Ministry of Justice (Israel)

The Ministry of Justice combines the government’s central legal functions with an extensive network of public-facing administrative and professional services.[2] Its remit includes legal advice to government, state prosecution, public defense, legal aid, guardianship, insolvency, anti-money-laundering work, enforcement, and tribunals.[2] It also oversees land registration, the regulation of professions, patents and trademarks, and privacy protection.[2] Its stated purpose joins service to the public and implementation of government policy with protection of the rule of law, human rights, and equality before the law.[1]

The ministry’s organizational structure encompasses both legal-policy institutions and bodies concerned with business activity and individual rights.[3] Its principal structures include the Attorney General, State Attorney, Office of Legal Counsel and Legislative Affairs, Director General, and Enforcement and Collection Authority.[3] Business-service bodies include the Corporations Authority, Patent Authority, and Land Registry, while other listed bodies include the Privacy Protection Authority, Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and Pardons Department.[3] The 2026 budget proposal identifies approximately 50 bodies and units under the responsibility of ministry headquarters.[2]

As displayed on the ministry’s English-language portal on November 6, 2026, Yariv Levin was Minister of Justice and Itamar Donenfeld was Director General.[1] The minister oversees the ministry’s administrative, budgetary, and professional operation, as well as its legislative initiatives and their formal introduction in the Knesset and its committees.[4] The minister may also set general policy guidelines for the State Attorney’s Office and the general prosecution system.[4]

The ministry’s listed address is 2 Wolfson Boulevard in Jerusalem’s David Ben-Gurion Government Quarter.[1] Its public telephone service operates Sunday through Thursday, from 08:30 to 12:30.[1] The public portal provides access to services ranging from company registration and land-registry extracts to probate applications, disability-equality information, and complaints concerning Israel Security Agency interrogators.[1]

Land-title settlement, a process associated with the ministry’s property-registration responsibilities, began in 1928.[5] By the end of December 1988, title to 94 percent of Israel’s land area had been settled; this is a historical measure rather than a current estimate.[5] The registration system distinguishes between deeds recording transactions in land with unsettled proprietary rights, titles established after surveying and public clarification of claims, and condominium registers based on building plans.[5]

The ministry has also had a role in making Israeli legislation available in English through authorized translations published in the series Laws of the State of Israel.[6] The series includes most, but not all, primary laws and amendments.[6] The latest volume identified in the legal-research guide documenting the series was published in 1986/87.[6]

A significant administrative reorganization occurred in January 2009, when the Enforcement and Collection Authority was established as an independent auxiliary unit within the ministry.[2] The reform separated enforcement and collection from the court system.[2] Its two central bodies are the Execution Office, which enforces judgments and other obligations specified by law, and the Center for Collection of Fines, Fees and Expenses, which collects debts owed to the state.[2]

In 2019, the ministry employed approximately 530 legal interns annually across 20 units throughout Israel.[7] About 370 worked in the State Attorney’s Office, then identified as the ministry’s largest unit, at its headquarters and district offices.[7] The office’s work included major criminal cases, economic enforcement, protection of public resources, class actions, and administrative and constitutional litigation before the High Court of Justice and administrative courts.[7] The district structure described at that time comprised six districts, with work divided between criminal and civil law.[7]

In 2021, plans called for headquarters units and the managements of ministry bodies to move into a new complex in Jerusalem’s National Quarter.[8] The planned area was 35,000 square meters, intended to consolidate management offices then dispersed among buildings in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and accommodate approximately 1,850 employees.[8] Units scheduled to move included the State Attorney’s Office, Legal Advice and Legislation, the national Public Defender’s Office, the Privacy Protection Authority, and the cyber unit.[8] Approximately 100 additional employees associated with the Privacy Protection Authority and the commission reviewing the State Attorney’s Office were also being incorporated into the relocation plans.[8]

The new headquarters was formally opened in late July 2026, after having already been occupied for more than a year.[9] The completed building was described as containing approximately 65,000 square meters of built area and roughly 1,600 offices, bringing together the Justice Minister’s office, ministry divisions, the State Attorney, and the Attorney General.[9] Its facilities included an auditorium, library, conference and training spaces, dining rooms, a cafeteria, and underground parking.[9]

The Attorney General’s responsibilities in the 2026 budget proposal encompass heading the general prosecution, representing the government in court, leading the legal-advice system for public authorities, and leading the preparation of government-initiated legislation.[2] Appointment is made by the government on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice.[2] Deputy attorneys general cover management and special functions, public-administrative and constitutional law, civil law, criminal law, international law, and economic law.[2] The legal-advice function serves the government, ministers, and government agencies, with guidelines intended to coordinate legal policy across ministries.[5]

