Case Number
HCJ 466/07
Date Decided
1-11-2012
Decision Type
Original
Document Type
Summary
Abstract
By a majority of six justices out of a panel of eleven, the High Court of Justice rejected petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Citizenship and Entry to Israel Act. The majority justices acknowledged there was a constitutional right for family life, which derives from the right to human dignity, but held that the scope of the right does not extend to realizing the right specifically in Israel. It was also held that to the extent that constitutional rights have been violated, including the right to equality, it is a violation that passes muster under the test of the Limitations Clause. They believe that the potential risk of terrorist activity posed by the foreign partners and the public interest in safety and security - which they find to be a worthy purpose - outweigh the infringement on the constitutional right, and is thus proportional. The minority justices believe that because the statue effects primarily Arab Israelis it violates the right to equality, in addition to the right to family life, which is rendered meaningless without the ability to exercise it in Israel. They find these violations to be disproportional, primarily because there is a least restrictive alternative in the form of individualized assessments rather than the means the Act chose with is a blanket prohibition.
Keywords
Constitutional Law -- Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, Constitutional Law -- Equality Before the Law, Constitutional Law -- Nationality, Constitutional Law -- Separation of Powers, Family Law -- Marriage, Family Law -- Right to Family Life
