The Supreme CourtFormer · since 1978
Aharon Barak אהרן ברק
President of the Supreme Court (1995-2006)
Supreme Court justice from 1978 to 2006 and President from 1995 to 2006. His interpretation of the 1992 Basic Laws helped establish judicial review of ordinary legislation. The scope of that power remains a subject of constitutional debate.
Background
Born in 1936 in Kaunas, Lithuania, Barak survived the Holocaust as a child in the Kovno Ghetto, smuggled out in a sack and hidden by a Lithuanian family until liberation. He immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1947, studied at the Hebrew University, served as Attorney General (1975-78), and was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1978. As President (1995-2006), he led the Court through the post-1992 Basic Laws period and the United Mizrahi Bank ruling (1995) that established judicial review.
Notable record
- United Mizrahi Bank v. Migdal (1995): established that the Supreme Court may invalidate ordinary statutes that violate the 1992 Basic Laws, the 'constitutional revolution'
- Sat on the Israeli delegation to the Camp David peace negotiations with Egypt in 1978 as legal advisor
- Author of internationally cited works including 'The Judge in a Democracy' and 'Purposive Interpretation in Law'
Cite this page
Aharon Barak, President of the Supreme Court (1995-2006). The State of Israel. https://thestateofisrael.com/justice/aharon-barak