Civic Service Law, 5777-2017
חוק שירות אזרחי, תשע"ז-2017
Published: 2017-04-05Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2025-08-06 · Last amended 2025-08-05✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-17
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More
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Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.
The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.
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Section E: Budget of the Authority and Transactions of the Authority
Budget of the Authority§
32.
The budget of the Authority shall be determined in a separate activity area within the framework of the Ministry's budget in the annual budget law; however, for the purposes of the Foundations of the Budget Law, the Director shall be regarded as if he were the officer responsible for a budget item in respect of that activity area; for this purpose, "activity area" – as defined in the annual budget law.
Transactions of the Authority§
33.
For the purpose of performing the functions of the Authority, the Director, together with the accountant of the Authority, is authorised to represent the Government in transactions as referred to in sections 4 and 5 of the State Property Law, 5711-1951, except transactions in real property, and to sign, on behalf of the State, documents relating to such transactions.
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Contact Us →Chapter V: Public Advisory Council for Civic Service
Public Advisory Council§
34.
(a)The Minister shall appoint a public advisory council of 18 members, as follows:
(1)a representative of the Minister from among the employees of his Ministry;
(2)a representative of the Minister of Finance from among the employees of his Ministry;
(3)a representative of the Minister of Justice from among the employees of his Ministry who are also representatives of the Attorney General;
(4)a representative of the Minister of Labour, Welfare and Social Services from among the employees of his Ministry;
(5)a representative of the Minister of Defence from among the employees of his Ministry;
(6)a representative of the Minister of Education from among the employees of his Ministry;
(7)a representative of the Minister of Health from among the employees of his Ministry;
(8)a representative of the Minister of Internal Security from among the employees of his Ministry;
(9)a representative of the Civil Service Commissioner from among the employees of the Civil Service Commission;
(10)two public representatives who are members of the academic faculty of institutions of higher education, with expertise in one of the fields referred to in section 65(a) or in the fields of sociology or public policy, who shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the Council for Higher Education; for this purpose, "institution of higher education" – a recognised institution as its meaning in section 9 of the Council for Higher Education Law, 5718-1958, an institution that has received a certificate of permit or approval under section 21a of that Law, or an institution whose degree it confers has been recognised under section 28a of that Law;
(11)a public representative who shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the organisation representing the largest number of local authorities;
(12)a public representative who is a person with a disability, who shall be appointed upon the recommendation of the Equal Rights Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities;
(13)three public representatives – one from the ultra-Orthodox population, one from the religious population and one from the secular population;
(14)a public representative from the Arab population;
(15)a public representative from the new immigrant population.
(b)The Minister shall appoint, from among the members of the Council who are not State employees, a chairperson for the Council, and may appoint a permanent deputy chairperson for the Council from among the said members of the Council.
(c)Among the members of the Council, expression shall be given, to the extent possible, to various population sectors even if they have not been given representation under paragraphs (12) to (15) of subsection (a).
(d)The following shall not be appointed as a member of the Council –
(1)a Knesset member or a member of the active leadership of a political party; for this purpose, "political party" – as defined in the Parties Law, 5752-1992;
(2)a person who is an employee of the Authority, an employee of a recognised body, a person with an interest in a recognised body, or an employee of an operating body that is not a public authority, as well as a person who, in the 12 months preceding the date of appointment, was an employee of a recognised body; for this purpose, "person with an interest" – an office holder, including a member of an audit committee, a person who provides services for remuneration, and a person with an interest as defined in the Companies Law, 5759-1999;
(3)a person who is not an Israeli citizen and resident of Israel;
(4)a person who has been convicted of an offence which, by reason of its nature, severity or circumstances, renders him unfit to serve as a member of the Council.
(e)Notice of the appointment of the members of the Council and the chairperson of the Council shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette) and on the website of the Authority.
Term of Office§
35.
A member of the Council shall be appointed for a period of four years, and may be reappointed for one additional term of office; however, the members of the Council appointed under section 34(a)(1) to (9) may be reappointed for additional terms of office, for as long as they are employees of the governmental ministry they represent on the Council.
Lapse of Office§
36.
A member of the Council shall cease to serve before the end of his term of office in any of the following circumstances:
(1)he resigned by delivering a letter of resignation to the Minister;
(2)if he is a public representative – he was appointed to become a State employee;
(3)if he was appointed to the Council as a State employee – he ceased to be an employee of the governmental ministry he represents on the Council;
(4)one of the disqualifications for appointment set out in section 34(d)(1) to (4) applies to him.
Removal from Office and Suspension§
37.
