The Israel Bar Association was established in 1961 as an autonomous statutory entity in order to incorporate the lawyers in Israel and to assure the standard and integrity of the legal profession.

The Israel bar Association has begun the implementation of amendment No. 33 for the Bar Association LAW, 5721- 1961 allowing foreign lawyers and foreign law firm to register at the IBA and provide legal counseling in Israel regarding the foreign law in which they were qualified.

The right to immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return is restricted by the Ministry of the Interior to prevent entry to immigrants who pose a risk to public health, state security, or possess past criminal records. The Population Authority has a procedure for handling these cases. In most cases, a criminal past does not amount to a deprivation of a substantive right like the right under the Law of Return, and rejection can be handled professionally against this background.

The Program enables the implementation of Section 3(2) of the Israel Bar Association Law, which stipulates that "The Bar Association is entitled, inter alia, to provide legal aid to those of limited means". Indeed, the objective of the program is to increase accessibility to the legal system, and to protect the rights of those who lack the means to hire professional legal services.

Last summer, the Knesset approved new legislation that would open up the Israeli legal services market to foreign law firms. We at the Law Society of England and Wales were delighted by this announcement, having spent many years discussing this issue with our colleagues at the Israel Bar Association and making representations on behalf of many of our members wishing to practise in Israel.