A/HRC/10/8/Add.2 page 15 4. Matters of personal status 44. In matters of personal status, such as marriage, divorce and, to some extent, maintenance, guardianship and the adoption of minors, jurisdiction is vested in the judicial institutions of the respective religious communities. Problems may arise when the parties to a legal proceeding in matters of personal status belong to different religious communities or when it is not clear if the dispute falls within the jurisdiction of any religious court based on the substantive law of each denomination. (a) Marriage 45. Under domestic law, more than 250,000 Israeli citizens and residents are currently barred from marrying in Israel. These include people who are unmarriageable according to Jewish law, immigrants who are not recognized by the Orthodox Rabbinate as certain to be Jewish, and Israeli citizens who have no officially recognized religion. The Special Rapporteur was informed that more than 7,000 Israelis married abroad in 2002, which represents about 8 per cent of all Israelis who married in Israel and abroad that year. In a judgment of 21 November 2006, the Supreme Court of Israel confirmed that civil marriages which have taken place between Jewish Israeli residents and citizens outside of Israel are indeed valid in Israel. 46. The Special Rapporteur would like to emphasize that freedom of religion or belief also includes theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief. In order to prevent any discrimination based on religion or belief, the State should provide a civil alternative for those who are currently ineligible for marriage in Israel. In this regard, during the British Mandate period, article 65 A was added to the Palestine-Order-in-Council in 1939, according to which “provision may be made by ordinance for the celebration, dissolution and annulment of marriages of persons neither of whom is a Muslim or a member of a religious community and for the granting by the courts of orders or decrees in connection with the marriages of such persons, their dissolution or annulment”. However, the Mandate authorities never enacted implementing legislation and since 1948 the State of Israel has maintained religious law in matters of personal status and communal jurisdiction. The Government of Israel decided in September 2007 to resume consular marriages for Israeli residents abroad, but this decision only applies when neither partner belongs to a recognized religious community in Israel and if one or both of them are nationals of the country of the consulate in question. Consequently, there is still no domestic solution available for those who are ineligible to marry in Israel as detailed above. (b) Dissolution of marriage 47. With regard to the dissolution of marriages where the spouses have different religious affiliations or no religious affiliation at all, the 1969 law on Matters of Dissolution of Marriage (Jurisdiction in Special Cases) was amended in July 2005. Spouses with different religious backgrounds wishing to dissolve their marriage no longer need to first apply to the president of the Supreme Court for a determination of jurisdiction but may apply directly to a Family Matters Court. This court can seek the consul of the relevant religious court to determine whether it is necessary to dissolve the marriage according to the religious laws of either spouse for the purpose of remarriage.