It suffices to examine two of the most important texts which form the basis of France's constitutional system, the Declaration of Human Rights of 1789, and the Law of June 3, 1958, in order to become convinced that separation of powers is one of those immutable principles which imposes itself as self-evident on every liberal constituent body. Article 16 of the Declaration of 1789 proclaims that “any society in which the protection of rights is not ensured, nor the separation of powers established, has no constitution”. The constitutional Law of June 3, 1958, for its part, authorizes the government to establish a constitutional project, provided that five principles be respected; among these principles appears, immediately following the necessity of universal suffrage, the separation of powers.

I would first of all like to thank you very warmly for having given me the honour to be here today, in this wonderful and historical city of Jerusalem, to talk about the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In particular, it is an honour for me to share this significant moment of the ratification and entry into force of the Convention in Israel, where its voice is joining so many other countries committed to bringing a better future to all children of the world.

The Convention was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in November 1989, after ten years of a long study and consideration by a working group of the Commission on Human Rights. The Convention reflects the spirit of consensus which prevailed during the drafting process, as well as the compromise reached by different legal systems, cultures and traditions with respect to the human rights universally recognized.

The recent ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the Israeli Government is part of a welcome effort to ratify multilateral conventions dealing with human rights, some of which Israel had signed long ago. In addition to this Convention, the Israeli Government ratified, during the summer of 1991, the 1966 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the 1966 Covenant on Economic and Social Rights, the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, and the 1984 Convention Against Torture. On the occasion of the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, this article discusses the legal implications of the ratification of human rights conventions to the Israeli legal system and to the legal systems in the occupied territories.

Religious education in Israel is inextricably linked with the more general aspects of the complex role of religion in Israel, which in turn cannot be understood without a basic understanding of Israel as a Jewish state, as well as that of the traditional status of religious-ethnic-national groups in the Middle East.

A comprehensive discussion of these complex issues would take us well beyond the confines of this paper. Thus, we will discuss them only briefly herein, thereby necessarily dealing in generalizations which may, at times, be overly simplistic.

The following is a survey of major judgments of the Supreme Court of Israel published in (1990) 44 Piskei Din, volumes (i) and (ii), directly following upon our last digest which appeared in (1991) 25 Is. L. R. 219.

I. Constitutional and Administrative Law

Medianwest Herzliya Medical Centre Ltd. v. Director General of the Ministry of Health & the Minister of Health (1990) 44(i) P.D. 19

Commodities and Services (Control) Law, 1957 —parallel legislation — effects of policy — exercise of discretion

The petitioner, a company registered in Israel, was established by a group of private, foreign investors for the purpose of developing and operating a number of private medical centres, and providing medical services. The petition centred on the respondents' refusal to allow the petitioner to open a hospital in Haifa. According to the respondents, their refusal reflected a general policy to oppose the establishment of additional public or private hospitals.