Israel's Knesset yesterday, by a vote of 65-41, gave final passage to a bill that expands the jurisdiction of the government's Rabbinic and Sharia court systems. According to Times of Israel:
The law, sponsored by the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism and Shas parties, gives the religious tribunals the power to arbitrate civil disputes which are currently the purview of the secular court system. Rabbinical courts were allowed to act as arbitrators in financial disputes until 2006, when a court decision determined that they had no standing to do so....
The law, which initially was set to allow the courts to rule on child custody issues, was amended during the legislative process so that it does not apply to married or formerly married couples. It also does not apply to labor law cases unless the matter was freely initiated by an employee rather than an employer.
The legislation stipulates that religious courts are only allowed to rule on such issues with the consent of both parties and that the rulings reached through rabbinic arbitration cannot violate the Women’s Equal Rights Law or other civil rights statues.
However, critics have asserted that such protections are not enough, given the pressures litigants in religiously conservative communities are likely to face, and that the law will create a power imbalance that’s harmful to weaker segments of society, with women’s rights likely to be affected.
According to the Jerusalem Post, criminal or administrative matters, as well as proceedings in which the state or a local authority was a party are also excluded.
