The right to a fair trial is at the forefront of the key individual rights in a broad catalogue of all rights and freedoms, for at least several reasons. Firstly, because it provides for one of the most important procedural mechanisms for the enforcement of all the other rights and freedoms. Secondly, because it protects the individual against potential violation of their rights and freedoms. Thirdly, because it is a reflection of the relation between the individual and the state, indicating all those elements that are today commonly considered as specific measures in the democracy index. As a consequence, the manner in which the right to a fair trial is established and its specific structure determines all other rights and freedoms, and especially their practical application, which determines whether the rights and freedoms are concrete or only appearances.

Individualism vs. Collectivism – Remarks on the Constitutional Concept of Human Rights in Israel

The specificity of Israel as the only Middle Eastern democratic state and its Jewish character means that the Israeli concept of human rights is multi-threaded and inconsistent. Its constant evolution is a clash of two ideologies and individualistic and collectivist concepts, overlapping with the dispute between the Jewish and democratic character of the state. It is an interesting phenomenon, especially in a state without a formal, full constitution, in which the systemic regulation of human rights is incidental and occurs against the background of the active role of the judiciary. It is noticeable that the democratic and at the same time secular character of the state, which is conducive to the idea of individual rights, is constantly contested by conservative religious factors, which not only has a destructive effect on the constitutional foundations but also does not allow for the final definition of the catalogue of individual rights and freedoms.