World Blog by humble servant.Barak listed the following three types of assistance that can be derived from the use of comparative law: (1) Interpretive Theory—“Comparative law helps the judge better understand the role of interpretation and of judicial making. Before judges decide their own position on the issue, they would do well to consider how other legal systems treat the question.”[13]

(2) Finding Democracy’s Fundamental Values—“Democracies share common fundamental values. Democracy must infringe certain fundamental values in order to maintain others.  It is important for judges to know how foreign law treats this question and what techniques it uses.”[14]                                                                                                                                                                                            (3)  Comparative Law Solutions to Specific Situations—Barak stated that he was not advocating for the adoption of foreign arrangements but for an “open approach, one which recognizes that for all our singularity, we are not alone.  That recognition will enrich our own legal systems if we take the trouble to understand how others respond in situations similar to those we encounter.”[15]V. Comparative Law and Constitutional Interpretation

The citation of foreign constitutions in Israeli constitutional interpretation appears frequently in decisions of the Supreme Court.  Court President Shamgar, however, in a 1995 leading decision, expressed a cautionary note: 

[B]ut it should be understood that the consideration of other constitutions and their implementation is merely comparative.  Every constitution reflects in the protections of rights that are granted therein the social order of priorities that is unique to it and the outlooks that have been adopted in its society.  It need not be added that there is also a whole range of political considerations that accompanies the formulation of a constitution.  Thus, for example, in Canada it was decided not to include a prohibition against the violation of property in the Charter of Rights.[17]

The citation of foreign law by the Supreme Court in interpreting the following two major issues under Israeli constitutional law exemplifies its approach to comparative law analogies.