The State Attorney’s Office represents the state and its authorities in criminal, civil, and administrative matters before courts, tribunals, and committees.[2] The 2026 budget proposal describes a headquarters and eight districts, organized geographically and by criminal and civil specialization, and places the State Attorney under the Attorney General.[2] Its work includes representation in civil disputes and participation in legislative and legal-advisory committees.[5] Criminal and civil matters range from serious crime and white-collar cases to tort and real-estate claims.[10]

The legislation function provides professional legal guidance and supervision for ministries preparing draft laws.[5] It initiates legislation within the ministry’s remit or assigned by the government, follows draft legislation through its parliamentary stages, and examines the legal implications of private members’ bills.[5] Its secondary-legislation work includes reviewing the legality of proposed regulations and assisting with their preparation and publication.[5] Legal Advice and Legislation also serves as a central government legal-policy unit, preparing legal opinions and participating in legislation.[10]

The Public Defender’s Office represents eligible detainees and defendants in criminal proceedings throughout the judicial system.[2] Eligibility is determined under the Public Defender Law, 1995.[2] Its national structure is led by the Public Defender, with six district public defenders serving Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Beersheba, Haifa, Nazareth, and the Center district.[2] The office’s work includes defending the rights of suspects and defendants.[10]

The Legal Aid Administration provides advice and representation to people who meet its eligibility requirements.[2] Eligibility generally involves an assessment of economic capacity and the likelihood of legal success, with specified exceptions.[2] Its six regional districts are North, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Center, Jerusalem, and South.[2] Legal-aid fields include personal status, housing-related claims, civil torts, labor-court matters, and certain issues concerning disability rights, demobilized soldiers, citizenship, and population registration.[5] The administration has a measure of independence and may bring proceedings against the government on behalf of clients when necessary.[11]

Land-registration responsibilities include maintaining registers, recording transactions and condominium units, resolving certain disputes between apartment owners, and settling land rights.[5] Deed registers cover land whose proprietary rights have not been settled, while title registers concern rights settled following surveying and public clarification of claims.[5] Condominium registers record apartments in buildings registered on the basis of plans.[5] Public services include obtaining land-registry extracts and condominium-file documents.[1] The government land-valuation function appraises property in transactions involving the state or a state institution, including proposed purchases, leases, expropriations, sales, and rentals, and advises on land management.[5]

Company and partnership registration encompasses registrations under the laws governing companies, partnerships, and business names.[5] The framework requires public disclosure of corporate-registration information and reporting to the Registrar on changes in company structure.[5] The ministry’s portal provides company-registration and annual-reporting services.[1] Foreign investors must obtain company-registration documents through a recognized attorney with the ministry.[12]

The Intellectual Property Law Division and Israel Patent Office are principal government authorities overseeing the legal protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.[12] Patent functions include examining eligibility for exclusive rights, issuing patents, and registering designs and trademarks.[5] They also include public information and guidance on intellectual and industrial property and advice concerning copyright-related matters.[5]

Property administration encompasses responsibilities associated with the Administrator-General and Official Receiver, including abandoned property, court-ordered bankruptcy and liquidation, guardianship and estate matters, state bequests, and supervision of public trusts.[5] These functions concern, among other matters, property belonging to people unable to administer it themselves, including where their identity or whereabouts are unknown or they have a disability.[5] The ministry’s current service and information offerings include unclaimed-property restitution, estates and trusts, probate petitions, and supported decision-making.[1] Its 2026 structure also includes the General Guardian and the Insolvency and Economic Rehabilitation Commissioner.[2]

Privacy responsibilities include oversight of computerized databases and safeguards for personal information.[5] The registration framework described under the Privacy Protection Law requires registration of certain databases and their purposes and permits refusal where a database serves as a cover for unlawful activity.[5] The ministry’s organizational chart includes the Privacy Protection Authority and the Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[3] Public services provide disability-rights and accessibility information, as well as freedom-of-information requests and complaints.[1]

The Department for Investigations of Police Officers, known as DIPO, investigates alleged unlawful actions involving police, while the State Attorney’s Office has responsibility for investigating alleged unlawful actions involving the prosecution service.[13] These responsibilities are distinct from investigations concerning the Israel Defense Forces, which fall to the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division and the Military Advocate General’s Corps.[13] DIPO’s findings for 2020 included 64 indictments against police officers and the transfer of 204 cases to the police disciplinary department; 34 indictments ended in a settlement.[13] Of 63 cases in which judicial proceedings concluded during that year, approximately 70 percent resulted in a full or partial conviction.[13]

