# Key Israeli Legislation Index

## Overview
This index covers the most commonly referenced Israeli laws, organized by area.
For each law, the Hebrew name, year of enactment, and key sections are provided.

## Constitutional / Basic Laws (Chukei Yesod)

### Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty (1992)
- Hebrew: Chok Yesod: Kvod HaAdam VeCheruto
- Key sections: Saif 2 (protection of life, body, dignity), Saif 7 (privacy rights)
- Significance: Quasi-constitutional status, basis for judicial review
- Amended: 1994 (added the "Basic principles" clause; the original purpose clause was re-designated). The limitation clause, the purpose clause, and the preservation-of-laws clause were all already in the original 1992 enactment.

### Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation (1994, re-enacted; orig. 1992)
- Hebrew: Chok Yesod: Chofesh HaIsuk
- Key sections: Saif 3 (right to engage in any occupation)
- Significance: Economic freedom protection

### Basic Law: The Knesset (1958)
- Hebrew: Chok Yesod: HaKnesset
- Key sections: Election law, Knesset immunity, basic parliamentary rules

### Basic Law: The Government (2001)
- Hebrew: Chok Yesod: HaMemshala
- Key sections: Formation of government, PM powers, ministerial responsibility

### Basic Law: The Judiciary (1984)
- Hebrew: Chok Yesod: HaShfita
- Key sections: Section 15 (Supreme Court, including its jurisdiction sitting as the High Court of Justice / Bagatz), Section 20 (binding precedent: Supreme Court rulings bind lower courts but not the Supreme Court itself)
- Significance: Constitutional anchor for judicial review and HCJ authority; central to the 2023-2026 judicial-reform track below

## Contract Law

### Contracts Law (General Part) 1973
- Hebrew: Chok HaChozim (Chelek Klali)
- Key sections:
  - Saif 1: Contract formation (offer and acceptance)
  - Saif 12: Good faith in negotiations (tom lev)
  - Saif 14-15: Mistake and fraud (taut ve'ona'a)
  - Saif 17-19: Duress and undue influence
  - Saif 25: Contract interpretation
  - Saif 39: Good faith in performance
- Note: No consideration requirement (unlike common law systems)

### Contracts (Remedies for Breach) Law 1970
- Hebrew: Chok HaChozim (Taknaot BeShal Hafarat Choze)
- Key sections: Enforcement (afikhat choze), cancellation (bitul), damages (pitzuim)

### Sale Law 1968
- Hebrew: Chok HaMecher
- Key sections: Seller obligations, buyer obligations, defects (mumim)

### Gift Law 1968
- Hebrew: Chok HaMatana

### Guarantee Law 1967
- Hebrew: Chok HaArvut

## Employment Law

### Employment Law Overview
Israeli employment law is heavily protective of employees and consists of
multiple separate statutes:

### Severance Pay Law 1963
- Hebrew: Chok Pitzuei Piturin
- Key sections:
  - Saif 1: Right to severance after 1 year of employment
  - Saif 12: Calculation (1 month salary per year)
  - Saif 14: Section 14 arrangement (pension fund substitution)
- Critical: Section 14 arrangement is now near-universal for new employees

### Hours of Work and Rest Law 1951
- Hebrew: Chok Shaot Avoda UMenucha
- Key sections: Maximum work hours, overtime, rest day (yom menucha)
- Standard: 42 hours/week maximum

### Annual Leave Law 1951
- Hebrew: Chok Chufsha Shnatit
- Key sections: Minimum vacation days by seniority

### Sick Pay Law 1976
- Hebrew: Chok Dmei Machala
- Key sections: Sick leave entitlement, medical certificate requirements

### Minimum Wage Law 1987
- Hebrew: Chok Schar Minimum
- Updated periodically by government order

### Equal Employment Opportunity Law 1988
- Hebrew: Chok Shivion Hizdamniut BaAvoda
- Key sections: Prohibited discrimination grounds, burden of proof

### Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law 1998
- Hebrew: Chok Meni'at Hatrada Minit
- Key sections: Definition, employer obligations, complaint procedures

### Notice of Dismissal and Resignation Law 2001
- Hebrew: Chok Hoda'a Mukdemet LePiturin ULeHitpitarut

## Corporate Law

### Companies Law 1999
- Hebrew: Chok HaChevarot
- Key sections:
  - Part 3: Incorporation and registration
  - Part 5: Share capital
  - Part 6: Company management (directors, officers)
  - Part 7: Transactions with interested parties (ba'alei inyan)
  - Part 8: Mergers and acquisitions
  - Part 10: Dissolution and liquidation
- Registration: Companies Registrar (Rasham HaChevarot) at Ministry of Justice

