International Law within the Israel Legal System

Since the establishment of the State and up to the present day, Israeli law has had to deal with a great number of various problems in the field of international law, e.g. whether the State of Israel is a successor to the obligations of the Mandatory government; the jurisdiction of the Israeli courts with regard to offences committed in demilitarized zones or beyond the State's boundaries (on the high seas or abroad); the immunity of foreign states and their representatives from the jurisdiction of Israeli courts and from measures of execution; the status of international organizations and of their employees; the effect and implications of official acts performed within the territory of a state which is at war with Israel; the effect of international treaties in Israel; the question whether the Eastern neighbourhoods of Jerusalem are part of Israel; various issues concerning extradition, and of course, many questions regarding the laws of war: the powers of the military governor, and in particular his power to expropriate land in the territories under Israeli control and to expel residents from the territories, the extent of his legislative powers, etc.</jats:p

Note on the Publication of Israel's Treaties

An Israeli lawyer who reads Professor Engel's very interesting remarks “On the Evidence of U.S. Treaty Law” will feel like the poor man who reacted to a rich man's complaints by saying: “For you the diamonds are sparse, for me the soup is thin”.In Israel there are two official publications which give information about treaties:1) Kitvei Amana—Israel Treaty Documents; and 2) Yalkut HaPirsumim—Government Notices. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for these two publications but it follows the advice of the Foreign Ministry in all substantive matters concerning the publication of information on treaties.The treaties to which Israel has become a party are published in Kitvei Amana. So far, some 22 volumes have been published in this series. Bilateral agreements are published in the two languages in which the treaty was concluded, i.e., Hebrew and the official language of the other party. As to multilateral conventions, a Hebrew translation of them is published, together with the original text in one or two of the official languages of the treaty. For example, the English and the French version of the U.N. Charter were published, as well as a Hebrew translation. Together with the text of the treaty, some additional relevant information is also given: a list (with dates) of the signatures and ratifications of the treaty, date of its coming into force, date of its coming into force for Israel.</jats:p