How the Knesset Votes
English

Government bill · 17th Knesset · published as law 23 January 2007

חוק סדר הדין הפלילי (סמכויות אכיפה - מעצרים) (היוועדות חזותית - הוראת שעה), התשס"ז-2007Law Criminal Procedure (Enforcement Powers - Arrests) (Video Testimony - Temporary Provision), 2007 · automatic translation · suggest a correction

Status: התקבלה בקריאה שלישית

Topics: Police and internal security*, Courts and criminal law* · * from the Knesset's official law classification

What the sponsors propose

The Bill seeks to establish a one-year temporary provision adding to the Criminal Procedure Law (Enforcement Powers - Detentions), 1996, an arrangement enabling the court to hold a hearing on a request to extend the detention or release on bail of an adult suspect, against whom an indictment has not yet been filed and who has defense counsel, by means of video conferencing, subject to the suspect's consent. According to the sponsors, currently the physical presence of the suspect in the courtroom is required, and the proposed arrangement seeks to establish a suitable alternative to this, in a manner that will not harm the publicity of the hearing. According to the sponsors, the arrangement was established as a temporary provision in order to learn from the experience that accumulates and to ensure that the integrity of the legal process and the suspect's rights are not harmed, and its cost is estimated at about 1.5 million new shekels, compared to an expected savings in the costs of bringing detainees to courts.

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Hebrew original

הצעת החוק מבקשת לקבוע הוראת שעה לשנה המוסיפה לחוק סדר הדין הפלילי (סמכויות אכיפה - מעצרים), התשנ״ו-1996, הסדר המאפשר לבית המשפט לקיים דיון בבקשה להארכת מעצר או לשחרור בערובה של חשוד בגיר, שטרם הוגש נגדו כתב אישום ושיש לו סניגור, באמצעות היוועדות חזותית, בכפוף להסכמת החשוד. לדברי המציעים, כיום נדרשת נוכחות פיזית של החשוד באולם בית המשפט, וההסדר המוצע מבקש לעגן תחליף ראוי לכך, באופן שלא יפגע בפומביות הדיון. לדברי המציעים, ההסדר נקבע כהוראת שעה כדי ללמוד מהניסיון שיצטבר ולהבטיח שלא תיפגע תקינות ההליך המשפטי וזכויות החשוד, ועלותו מוערכת בכמיליון וחצי שקלים חדשים, לעומת חיסכון צפוי בעלויות הבאת עצורים לבתי המשפט.

An automatic summary of the explanatory notes written by the bill's sponsors. These are their arguments, not an official Knesset summary. · The bill on the Knesset website

Readings

What was said in the plenum

The bill establishes a temporary provision for one year allowing the court to hold detention extension hearings and bail requests for adult suspects who have not yet been indicted and who have legal counsel, via video conferencing and subject to the suspect's consent after consultation with their attorney. The discussion in the second and third readings focused on a reservation concerning the timing of the law's entry into force - whether to limit it to six months as set by the committee, or to allow a period of up to a full year in order to fully implement the pilot.

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Hebrew original

הצעת החוק קובעת הוראת שעה לשנה המאפשרת לבית-המשפט לקיים דיוני הארכת מעצר ובקשות לשחרור בערובה של חשודים בגירים, שטרם הוגש נגדם כתב אישום ויש להם סניגור, באמצעות היוועדות חזותית ובכפוף להסכמת החשוד לאחר התייעצות עם סניגורו. הדיון בקריאה השנייה והשלישית התמקד בהסתייגות שעניינה מועד כניסת החוק לתוקף - האם להגביל זאת לשישה חודשים כפי שקבעה הוועדה, או לאפשר תקופה של עד שנה מלאה כדי לממש את הפיילוט במלואו.

Arguments for

  • A time limit of six months should be set for the regulations to take effect, in order to ensure proper parliamentary oversight and require the government to bring the regulations for committee approval within a defined period.
    Menahem Ben-Sasson (Kadima)
  • Without a clear time limit, there is concern that the law will in practice not take effect for an unlimited period.
    Menahem Ben-Sasson (Kadima)

Arguments against

  • This is a pilot program planned for one year, and the six-month limitation does not actually allow the arrangement to be tested for the full one-year period as intended.
    Yitzhak Levy (National Union–NRP)
  • Implementing the law requires extensive preparations - regulations, tenders, purchase and installation of equipment - so that in practice the minister will have significantly less than a year to carry out the trial.
    Yitzhak Levy (National Union–NRP)
  • The Minister of Public Security himself has an interest in bringing the regulations as early as possible, and therefore there is no logical justification for limiting him to a period shorter than a year.
    Yitzhak Levy (National Union–NRP)
Who spoke (2)
MemberFactionReadingsSpeechesIn the final vote
Menahem Ben-SassonKadima coalitionThird reading1for
Yitzhak LevyNational Union–NRP oppositionThird reading2against

An automatic summary of the plenum transcripts: the debate on the bill at every reading it was voted on. Arguments are given as the speakers made them; this is not an assessment. The list of speakers comes from the transcript, without a model. Transcripts of the sittings: 1, 2

Reservations, sections and other votes (4)

In order. Votes on reservations and individual sections are shown separately from the vote on the bill as a whole.

Source: bill page in the Knesset legislation database ↗

Law Criminal Procedure (Enforcement Powers - Arrests) (Video Testimony - Temporary Provision), 2007 · How the Knesset Votes