(a)The Minister may remove a member of the Council from office before the end of his term of office, by written notice, in any of the following circumstances:
(1)he is permanently unable to perform his function;
(2)he was absent without reasonable cause from three consecutive meetings of the Council or from more than half of the meetings held by the Council in one year;
(3)a disqualification as referred to in section 39(a) applies to the member of the Council.
(b)The Minister may suspend from office a member of the Council against whom an indictment has been filed for an offence as referred to in section 34(d)(4), until the conclusion of the proceedings in his matter, by written notice, and may appoint a substitute for him for the duration of the suspension period, in accordance with the provisions of section 34.
(c)The Minister shall not suspend a member of the Council or remove him from office, except after giving him an opportunity to present his arguments and after consulting with the chairperson of the Council, and for the purposes of suspending the chairperson of the Council or removing him from office – after consulting with the Director.
Replacement of a Member of the Council Who Has Ceased to Serve in His Function§
38.
If the office of a member of the Council has lapsed, or if he has been removed from office or has ceased for another reason to serve as a member of the Council, the Minister shall appoint another member of the Council in his place, in accordance with the provisions of section 34.
Conflict of Interests of a Member of the Council§
39.
(a)A person who is likely to find himself on a regular basis in a situation of conflict of interests between his function as a member of the Council and a personal interest of his or another function of his shall not be appointed as a member of the Council and shall not serve on it; if a member of the Council is in or is about to be in a conflict of interests as aforesaid, the member of the Council shall notify the Minister and the chairperson of the Council thereof, in writing, without delay.
(b)A member of the Council shall refrain from dealing with a matter that is likely to cause him to find himself in a situation of conflict of interests between his function as a member of the Council and a personal interest of his or another function of his, including by refraining from participating in a discussion or from voting at meetings on such a matter, and shall not deal with such a matter in the framework of his function on the Council outside of Council meetings either.
(c)
(1)If it becomes apparent to a member of the Council that a matter being discussed at a meeting of the Council or a matter with which he has been entrusted is likely to cause him to find himself in a situation of conflict of interests as referred to in subsection (b), he shall notify the chairperson of the Council thereof, in writing, without delay, and shall act in accordance with his instructions;
(2)if it becomes apparent to the chairperson of the Council that he is likely to find himself in a situation of conflict of interests as referred to in paragraph (1), he shall notify the Minister thereof and shall act in accordance with his instructions;
(3)the existence of a concern of conflict of interests as referred to in this subsection shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting at which the matter giving rise to the conflict of interests was discussed.
(d)For the purposes of this Section, it is immaterial whether the performance of the other function is for remuneration or without remuneration.
(e)Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, a member of the Council may also take into account the interests of the body or population of which he is a representative, insofar as they relate to this Law, and he shall not be regarded as being in a situation of conflict of interests by reason of that alone.
(f)In this Section –
"personal interest" – includes a personal interest of a relative of his or of a body that he or a relative of his manages or in which they are responsible employees;
"relative" – a family member of his or another person with whom he has a personal, economic or political-party affiliation.
Functions of the Council§
40.
The following are the functions of the Council:
(1)to discuss a proposal by the Authority for the determination of national priorities in the field of civic service and the distribution of resources accordingly, and to submit its recommendations to the Minister in that regard, in accordance with the provisions of section 24;
(2)to discuss the multi-year development plans and the annual activity plans of the Authority, and to submit its recommendations to the Minister in that regard, in accordance with the provisions of sections 25 and 26;
(3)to monitor the implementation of the Minister's decisions and Government policy and the implementation of the annual activity plan by the Authority;
(4)to advise the Minister on the addition of a new service area in accordance with the provisions of section 65 or section 19(a);
(5)to discuss the proposal of the Authority for the determination of criteria, benchmarks and rules for the approval or restriction of quotas for the operation of volunteers in operating bodies that are not public authorities, and for the determination of a different rate for such bodies, in accordance with the provisions of section 23(10), and to submit its recommendations to the Minister;
(6)to advise the Director, at his request, on the granting of approval to an operating body and on the suspension or revocation of approval of an operating body, in accordance with the provisions of sections 63(c) and 68(a)(2);
(7)to advise the Minister regarding legislation on matters relating to civic service;
(8)to advise the Minister or the Director on any matter relating to policy in the field of civic service, and on any matter relating to the implementation of this Law, whether on the initiative of the Council or at the request of the Minister or the Director.
Meetings of the Council§
41.
(a)Meetings of the Council shall be held at least once every three months.
(b)The chairperson of the Council shall convene the meetings and shall determine their dates, location and agenda, subject to the provisions of this Law.