### Partnerships Ordinance (New Version) 1975
- Hebrew: Pkudat HaShutafiot

### Cooperative Societies Ordinance
- Hebrew: Pkudat HaAgudot HaShitufiot

## Real Estate Law

### Land Law 1969
- Hebrew: Chok HaMikrkain
- Key sections: Ownership (baalut), leasehold, easements (zchut ma'avar)
- Land registration: Tabu (Land Registry)

### Planning and Building Law 1965
- Hebrew: Chok HaTichnun VeHaBniya
- Key sections: Building permits, zoning, planning committees

### Sale of Apartments Law (Assurance of Investments) 1974
- Hebrew: Chok Mecher Dirot (Havtachat Hashka'ot)
- Key sections: Developer guarantees for apartment buyers

### Tenant Protection Law 1972
- Hebrew: Chok Haganat HaDayar
- Key sections: Protected tenancy, rent control (limited application today)

### Rent and Borrowing Law 1971
- Hebrew: Chok HaSechirut VeHaShee'la

## Consumer Protection

### Consumer Protection Law 1981
- Hebrew: Chok Haganat HaTzarchan
- Key sections: Misleading advertising, cooling-off period, unfair terms

### Standard Contracts Law 1982
- Hebrew: Chok HaChozim HaAchidim
- Key sections: Unconscionable terms, Standard Contracts Tribunal

## Tort Law

### Torts Ordinance (New Version) 1968
- Hebrew: Pkudat HaNezikin (Nusach Chadash)
- Key sections:
  - Negligence (rashlanut)
  - Strict liability (achrayut muchletet)
  - Defamation provisions (now separate law)
  - Damage assessment

### Defamation Law 1965
- Hebrew: Chok Isur Lashon HaRa

## Privacy and Data Protection

### Privacy Protection Law 1981
- Hebrew: Chok Haganat HaPratiut
- Last major reform: **Amendment 13, in force August 14, 2025**, granting the Privacy Protection Authority independent enforcement authority including administrative fines, cease-processing orders, mandatory deletion, and an expanded DPO regime. The DPO compliance grace period ended **2025-10-31**.
- Breach notification: the statute requires **"prompt" notification to the PPA of a "severe security incident"**, and it does NOT adopt the GDPR 72-hour wording. Verify the exact statutory phrasing before quoting a specific deadline.
- Sanctions: significant administrative financial penalties (עיצום כספי) that scale with the size of the database, the type of violation, and the controller's turnover, capped as a percentage of annual turnover in the most serious cases. For the exact tariff figures consult the PPA's Amendment-13 professional guide rather than quoting a number from memory. Statutory damages without proof of harm depend on the head cited: **PPL Section 29A allows up to NIS 50,000 without proof of harm, raised to up to NIS 100,000 only where the violation was committed with intent to harm**; Amendment 13's own new no-proof-of-harm damages head is capped at **NIS 10,000**. Do not cite "NIS 100,000 without proof of harm" unconditionally. An early Amendment-13 enforcement action was a **NIS 75,000** administrative fine on an individual for unauthorized retrieval of data from National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi) databases.
- 2026 PPA enforcement priorities (from PPA work plan): municipalities, e-commerce platforms, popular consumer apps, genetic-testing labs, after-school programs (tzaharonim).
- See detailed coverage in israeli-privacy-shield skill.

## Tax Law

### Income Tax Ordinance (New Version) 1961
- Hebrew: Pkudat Mas Hachnasa
- Key sections: Tax rates, deductions, capital gains, international taxation

### Value Added Tax Law 1975
- Hebrew: Chok Mas Erech Musaf (Chok Maam)
- Current rate: 18% (raised from 17% effective January 1, 2025; verify current rate at gov.il / Israel Tax Authority)

### Land Appreciation Tax Law 1963
- Hebrew: Chok Mas Shevach Mikrkain
- Key sections: Tax on real estate sales profit

## Criminal Law

### Penal Law 1977
- Hebrew: Chok HaOnshin
- Key sections: General part (criminal liability), specific offenses

### Criminal Procedure Law (Consolidated Version) 1982
- Hebrew: Chok Seder HaDin HaPili'i

## Courts, Civil Procedure and Limitations

### Courts Law [Consolidated Version] 1984
- Hebrew: Chok Batei HaMishpat (Nusach Meshulav)
- Court hierarchy: Magistrate (Shalom), District (Mechozi), Supreme (Elyon); appeal as of right (ערעור בזכות) vs. leave-to-appeal (בקשת רשות ערעור / רע"א)
- Small Claims (תביעות קטנות): established at Sections 59-62; representation by a lawyer is allowed ONLY with the court's permission and for special recorded reasons (Section 63(a))
- Ceiling: the small-claims monetary ceiling is index-linked and updated periodically. It was 39,900 NIS as of January 2026. Treat any figure as time-sensitive and re-verify on Kol Zchut or the courts portal before quoting.

