Legal Aid Law, 5732-1972

A legal aid office shall provide legal service, including the expenses incidental thereto, in the matters and to the extent prescribed by Regulations, to a person who cannot afford to bear them, or to a person specified in the Schedule in the matters and to the extent prescribed therein; the service shall be provided by a lawyer from among the employees of the legal aid office or from outside it, or by another person who is legally qualified to provide the service.

The Head of the Office may reject an application for legal service if he is of the opinion that the applicant's matter is merely vexatious or frivolous, or that it has no basis on which to rely, or that it has no reasonable basis in law, fact or evidence; and he may direct that a service that has been commenced shall be discontinued and that the applicant shall reimburse expenses incurred by the office in respect of a service provided, all as prescribed by Regulations.

Costs and legal fees awarded in favour of a person who has been provided with legal aid shall be deemed to have been awarded in favour of the State Treasury; reasonable expenses personally incurred by that person shall be paid to him by the office out of the amount awarded; all this to the extent that the court has not directed otherwise.

A lawyer appointed to provide legal service under this Law shall not receive fees and expenses except in accordance with Regulations made under this Law.

A lawyer appointed to provide legal service under this Law shall not be released from the appointment except with the approval of the Head of the Office that appointed him.

The Minister of Justice is responsible for the implementation of this Law, and he may, with the approval of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset, make Regulations on any matter relating to its implementation, including –

Regulations in respect of paragraphs (1) to (4) shall be made by the Minister of Justice in consultation with the Minister of Finance; Regulations in respect of paragraph (3) shall also be made in consultation with the Bar Association; and Regulations in respect of paragraph (5) shall be made with the consent of the Minister of Finance and in consultation with the Bar Association.

Nothing in this Law shall derogate from the power of a court to appoint defence counsel in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Law, 5725-1965.

To a person against whom an offence under sections 375a or 377a(a) of the Penal Law, 5737-1977, or ancillary offences, has been committed, in respect of –

To a victim of an offence under sections 374a, 375a, 376, 376b or 377a of the Penal Law, 5737-1977, in respect of accompaniment and the receipt of advice and assistance in realising his rights under any law in criminal proceedings from the stage of the investigation, as well as in administrative proceedings relating to the realisation of his rights as aforesaid, and sections 3 and 4 shall not apply; however, in appeal proceedings against a decision not to prosecute, under section 64 of the Criminal Procedure Law [Consolidated Version], 5742-1982, section 3 shall not apply; for this purpose, "criminal proceedings" or "administrative proceedings" – including proceedings relating to the serving of the sentence by a person convicted of committing an offence as aforesaid.

To a patient hospitalised pursuant to a hospitalisation order or receiving outpatient treatment pursuant to an outpatient treatment order, under the provisions of the Mental Health Treatment Law, 5751-1991, in respect of –

To a minor whose family member has applied for a protection order against him under the provisions of section 3a of the Prevention of Violence in the Family Law, 5751-1991, in respect of –

To a participant as defined in section 37 of the Economic Policy for the Fiscal Year 2004 Law (Legislative Amendments), 5764-2004, in respect of proceedings under sections 46 and 47 of that Law and other proceedings arising therefrom, and section 3 shall not apply.

To a parent pursuant to the provisions of section 24 of the Adoption of Children Law, 5741-1981, in respect of –

To a person, in respect of –

For the purpose of this item, "appeals committee" – a committee appointed under section 16 of the Nazi Persecution Victims Law or a committee appointed under section 3 of the Nazi Victims Law.

To a person receiving benefits as defined in item 6(a) or a person receiving a grant pursuant to a decision regarding an annual grant as defined in the Nazi Persecution Victims Law, in the matters and to the extent prescribed under section 2 or in the Schedule, and section 3 shall not apply.

To an employee, in respect of the proceedings listed below, and section 3 shall not apply:

To a victim of a sex offence, with respect to proceedings under the Restrictions on the Return of a Sex Offender to the Vicinity of the Victim Law, 5765-2004, and Section 3 shall not apply.

To a citizen in respect of whom an application for the revocation of citizenship has been submitted under section 11(b)(2) of the Citizenship Law, 5712-1952, and the court has determined that the hearing shall be conducted in his absence as referred to in section 11(d)(4) of that Law, with respect to representation in the matter of an application for revocation of citizenship as aforesaid, and sections 3 and 4 shall not apply.

To a person who is a plaintiff in civil proceedings under the Prohibition of Discrimination in Products, Services and Entry into Places of Entertainment and Public Places Law, 5761-2000, and Section 3 shall not apply.

To a parent from whom guardianship over his child has been removed from the other parent of the minor, or to a guardian appointed by the court for the minor, with respect to —

To a family member of a person whose death was caused by the offence under sections 300, 301a, 301b or 301c of the Penal Law, 5737-1977, excluding the suspect, the accused or the convicted person, with respect to —

To an employee to whom section 32b of the Families of Soldiers Who Fell in Battle (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Law, 5710-1950 (in this item — the Soldiers' Families Law) applies, including as applied by section 7(j) of the Compensation for Victims of Hostile Action Law, 5730-1970, with respect to —

To a person who has reached the age of 65, with respect to the proceedings listed below, and Section 3 shall not apply:

To a disabled person or an injured person as defined in the Limitation of Attorneys' Fees (Disabled Persons of the Israel Defence Forces and Security Forces and Victims of Hostile Action) Law, 5786-2026, or to a person who seeks to be recognised as a disabled person or as an injured person as aforesaid, in proceedings relating to payments for treatment as defined in section 2 of the said Law that are not in accordance with the provisions of that Law or any other law, and in proceedings under section 28 of that Law, and Section 3 shall not apply.