Lawדפנה ברק-ארז

Daphne Barak Erez

Daphne Barak-Erez is an Israeli jurist and legal scholar who has served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Israel since 2012.

born 1965Justice of Israel's Supreme CourtConstitutional and administrative law scholarshipDean of Tel Aviv University law

Born: 2 January 1965, United States
Occupation: judge, lawyer, activist, advocate
Education: Tel Aviv University, Harvard University

Daphne Barak Erez was born in 1965 in United States

Barak-Erez was born in the United States to Israeli parents, Elazar and Yehudit Barak, while her father was on a military mission there. He served as the IDF's chief ordnance officer. She grew up in Ramat Efal and attended Yehud comprehensive high school.

She studied law at Tel Aviv University through the Atuda program and earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, completing her doctorate in 1992. She did postdoctoral research at Harvard University.

She began teaching law at the University of Haifa in 1991 and at Tel Aviv University in 1992. She became a full professor in 2004 and Dean of the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law in 2011. Her main fields are constitutional and administrative law, and she was a visiting professor at universities abroad.

She joined the Supreme Court in 2012 and gave up her US citizenship as Israeli law required. In 2022 she wrote the lead opinion barring electricity cutoffs for non-payment without a hearing. In January 2024 she was on the 15-justice panel that struck down the reasonableness amendment, writing a concurring opinion.

She lives in Tel Aviv, is married to Dr. Chen Erez, an ear, nose and throat doctor, and has 2 sons.

Daphne Barak Erez's life in 9 milestones

1965
Born in the United States.
1991
Became a law lecturer at the University of Haifa.
1992
Completed her doctorate and began lecturing at Tel Aviv University.
2004
Became a full professor.
2011
Became Dean of the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law.
2012
Appointed a justice of the Supreme Court of Israel.
2017
Received an honorary doctorate from Sciences Po.
2023
Became Chair of the judges' Ethics Committee and joined the Judicial Selection Committee.
2024
Wrote a concurring opinion in the ruling striking down the reasonableness amendment.

Daphne Barak Erez served in the military

She served in the IDF Military Advocate General's Office as a senior advisory officer and was discharged from regular service as a captain. In the reserves she reached the rank of lieutenant colonel.