### Limitation Law 1958
- Hebrew: Chok HaHityashnut
- Section 5: general civil limitation period is 7 years for non-land claims (Section 5(1)); 25 years for claims in registered land (mekarkein musdarim), 15 years for other land (Section 5(2))
- Interaction: under the Land Law 1969, the Limitation Law generally does not apply to claims over rights in registered land, which affects how the 25-year period is applied in practice. Verify against both statutes.

### Civil Procedure Regulations 5779-2018
- Hebrew: Takanot Seder HaDin HaEzrachi
- Entered into force 1 January 2021, replacing the 1984 regulations
- Opening principles: procedural good faith (tom lev) and proportionality (no disproportionate or abusive use of process). These framing principles govern how all civil proceedings are read.

## Administrative Law

### Administrative Courts Law 2000
- Hebrew: Chok Batei Mishpat LeInynaim Minhaliyim
- Key sections: Jurisdiction, judicial review of administrative decisions

### Freedom of Information Law 1998
- Hebrew: Chok Chofesh HaMeida

## Judicial Reform Track (2024-2026)

This is not a single statute but a connected legislative and doctrinal track that any 2026 Israeli legal research touches. Treat the items below as a status snapshot, not as background; details change month to month.

### Reasonableness clause (struck down)
- HCJ judgment of **2024-01-01**, two distinct holdings in the same case:
  - **8-7 majority** struck down the July 2023 amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary that barred courts from applying extreme-unreasonableness review to elected officials. Doctrine of extreme unreasonableness restored.
  - **Larger majority (12-3 / 13-2 depending on the sub-question)** held that HCJ has authority to strike down Basic Laws in narrow circumstances. This is a separate, more foundational ruling.
- Citation hygiene: do not cite "8-7" for the Basic-Laws-review authority point.

### Judicial Selection Committee reform (passed, not yet in force)
- Knesset law of **2025-03-27**.
- Activation: takes effect **only when the next Knesset is sworn in after the October 2026 elections**. Current committee composition is unchanged.
- An **11-justice HCJ panel** heard consolidated petitions on **June 21, 2026** (Bar Association, Yesh Atid MKs, Movement for Quality Government, Israeli Democracy Guard) and issued an **order nisi** (צו על תנאי) against the committee-composition change; a final ruling is pending (re-check status).
- As of 2026-04-27, the Attorney General officially declared the Justice Minister in continuing violation of the law for not convening the current selection committee.

### 2026 "Judicial Overhaul Redux" measures (DIFFERENT stages, do not blanket-label as pending)
Each item is at its own legislative stage. Track the current status before citing; do not present a mid-process bill as law, or an enacted measure as still pending.
- **Mahash (Police Internal Investigations Department), ENACTED.** The bill giving the Justice Minister control over the unit that investigates police officers passed its final second-and-third reading on **2026-06-11** (43-39). This is law now, not a pending bill. Check for petitions / HCJ challenges before relying on it.
- **AG split bill, MID-PROCESS (first reading only).** Separates the Attorney General role into a Prosecutor General and a Government Representative to Courts; both would be political appointments. Not yet enacted.
- **Ministerial legal advisers, MID-PROCESS (preliminary reading only).** Bill subordinating ministry legal advisers to political directors-general rather than the AG. Not yet enacted.
- **Civil Service Commissioner**: reported proposal to allow political appointment without the existing competitive selection process; not independently confirmed as a distinct enacted bill, treat as unverified and check the Knesset portal.
- **Public Complaints Commissioner on Judges, Amendment 6 (תשפ"ה-2025)**: in pipeline.

### Doctrinal shifts to flag
- **Amendment 3 to the Contracts Law (General Part), Section 25(a), third reading 2026-01-05**: narrows the Apropim interpretation rule for COMMERCIAL contracts only (interpreted by text unless absurd or self-contradictory). Non-commercial, standard-form (חוזה אחיד), and employment contracts stay under the prior Apropim rule. It is a statutory amendment, not a case-law reversal. Pre-amendment case law treating subjective intent as co-equal with text is no longer the safe default for commercial contracts.