Access to Israeli laws is now available to the public, online and free

The new database will allow web-users to read-up on laws and legal matters without having to pay any fees.

By NAOMI GRANT
Updated: JULY 10, 2018 20:54
Computer keyboard [illustrative]. (photo credit: ING IMAGE/ASAP)
Computer keyboard [illustrative].
(photo credit: ING IMAGE/ASAP)
Access to the text of Israeli laws is now freely available online in a national legislation repository.
The National Legislation Database in the Knesset was originally created in December 2014 and contains about 1,500 Israeli laws, of which roughly 970 remain in effect. The Knesset’s website will also provide open access to the updated and comprehensive version of the laws in accordance with an agreement signed in April, according to a statement. Data from the British Mandate orders are still in process of being completed.
Made possible through a unique collaboration among the Knesset, Wikimedia Israel and the Workshop for Public Information, the laws will also be available in the Knesset national legislation database.
“This is an important step that will enable citizens to become familiar with the law without having to resort to inaccessible legal databases,” said Zvi Dvir, Project Manager of the Open Law Book. “[T]he Open Code of Laws maintains a high level of accuracy even when compared to commercial databases.”
The Public Information Workshop promotes transparency and civic involvement through open access to information from public institutions and government bodies.
The Open Law Book website is available on a wiki platform, so users can easily link to the content. This database has around 800 laws and orders, as well as 300 regulations and orders, the statement said.
“The accessibility of the Israeli law book to surfers is an important value for all citizens of Israel and we hope that cooperation will stop the payment for subscribers to read laws, a situation that for us is unacceptable,” added Wikimedia Israel CEO Michal Laster.