Israeli Law
The Defence (Emergency) Regulations along with most of the existing Mandatory law were incorporated into Israeli domestic law by the country's Provisional State Council's first legislative act – a reception statute known as the "Law and Administration Ordinance of 1948". The existing laws were adopted "with such modifications as may result from establishment of the State or its authorities." As such, regulations involving immigration were excluded, and Jews whose entry into Palestine had been illegal were retrospectively legalized, but the rest of the Regulations remain intact except where explicitly annulled or superseded by subsequent Israeli legislation.
Initially a few judges refused to apply the Regulations, but the Supreme Court accepted them as part of Israeli law. The Regulations were used against Jews a few times in the early state, for example in order to abolish the underground group Lehi in the wake of the Bernadotte assassination, but their primary use has been against Arabs. They were the basis of the military government imposed on Israeli Arabs from 1950 to 1966. They are also a key part of the legal framework applied in the West Bank today. Attempts to repeal or partly repeal the Regulations in 1951 and 1966 were unfruitful.
There has been significant debate in Israel surrounding the Defence Regulations. While most of the provisions incorporated into Israeli legislation have never been invoked by the executive branch, a few have been and continue to be repeatedly invoked, "precipitating public and legal debates concerning the appropriate balance between security considerations and democratic premises." (See Application section below for more.)
After the 1967 war, the Israeli military governor in the territories which had been occupied issued orders to the effect that existing domestic law in those places would be continued, and that they included the Defence (Emergency) Regulations, arguing that they were not revoked during the Jordanian or Egyptian administration of those areas and therefore continued to be in effect since 1945. This position was confirmed by the Israel Supreme Court.
Read more about this topic: Defence (Emergency) Regulations
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