INTRODUCTION

In Israel, there are around nine million residents, of whom 75% are Jews and 20% Arabs, who are mainly Muslims. Children form around a third of the population. The rate of divorce is 26 – 27% of married couples. In 2018 there were 8,281 child custody and visitation cases: of them, 4,239 took place in the Courts for Family Matters (hereinafter Family Courts), 1,939 in the Rabbinical Courts, and 2,103 in Sharia and Druz courts. In addition, there were 20 child abduction cases dealt with in the Family Courts.

Israel's legal system is a mixed jurisdiction, which reflects its complex history. It is primarily based on common law, while incorporating facets of civil law. In relation to most issues of family law, both Family Courts, which are part of the civil court system, and religious courts (including rabbinic courts for Jews, and other religious courts for Muslims and Christians) have parallel jurisdiction. As seen above, most custody cases are litigated in the Family Courts, with appeals heard by the District Courts and, with leave, by the Supreme Court.

The Ministry of Welfare and Social Services operates Welfare Units that are adjunct to the Family Courts as well as to the religious courts. The Welfare Units are staffed by social workers and psychologists and their function is to assist the court in reaching decisions on matters involving family disputes.

In 2015, the Law Regulating Legal Proceedings in Family Conflicts Law (Temporary Provision), 5774-2014, was enacted and in 2020 it was re-enacted as a permanent law with minor amendments. This law aims to help spouses and parents and their children to resolve a family conflict among themselves. According to this law, all family law litigation is to be referred to the Welfare Units for four IFC meetings (information, familiarisation and coordination) in order to promote out-of-court settlements. Research findings on the operation of this law are considered to be encouraging and indicate that in more than half of the cases following the IFC meeting, parties come to agreement or resolve their dispute without litigation.