Religious law, religious Courts and human rights within Israeli constitutional structure

摘要

The Supreme Court of Israel held recently that religious courts must apply statutory principles of equality between spouses, unless the parties have expressly consented to the application of religious law. This decision brings to the forefront the tensions inherent in a highly volatile constitutional structure in which secular and religious courts, both part of one legal system, sometimes come into conflict, and exposes the dangers of such a clash of authorities.