The region of Judea and Samaria is considered by international law as territory subject to belligerent occupation. In accordance with the restrictions of international law, the legislation which applies is the same as that implemented prior to the IDF's presence. Only necessary amendments were made by use of legislation on the part of the regional governor (security provisions) in order to maintain safety and security in the region. The law applied in the region includes Ottoman law, the British Mandate Legislation and Jordanian Law, in so far as applied prior to 1967. Diverse legal amendments are made under the framework of security legislation, according to security and civilian needs. In addition, public international law, partial Israeli law (by means of applying extra territorial provisions) and also indirectly Israeli administrative law are also applied in the territory.

Following the transfer of power to the control of the regional IDF governor, the rule is essentially military. The Legal Advisor for Judea and Samaria is the Military Advocate General's representative to the region [click here for more details] providing legal advice for all IDF units operating in the region.

This is a collection of applicable military legislation for Judea and Samaria. In these booklets security legislation is published, which is promulgated by the military governor or other sanctioned bodies. Recent editions are published at The Coordination and Communications Command in Judea and Samaria and are also uploaded online. Likewise, they are accessible in legal libraries and computerized legal databases.

In 1981 the Israeli government decided to establish a Civilian Administration for Judea and Samaria in order to manage civilian matters in the region. An officer (Brigadier General Rank) commands the administration. Civilian employees of the State of Israel also work at the administration, for the purpose of filling staff posts. Their authority stems from the power allocated to them by virtue of applied law in the region in general, and security legislation specifically.