Criminal
The Penal Law of 1977 with no jury and no death penalty in practice
The Penal Law 5737-1977 is the principal substantive criminal statute, and the Criminal Procedure Law governs process. Trials are before professional judges without a jury. Capital punishment exists only for genocide and crimes against humanity and has been carried out once.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — The State of Israel. Military courts operate in the West Bank under a separate legal framework.
Governing law
- Penal Law 5737-1977
- Criminal Procedure Law (Consolidated Version) 5742-1982
- Criminal Procedure (Enforcement Powers — Arrests) Law 5756-1996
In practice
The Penal Law consolidated and replaced the Mandate-era Criminal Code Ordinance of 1936. Serious offences are tried in the District Court before a panel of three judges; there is no jury. Detention before charge is subject to judicial extension under the 1996 Arrests Law, and the Supreme Court has developed substantial jurisprudence limiting interrogation methods, notably the 1999 decision prohibiting physical pressure in Shin Bet questioning. Administrative detention remains available under emergency legislation and is subject to judicial review. The death penalty is confined to genocide and Nazi crimes and was applied only in the Eichmann case.