Basic Laws of Israel

The Basic Laws of Israel (Hebrew: חוקי היסוד, romanized: Ḥukey HaYesod) are fifteen quasi-constitutional laws of the State of Israel. While some of them can only be changed by a majority or supermajority vote in the Knesset, with varying requirements for different Basic Laws and sections, many can be altered through a majority vote, and new Basic Laws can be enacted by a majority vote likewise. The most recent Basic Law is Basic Law: Torah Study, enacted on 13 July 2026.

The Basic Laws were intended to be draft chapters of a future Israeli constitution, which, although promised in 1948, has been postponed since 1950; they act as a de facto constitution until their future incorporation into a formal, unitary, written constitution. Israel is one of six countries (along with New Zealand, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and the United Kingdom) that operate entirely or in part according to an uncodified constitution consisting of both material constitutional law (based upon cases and precedents), common law, and the provisions of these formal statutes.

The Basic Laws deal with the formation and role of the principal institutions of the state, including the legislature, control of state lands, ceremonial and actual executive, economic policy, military, status of Jerusalem, judiciary, state comptroller rights and freedoms, policy on referendums, status of a nation-state, and Torah study, and with their relations between the state's authorities. The Basic Laws on Human Dignity and Liberty and on Freedom of Occupation protect civil rights in Israel, although some of these rights were earlier protected at common law by the Supreme Court of Israel. The Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty enjoys super-legal status, giving the Supreme Court the authority to disqualify any law contradicting it, as well as protection from Emergency Regulations.

A Basic Law enacted in 2018, "Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish People", stated in chapter 1C that "the realization of the right to national self-determination in the State of Israel is exclusive to the Jewish People." This law was criticized by some ethnic groups in Israel, including by some Israeli Druze. It was upheld in 2021 by the Supreme Court of Israel. In 2024, the Supreme Court of Israel struck down an amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary for the first time, in addition to ruling that it had jurisdiction to conduct judicial review of Basic Laws enacted by the Knesset. However, the question of whether the Supreme Court may invalidate an entire Basic Law as opposed to amendments to it remains unanswered.