Legal Advice and Legislative Affairs Department

The department is responsible for assisting the IDF to achieve its goals in a manner that is commensurate with the rule of law. To do so, the department brings with it an understanding of the needs and values of the IDF and works in tandem with IDF commanders. The department consists of legal officers assigned to most of the various branches of the IDF, assisting the IDF with a range of matters from the legal perspective.

The department deals with a diverse array of legal issues, which include most areas of public, civil, constitutional and administrative law. The department possesses significant expertise in public law, military law, labor law, law and medicine, contract law and tenders, zoning and planning law, law and media communications, privacy law, freedom of information and other areas of Israeli law. Additionally, the department advises on issues that are unique to the military context in times of routine as well as in times of emergency, including regarding maritime law, aviation law, civil defense law and others.

The department participates in staff-work conducted throughout the IDF, assists IDF entities in preparing legal documents, and provides IDF entities with legal advice and representation at hearings in the Knesset and at governmental ministries. Additionally, the department initiates amendments to legislation, regulations and orders, advises on draft legislative bills and draft amendments to IDF orders, and is involved in legislative processes in the Knesset and in the government, regarding issues relevant to the IDF's activity.

The department also coordinates the handling of legal proceedings related to the IDF that are heard before the Supreme Court sitting as the High Court of Justice, the District Courts and other legal instances, and assists the State Attorney's Office in representing the IDF's positions in such proceedings. Furthermore, officers in the department appear in dozens of proceedings each year, heard in various unique legal instances and which concern issues and rights arising from service in the IDF.

The department's foremost areas of focus include issues stemming from the IDF's relations with Israeli society, as well as protecting the rights of those serving in the IDF, both for enlisted soldiers (as part of their mandatory or career service) and for reserve-duty soldiers. The department stands at the forefront of the IDF's regulatory efforts with respect to technological developments, and assists the IDF in operating in the cyber realm, by examining the use of new technological means and a range of activities in this realm.

Additionally, the department provides legal advice to IDF entities in times of routine as well as in times of emergency, and acts in order to support a quick transition between these two situations. In this context, the department assists the IDF in implementing its responsibilities and authority during emergencies, primarily by mobilizing reserve forces (via "Order Eight"), obtaining equipment as per IDF needs, exercising IDF Home Front Command authorities in the field of civil defense, and more.