Having been admitted to the Palestine Bar in 1937, Landau attained the position of a judge in the Haifa Magistrate’s Court in 1940. He subsequently progressed to the District Court in 1948 before being appointed to the
Supreme Court in 1953. In 1957, Landau contributed significantly to the court-martial of the Criminal Court of Appeals, addressing the issue of lawful orders in a case involving the killing of 48 Arabs in
Kafr Qasim. In 1961, Landau presided over the landmark
Eichmann trial. According to Israeli historian
Tom Segev, Landau was dedicated to preserving order and fairness during the trial, even if it led to conflicts with those who aimed to use the trial for
Holocaust education and
Israeli nationalism. Landau, in an effort to maintain a genuine trial atmosphere, restricted testimony and evidence unrelated to Eichmann's role, minimizing dramatic elements and emphasizing the trial's prestige and respectability. In 1987, he headed the
Landau Commission, investigating
Shin Bet's procedures. The commission found instances of
perjury and legal violations, acknowledging the use of "moderate physical pressure" in interrogations. However, this drew criticism from human rights groups, who maintained that the practices authorized by the commission amounted to torture. The commission's report faced legal challenges and was nullified in 1999 by a Supreme Court ruling. Landau's rulings occasionally left his personal political stance unclear, but he consistently opposed
judicial activism, cautioning against judges pursuing political agendas to preserve public trust in the judicial system. Notably, he overturned a government decision to temporarily close two newspapers critical of the government, establishing an enduring free-press standard. However, in his role as head of the Central Election Committee, he disqualified an
Arab-Israeli Socialist party from elections, deeming its platform "subversive" and a threat to the state's existence. Historian and senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute,
Anita Shapira, commended Landau for his independence and receptivity to novel ideas, noting that he demonstrated a rare willingness to evolve and alter his perspectives. == Other positions held ==