28 February 20034 December 2004
20 Tzipi Livni Likud, Kadima 305 December 20044 May 2006
21 Haim Ramon Kadima 31 4 May 200622 August 2006
Meir Sheetrit Kadima 3123 August 200629 November 2006acting
Tzipi Livni Kadima 3129 November 20067 February 2007
22 Daniel Friedmann Not an MK317 February 200731 March 2009
Yaakov Neeman Not an MK 32 31 March 200918 March 2013
Tzipi Livni Hatnuah 33 18 March 20134 December 2014
23 Ayelet Shaked The Jewish Home, New Right 34 14 May 20152 June 2019
24 Amir Ohana Likud 34 5 June 201917 May 2020
25 Avi Nissenkorn Israel Resilience Party, Blue and White 35 17 May 20201 January 2021
Benny Gantz Israel Resilience Party, Blue and White 35 1 January 20211 April 2021acting
26 Benny Gantz Israel Resilience Party, Blue and White 35 28 April 202113 June 2021
27 Gideon Sa'ar New Hope 36 13 June 202129 December 2022
28 Yariv Levin Likud 37 29 December 2022

See also

References

  1. "⁨הויטומה _המשניטית בישראל ⁩ ⁨⁨מעריב⁩ 23 יוני 1949⁩ הספרייה הלאומית של ישראל │ עיתונים". www.nli.org.il (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  2. "⁨_חמקו מחלקות ממשרי _המשפטים ⁩ ⁨⁨דבר⁩ 24 אפריל 1949⁩ הספרייה הלאומית של ישראל │ עיתונים". www.nli.org.il (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  3. 31 Units of the Ministry of Justice
  4. About The Office of the State Attorney