(c)The Council shall hold a special meeting at the request of the Minister, the Director, or at least one third of the members of the Council; the meeting shall be held within 14 days of the date of the request; at the meeting the Council shall discuss the matters specified in the request.
(d)The Director, or a person on his behalf, shall be invited to all meetings of the Council.
Rules of Procedure of the Council§
42.
(a)The quorum for meetings of the Council is a majority of its members including the chairperson of the Council or his permanent deputy; once the meeting has been opened with a quorum, the continuation of the meeting shall be valid with any number of members, provided that all of them were convened and that at the time of making decisions the number of those present at the meeting does not fall below one third of the members of the Council, including the chairperson or his permanent deputy, and that at least half of the members of the Council present at the meeting are public representatives.
(b)If there was no quorum when a meeting of the Council was opened, the chairperson may adjourn it for half an hour; once that half hour has passed, the meeting shall be valid with any number of those present; however, the provisions of subsection (a) shall apply to the making of decisions.
(c)The Council shall keep minutes containing the main points of the discussion at its meetings, and its meetings shall be recorded; minutes signed by the member of the Council who chaired the meeting and by an additional member of the Council who participated in it shall serve as prima facie evidence of their contents.
(d)Decisions of the Council shall be made by a majority of votes of the members of the Council participating in the vote; if the votes are equal, the chairperson of the Council shall have the casting vote, and in his absence – his permanent deputy.
(e)The Minister may prescribe the rules of procedure and deliberation procedures of the Council, to the extent that they have not been prescribed in this Law; until the Minister has so prescribed, the Council shall act in the manner that appears to it to be the most just and effective in the circumstances of the matter.
Submission of Reports and Reviews to the Council§
43.
(a)For the purpose of performing its functions, the Council or the Chairperson of the Council may request from the Authority reports, including budgetary reports, and reviews on the current activity of the Authority.
(b)The Authority shall submit to the Council the reports or reviews referred to in subsection (a), within 60 days of the date of the request.
Validity of Actions§
44.
The existence of the Council, its powers and the validity of its decisions shall not be affected by reason of a vacancy in the seat of a member of the Council or by reason of a defect in the appointment or continuation of tenure of a member, provided that a majority of the members of the Council are serving lawfully.
Expenses and Remuneration§
45.
(a)A member of the Council shall not receive from the Authority a salary for their services.
(b)A member of the Council who is not a State employee, an employee of a budgeted body or an employee of a body that the member represents on the Council, is entitled to receive from the Authority remuneration for participation in a meeting of the Council in accordance with the provisions of subsection (d), provided that the member is not entitled to receive consideration for participation from another source.
(c)A member of the Council who is not entitled to remuneration under the provisions of subsection (b) is entitled to receive from the Authority reimbursement of expenses incurred for the purpose of participation in meetings of the Council in accordance with the provisions of subsection (d), provided that the member is not entitled to receive reimbursement of expenses from another source.
(d)The Minister, with the consent of the Minister of Finance, shall prescribe rules and conditions according to which the Authority shall pay remuneration or reimbursement of expenses to a member of the Council in accordance with the provisions of subsections (b) and (c), and their rates.
(e)In this Section, "State employee" and "employee of a budgeted body" – as defined in section 32 of the Foundations of Law, 5740-1980.
Application of Laws to Members of the Council§
46.
Members of the Council who are not State employees shall be treated as State employees for the purposes of the following enactments:
(1)Public Service (Gifts) Law, 5740-1979;
(2)Penal Law, 5737-1977 – the provisions relating to public employees;
(3)Civil Wrongs Ordinance [New Version];
(4)Public Service (Restrictions after Retirement) Law, 5729-1969.
Dissolution of the Council§
47.
(a)If the Minister considers that the Council is not performing its functions properly, the Minister shall caution the Council, by written notice sent to the Chairperson of the Council, that if within a period to be prescribed by the Minister the Council does not fulfil what is required of it under the provisions of this Law, as detailed in the Minister's demand, the Minister will dissolve the Council.
(b)If the Council has not fulfilled what was required of it as referred to in subsection (a), within the period prescribed by the Minister in the notice, the Minister may, with the consent of the Prime Minister, order the dissolution of the Council.
(c)If the Minister has decided to dissolve the Council as referred to in subsection (b), a new Council shall be appointed, in accordance with the provisions of section 34, within 60 days of the date of dissolution.
(d)A dissolved Council shall continue to serve as a temporary Council until the appointment of the new Council; a temporary Council shall refrain, as far as possible, from making significant decisions that are not required during the period of its tenure.
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