Evidence Ordinance [New Version], 5731-1971

All persons are competent to testify in any proceedings, subject to what is stated in sections 3 and 4, and no person is disqualified from testifying by reason of being a party to a civil action, or a complainant or accused in criminal proceedings, or by reason of being the employer, employee, spouse or relative of the plaintiff, complainant, defendant or accused, or by reason of having been convicted of or serving a sentence for an offence.

In criminal proceedings a spouse is not competent to testify against his or her spouse, and cannot be compelled to testify against a person charged jointly with his or her spouse in the same indictment.

In criminal proceedings a parent and child are not competent to testify against each other, and neither of them can be compelled to testify against a person charged jointly with the other in the same indictment.

Where a spouse is called to testify in favour of his or her spouse, or a parent or child is called to testify in favour of the other, the testimony, whether given in examination-in-chief or in cross-examination by the prosecution, shall be competent to serve as evidence for the purpose of proving the guilt of the accused.

In civil proceedings a party may testify on his or her own behalf or may be summoned to testify for his or her adversary.

In this Section —

"spouse" — includes a person publicly known as one's spouse, but excludes a person who lives separately from his or her spouse and does not maintain a joint household with that spouse with the intention of permanently dissolving family life, even if they reside under the same roof;

"child" — includes an adopted child;

"parent" — includes an adoptive parent.

Evidence of a statement made at the time when an act constituting an offence was allegedly committed, or immediately before or after it, and which directly relates to a fact relevant to the matter, shall be admissible if it was made by a person who is himself a witness in the proceedings.

Evidence of a statement made by a person against whom an act of violence was allegedly committed, and which relates to that act or to its surrounding circumstances, shall be admissible even if the person who made it is not present as a witness and even if it is impossible to bring that person to the proceedings because he or she has died, is infirm or ill, or is absent from the country, provided that one of the following conditions is satisfied in respect of that statement:

A written statement given outside the court shall be admissible as evidence in criminal proceedings even if the maker thereof is not a witness in the proceedings, if both parties have consented thereto and the contents of the statement were not in dispute, provided that the accused was represented by a lawyer.

Nothing in sections 10a and 10b shall render admissible evidence that is inadmissible for another reason in law, or render inadmissible evidence that is admissible under another law.

A statement by an accused may be proved by the testimony of a person who heard it; where the statement was recorded in writing and the accused signed it or otherwise confirmed it, it may be proved by evidence to that effect from a person who was present on that occasion; a statement so recorded may also be proved by a written affidavit of a person who was present on that occasion, if the accused is represented and his or her defence counsel has consented thereto, or — where the statement relates to a charge of a misdemeanour or contravention — if the accused, in response to a question from the court and after the court has explained to that person his or her right to cross-examine the deponent, confirmed that he or she read the statement or that it was read to that person, does not dispute that the statement is his or her statement, and has waived cross-examination of the person who received the statement.

Notwithstanding what is stated in the Criminal Procedure Law, 5725-1965, where evidence has been taken outside the jurisdiction of courts in Israel, by virtue of any treaty, agreement or law, for the purpose of criminal proceedings in Israel, the court may permit the transcript of the evidence so given to be submitted as evidence in the proceedings, provided that the court is satisfied that there is sufficient reason for the absence of the witness who testified pursuant to the transcript and that the accused or his or her lawyer was given an opportunity to cross-examine the witness at the time the evidence was taken.

For the purposes of section 120 of the Criminal Law Ordinance, 1936, an affidavit made pursuant to section 15 shall have the same status as a declaration on oath.

"Registrar", for the purposes of this Ordinance — a person appointed to be a Registrar or Deputy Registrar pursuant to section 30 of the Courts Law, 5717-1957.

A Registrar or a judge of a Magistrate's Court may — for any matter for which no provision is made in another enactment — administer an oath to a person, or receive an affidavit from a person, if —

The court may, if it sees no risk of a miscarriage of justice, admit as evidence, in writing, an expert's opinion on a question of science, research, art or professional knowledge (hereinafter — expert opinion), and a certificate by a physician as to a person's state of health (hereinafter — medical certificate).

An expert opinion and a medical certificate made in Israel are presumed to bear a genuine signature, until the contrary is proved.

A court shall not admit as evidence an expert opinion or medical certificate made outside Israel, unless it bears a confirmation by a consular or diplomatic representative of Israel —

The court may, if it sees no risk of a miscarriage of justice, admit as evidence a certificate concerning a matter recorded in an official document; the certificate shall be signed by the public servant who made the record or performed the act or received the information that was recorded, and if that person is no longer in the same service — by the person responsible for the unit in which that person worked.

Nothing in the provisions of this Section concerning evidence of public servants shall —

For the purposes of this Section, "public servant" —