Aharon Barak אהרן ברק
Holocaust survivor from Kaunas, Lithuania, whose 28-year career on the Supreme Court, including 11 as President, defined Israeli constitutional law for a generation. Architect of the 'constitutional revolution' that established judicial review of Knesset legislation; a giant of Israeli and international legal thought, whose expansion of judicial power remains the central reference point of contemporary 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'
- Authored landmark rulings on administrative law, freedom of expression, and the right to equality
- 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'
- His judicial-activism approach is sharply contested in Israel today, many Israelis across the religious and political spectrum view the expansion of judicial review as having gone too far, and the current constitutional debate is in significant part a response to it
Today
Retired in 2006 at mandatory age 70. Continues to write, teach, and engage in public debate; has been a vocal critic of the 2023 judicial-reform package while also defending the legitimacy of democratic discussion about the Court's role.
Why it matters
No single individual has shaped modern Israeli constitutional law more than Barak, for better and, in the view of his many serious critics, for worse. His legacy is the central terrain on which Israel's ongoing democratic self-examination is conducted.
Cite this page
Aharon Barak, President of the Supreme Court (1995-2006). The State of Israel. https://thestateofisrael.com/justice/aharon-barak