Informing
Policy
for Progress

Dr. RON SHAPIRO

Ron Shapiro

Senior Research Fellow
Ethics
Education:

Ph.D. University of Haifa, 2017. Dissertation: ADMINISTRATIVE EVIDENCE FOR CRIMINAL ACT: THE NEED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE DUE PROCESS.

LL.B 1987; LL.M. 1991 (with distinction), Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

Clerkship: Deputy Chief Justice at th Supreme Court of Israel (as her title then, later the stats Comptroller), Justice Miriam Ben Porat.

About

Dr. Ron Shapiro is a senior judge at the District Court of Haifa. He has been a member of the judiciary since September 1994 and in the District Court of Haifa since September 2000. From October 30, 2017, to October 29, 2024, he held the position of president of the District Court in Haifa. During his tenure, he engaged with various legal domains, including administrative, civil, criminal, and economic law. As president, he was responsible for overseeing areas under the special authority of the president, particularly the supervision of operations involving national security agencies.

In addition to his role as a judge, Dr. Shapiro has held various positions within the Judicial Authority. Notably, he served as a supervisor for Electronic Tagging on behalf of the Directorate of Courts from 2011 until October 30, 2024. In this capacity, he played a crucial role in fostering communication and collaboration with the Directorate of Courts and other key partners, including the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Security, and the Knesset. Dr. Shapiro also chaired other committees within the Directorate of Courts. These included a committee dedicated to developing a model of excellence for judicial operations, a committee focused on facilitating and regulating video conferences for legal hearings in civil proceedings, a committee addressing permissions for file reviews, a committee that established procedures for the testimony of minors, a committee tasked with evaluating the Spokesperson and Public Relations Department, among others.

Dr. Shapiro served on the advisory committee to the Ministers of Justice regarding criminal procedure and evidence from 2006 to 2015. The committee was initially chaired by the late Honorable Judge Naor, who later became the President of the Supreme Court, and subsequently by the Honorable (retired) Judge Arbel. In addition, he was a member of the committee responsible for developing guidelines for drafting verdicts following Amendment 113 to the Penal Code, which relates to the exercise of discretion in sentencing. This committee was chaired by the Honorable (retired) President of the District Court of Tel Aviv, Judge Deborah Berliner.

Dr. Shapiro has been an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Law at Haifa University since 1994, where he teaches various subjects. From 1993 to 2023, he also taught at the School of Political Science at Haifa University, with a focus on law in the contexts of national security and local authorities. Additionally, he taught at the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University from 1998 to 2000 and has returned to teach there in the current academic year. In the past, Dr. Shapiro has held teaching positions at several academic colleges.