Miriam Naor

Miriam Naor
Name	Miriam Naor
Native name	מרים נאור
Birth date	26 October 1947
Birth place	Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine
Death date	24 January 2022
Death place	Jerusalem, Israel
Alma mater	Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Occupation	Judge, Chief Justice
Known for	President of the Supreme Court of Israel (2015–2017)

Miriam Naor (26 October 1947 – 24 January 2022) was an Israeli jurist who served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel and as its Chief Justice. Renowned for her legal scholarship and administrative stewardship, she presided over significant constitutional and administrative cases during a career spanning decades on the bench. Her work intersected with prominent legal figures, institutions, and cases that shaped Israeli jurisprudence.

Early life and education

Naor was born in Jerusalem in the waning years of the British Mandate, into a milieu that connected to families involved in Zionist institutions and the emerging Israeli polity. She studied law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, joining peers who would later serve in the Knesset, Israel Defense Forces legal branches, and municipal law offices. Influenced by judges and legal scholars from the Supreme Court of Israel, the Israeli Bar Association, and academic circles including faculty associated with the Faculty of Law, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, she completed her legal training and clerkships before entering public legal service.

Legal career

Naor's early legal work included roles in the municipal legal apparatus of Jerusalem and service as a judge in district courts, where she adjudicated matters involving municipal authorities, administrative agencies such as the Ministry of Justice (Israel), and regulatory bodies. Her decisions from this period interacted with precedent set by jurists of the District Court of Jerusalem and referenced statutes enacted by the Knesset. She gained recognition for rulings that engaged with rights cases involving organizations like Magen David Adom and administrative petitions against ministries including the Ministry of Transportation (Israel).

Tenure on the Supreme Court of Israel

Appointed to the Supreme Court of Israel, Naor sat on panels alongside justices with backgrounds in institutions such as the Israeli Bar Association, the Judicial Selection Committee (Israel), and academic bodies like the University of Haifa Faculty of Law. Her membership on the court involved adjudication of disputes referencing laws passed by the Knesset and interacting with petitions from entities including Human Rights Defenders Fund and public-interest groups. She contributed to collective opinions in cases concerning security matters tied to the Israel Defense Forces, administrative rulings touching the Ministry of Interior (Israel), and civil disputes involving corporations registered with the Registrar of Companies (Israel).

Notable rulings and judicial philosophy

Naor authored and joined opinions that balanced claims brought by petitioners against government agencies and private entities, often citing precedents from prior chambers of the Supreme Court of Israel and comparative jurisprudence from courts such as the European Court of Human Rights and the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. Her rulings addressed electoral issues involving the Central Elections Committee (Israel), civil liberties contested in petitions by organizations like B'Tselem, and administrative law principles affecting decisions by the Civil Service Commission (Israel). Commentators compared her approach to that of earlier jurists from the court and academic commentators from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University law faculties, noting a jurisprudential style attentive to statutory text, precedent, and institutional competence.

Chief Justice term and administrative leadership

As Chief Justice, Naor succeeded predecessors associated with landmark rulings and stewardship of the court's administrative functions, overseeing case management, docket reform, and institutional interactions with bodies including the Knesset and the Ministry of Justice (Israel). She presided over panels weighing petitions that touched on national security involving the Israel Defense Forces, public broadcasting regulated by the Israel Broadcasting Authority, and municipal disputes implicating the Jerusalem Municipality. Her leadership involved engagement with the Judicial Selection Committee (Israel) and participation in dialogues with legal academia, bar associations such as the Israeli Bar Association, and international judicial networks including delegations to bodies like the International Association of Judges.

Later activities and legacy

After retiring from the bench, Naor continued to influence legal discourse through lectures at institutions including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and participation in conferences attended by representatives from the Ministry of Justice (Israel), the Knesset, and civil society organizations such as Association for Civil Rights in Israel. Her legacy is reflected in decisions cited by subsequent panels of the Supreme Court of Israel, in academic commentary from scholars at Tel Aviv University and Bar-Ilan University, and in the institutional reforms carried forward by successors. She is remembered in obituaries and tributes from judicial colleagues, legal organizations, and public institutions across Israel.

Category:Israeli judges Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni