In a marriage contract entered into between a Muslim couple it was stated that only Sharia law would apply to their marriage, and not the Israeli Property Relations Law. The marriage contract was signed by both spouses, but the implication of applying Sharia law instead of the Property Relations Law was not explained to them prior to signing.
The Court held that the Israeli Property Relations Law will apply to the parties due to the lack of a detailed explanation by the marriage registrar. The general rule is that the Israeli Property Relations Law applies to the relations of married couples. In order to rely on a condition in a marriage agreement stating that the Property Relations Law will not apply, it must be demonstrated that an explanation was provided regarding the far-reaching consequences arising from this. Furthermore, the explanation must be provided to the spouse personally by the certifying authority and the certifying authority must be convinced of the existence of free consent from both spouses. Here, the wife did indeed sign a marriage contract containing a condition regarding the application of Sharia law instead of the Israeli Property Relations Law. However, the marriage registrar did not explain to the couple the implications of replacing the Property Relations Law with Sharia law; hence, the wife's signature cannot be seen as consent to this condition, and the Israeli Property Relations Law will apply to the parties.