The ministry’s work against foreign bribery involves coordination among legal bodies and other enforcement agencies.[14] The work has been directed by the Attorney General and coordinated by an inter-ministerial team headed by the Deputy State Attorney for Economic Enforcement, with participation from the State Attorney’s Office, Counselling and Legislation Department, police, Tax Authority, and money-laundering and terrorist-financing authority.[14] Investigations were assigned to a special department in the police’s Lahav 433 national fraud unit, with prosecutions handled by the State Attorney’s Office Economic Department.[14]

The ministry’s public information topics extend to artificial intelligence, bribery and corruption, cybercrime, racism, human trafficking, foreign relations, and prohibitions on money laundering and terrorist financing.[1] Its portal also provides information about international parental child abduction and international prisoner transfer.[1] These subjects sit alongside the ministry’s registration, representation, rights-protection, and property-administration services.[1][2]

The ministry’s 2026 budget proposal set a staffing ceiling of 9,324.5 positions across the budgeted Ministry of Justice category.[2] This comprised 4,155.5 positions for the main ministry, 4,313 for the court system, and 856 for the Enforcement and Collection Authority.[2] These figures were proposed budget ceilings, not a count of actual employees.[2] The category therefore encompassed the ministry’s core bodies alongside the court system and enforcement apparatus.[2]

Court administration must be distinguished from the exercise of judicial power: the courts are described as a separate, independent unit within the ministry, with administration handled by the Directorate of Courts under a Director of Courts.[15] Basic Law: The Judiciary provides that a person vested with judicial power is subject, in judicial matters, to no authority but the law.[15]

The ministry’s institutional reach includes representing public authorities while also providing representation to qualifying individuals through separate services.[2] The State Attorney’s Office represents the state, the Public Defender’s Office represents eligible detainees and defendants, and Legal Aid assists eligible people across a range of legal matters.[2] Legal Aid’s ability to act against the government on behalf of clients forms part of its role in enabling access to judicial forums for people unable to afford it.[11]

For 2026, the ministry identified improving access to legal services and strengthening public trust among its priorities.[2] Other priorities included making criminal proceedings more effective and fair while protecting participants’ rights, improving access to justice and dispute resolution outside court, and reducing regulatory burdens through smarter regulation and technology.[2] Its public portal connects these broad responsibilities with practical services for individuals and businesses, including probate, company reporting, property records, disability equality, and freedom of information.[1]

On January 11, 2023, Justice Minister Yariv Levin introduced a legislative package proposing changes to the judicial system, including limits on High Court of Justice review of Knesset legislation and executive action.[16] Proponents argued that the changes would rebalance the branches of government and strengthen elected officials’ ability to implement policy, while Supreme Court President Esther Hayut and other critics warned of damage to judicial independence.[16] Related proposals included making ministry legal advisers personal appointments of ministers rather than independent civil servants reporting to the Attorney General.[17] The dispute generated years of debate and mass protests, and questions about the judicial system’s status remained unresolved at the headquarters inauguration in July 2026.[9]

A bill separating the Attorney General’s chief legal-adviser and top-prosecutor functions passed its first Knesset reading on October 29, 2025, by 61 votes to 46, before proceeding to committee consideration and further readings.[18] Separately, the Attorney General Law (Legal Opinions, Representation and Oversight), 2026, was enacted on July 15, 2026, by 65 votes to 51, with commencement scheduled for January 1, 2027.[19] It permits the government, subject to reporting requirements and exceptions, to determine that a particular Attorney General opinion does not reflect the law and exempt other executive agencies from following it.[19]

The 2026 law also gives the government final authority over the executive’s position in court and permits separate publicly funded counsel in specified circumstances, excluding criminal proceedings.[19] It makes the Attorney General accountable to the government and subject to Justice Minister supervision, with reporting safeguards for certain public-interest and conflict-of-interest concerns.[19] Supporters argued that it restores elected officials’ authority; opponents argued that it weakens legal checks on executive action, and petitions challenging it were filed with the High Court of Justice.[19]

The handling of complaints against Shin Bet interrogators has also drawn scrutiny.[13] An independent inspector within the ministry handled misconduct and abuse complaints, with Attorney General approval required to open an investigation against an employee.[13] The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel reported that more than 1,400 complaints submitted since 2001 had produced three criminal investigations and no indictments, while the ministry stated that internal reviews had led to two investigations since 2018.[13] The committee also reported an average complaint-processing time of 44 months and a longest pending preliminary examination of 97 months.[13]