The Invisible Constitution in Comparative Perspective

a constitution to interpret. The difference between the “unwritten-ness” of the 

Israeli constitution and of other constitutions therefore lies in the political act 

of creating a constitution through judicial interpretation which is unique to 

Israel.

7 

The main difference is in the formalism that characterizes German constitutional jurispru-

dence but not Israeli constitutional jurisprudence. See note 47 and accompanying text. I 

thank Mattias Klatt for this point.

8 

See the references to Canadian legal scholarship in Section 

9.3.1

. More generally my assump-

tion is that the Platonic conception is one of the features of what has been termed the “global 

model of human rights”: see Kai Moller, The Global Model of Constitutional Rights (Oxford: 

Oxford University Press, 2013) and of what Moshe Cohen-Eliya and I termed the “culture 

of justification,” see Moshe Cohen-Eliya and Iddo Porat Proportionality and Constitutional 

Culture (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012); Moshe Cohen-Eliya and Iddo Porat, 

“Proportionality and the culture of justification” (2010) 59 American Journal of Comparative 

Law 463. Showing this, however, lies beyond the scope of this article.

9 

See e.g., Steven Smith, Law’s Quandary (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004) 

168–9 (criticizing American constitutional jurisprudence for disregarding the text, and for sub-

stituting it with the judges conception of ideal rights, and referring specifically to the terms 

“Platonism” as a heuristic). Some aspects of Dworkin’s depiction of American constitutional  

law also lend themselves to the idea of the Platonic Conception of the constitution (see 

 

Edward Foley, “Review Essay: Interpretation and Philosophy: Dworkin’s Constitution” (1997) 

14 Constitutional Commentary 151, 152). See also note 54 and the sources cited there.

---

272 

Iddo Porat

9.1.  Historical Background: The Constitutional  

Story of Israel

9.1.1.  First Period: A Promise not Fulfilled, 1948–1992

The history of Israel’s constitutional law is usually divided into two stages: 

from the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 until 1992, and from 1992 

onwards.

Israel was established in 1948 after a period of thirty years of British colo-

nial rule over Mandatory Palestine. Although in its defining document – the 

Declaration of Independence – Israel’s early leadership vowed to adopt a 

constitution,

10

 this commitment was made without any deliberation or public 

debate since the United Nations resolution that provided the formal legiti-

macy for the State of Israel demanded a constitution as a condition for gain-

ing international recognition of the State.

11

 However, this promise was not 

fulfilled. The initial date that was set in the Declaration of Independence for 

the elections for a constitutional assembly was postponed because of the 1948 

War, and before the second date arrived, a decision was made – in law – that 

the constitutional assembly would also serve as the first parliament of Israel –  

the Knesset. The task of drafting and adopting a constitution was therefore 

conferred on the first Knesset of Israel – a decision that turned out to be fatal 

to the constitution.

At the time the first Knesset was elected, in January 1949, the international 

community had already recognized the State of Israel even without a formal 

constitution, so that the need for a constitution was put again to question. 

The Knesset debated the issue extensively and finally decided, in the Harari 

decision of 1950, not to adopt a constitution – at least not at that point. Instead, 

the form of government that was adopted by default was a Westminster-like 

form of parliamentary sovereignty without a formal constitution, a form of 

government which characterized Israel at least until 1992.

10 

Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, 1 Laws of the State of Israel [L.S.I.] 3, 

4 (1948). The Declaration refers to “the establishment of the elected, regular authorities of the 

State in accordance with the Constitution, which shall be adopted by the Elected Constituent 

Assembly not later than the 1st October 1948.” See 

www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/

Guide%20to%20the%20Peace%20Process/Declaration%20of%20Establishment%20of%20

State%20of%20Israel

.

11 

UNGA Resolution 181, A/RES/181(II)(A

+B) November 29, 1947. Section I.B.10 of the Resolu-

tion provides that “[t]he Constituent Assembly of each State [referring to the Jewish and Arab 

states. I.P.] shall draft a democratic constitution for its State.”

---