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Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law, 5722-1962

חוק הכשרות המשפטית והאפוטרופסות, תשכ"ב-1962

Published: 1962-08-17Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2026-01-19 · Last amended 2026-01-18✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-28
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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.

This translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For use in legal proceedings, request a certified Expert Legal Opinion.

Chapter III-A: Principles and Modes of Action of a Guardian

Obligations of the Guardian§

67d.
(a)A guardian is obliged to act with diligence, skill, devotion and without negligence, and to act in good faith in order to safeguard the interests of the person for whom the guardian serves and not for the guardian's own interests.
(b)A professional who has been appointed as guardian in order to apply the professional's professional skills shall act with devotion and professionalism as a professional would exercise towards a client.
(c)A guardian shall not receive any benefit from a third party in exchange for exercising the guardian's powers and carrying out the guardian's functions, and, subject to the provisions of section 48, shall not be placed in a position of conflict of interests.

Modes of Action of a Guardian Appointed for an Adult§

67e.
(a)In carrying out the guardian's functions and exercising the guardian's powers, a guardian appointed for an adult shall act in accordance with the following principles:
(1)preserving the dignity of the person and acting in a manner that restricts the person's rights and liberty to the minimum extent;
(2)preserving, as far as possible, the person's privacy;
(3)acting in a manner that enables the person to realise the person's capabilities and to maintain the greatest possible independence, in accordance with the person's capabilities.
(b)Upon appointment, the guardian shall explain to the person what the guardian's functions and powers as guardian are, in simple language and in accordance with the person's capacity for understanding, and if the person is a person with a disability — by using aids available to the person or in any possible manner that is reasonable in the circumstances of the matter.
(c)The guardian shall provide the person with information in the guardian's possession regarding the person's personal and property matters and information relating to the guardian's handling of the person's affairs, in language understandable to the person and in accordance with the person's capacity for understanding, and shall assist the person in accessing other information relating to the person's affairs or required for the purpose of making decisions on matters relating to the person.
(d)The guardian shall assist and encourage the person to make decisions by himself on matters relating to the person, to the extent that the person is capable of doing so.
(e)The guardian shall act in a manner that enables the person to preserve the person's cultural and religious values and shall also assist the person to participate in community life, including social, cultural, rehabilitative and occupational activities.
(f)The guardian shall act in a manner that enables the person to maintain relationships with family members and friends.
(g)The guardian shall consult as necessary with professional bodies and with close family members and friends of the person and shall avail himself of their assistance in order to promote the person's interests, all while preserving the person's privacy.
(h)A guardian, including a guardian appointed for a person whose condition and capacity for understanding change from time to time or from matter to matter, shall carry out the guardian's functions with consideration of changes in the person's condition or understanding, including with respect to hearing the person's opinion, consulting with the person, taking the person's wishes into account and encouraging the person to make decisions and to manage the matters relating to the person by himself at times or in matters where the person is capable of doing so.

Modes of Decision-Making Regarding a Person for Whom a Guardian Has Been Appointed§

67f.
(a)The guardian shall hear the opinion of the person for whom the guardian serves, shall involve the person in every matter and decision relating to the person and shall consult with the person, if the person's view can be ascertained; for this purpose the guardian shall provide the person with the information required, including the nature of the matter that is the subject of the decision or action, the possible alternatives, the advantages and disadvantages of each option, and the guardian's recommendation, if any, and the reasons underlying it; for the purposes of this section, "the person's view can be ascertained" and "capable of understanding the matter" — including after the person has been given information in the manner referred to in subsection (c).
(b)In making decisions on matters within the guardian's authority, the guardian shall act as follows:
(1)if the person for whom the guardian serves has given preliminary instructions as referred to in section 35a on the same matter — in accordance with those preliminary instructions, subject to the provisions of Section F of Chapter II-A;
(2)if the person has not given preliminary instructions — in accordance with the person's wishes if the person is capable of understanding the matter and the significance of the decision, and if the person's wishes cannot be ascertained — in accordance with the person's wishes as expressed when the person was capable of understanding the matter or as may be inferred from the person's past behaviour or from the person's worldview and way of life as they were in the past, all unless the guardian considers that the decision would cause substantial harm to the person;
(3)if the person is not capable of understanding the matter and the significance of the decision and the person's previous wishes cannot be ascertained as referred to in paragraph (2) — in accordance with the person's welfare, with consideration of the person's current wishes;
(4)in a substantial personal matter or a substantial medical matter, if the person objects at the time of the act, the guardian shall endeavour to reach agreement with the person, and if agreement has not been reached — the guardian shall apply to an ethics committee as defined in the Patient's Rights Law or to the court for a direction, as the case may be.
(c)Information and explanations that the guardian is required to provide to the person pursuant to this section and pursuant to section 67e shall be provided in simple language in accordance with the person's capacity for understanding, and if the person is a person with a disability — by using aids available to the person or in any possible manner that is reasonable in the circumstances of the matter; nothing in the provisions of this subsection shall derogate from the provisions regarding accessibility adjustments pursuant to the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law, which are required of a person providing a public service as defined in that Law.

Consent to Restrictive Actions or Use of Force§

67g.

A guardian shall not give consent on behalf of the person for whom the guardian serves to an action that restricts the person's freedom of movement or that authorises a person to use reasonable force against the person and for which a judicial order is required, and shall not give consent to the judicial order, unless the person has given consent thereto after the guardian has explained to the person the significance of the matter.

Preservation of Information§

67h.
(a)A guardian shall keep records regarding substantial decisions made on behalf of the person for whom the guardian serves and regarding actions taken in the person's affairs.
(b)The Minister may prescribe provisions for the purposes of this section, including provisions regarding the periods for keeping records in accordance with the types of documents that the Minister shall prescribe.

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Chapter IV: Miscellaneous Provisions

General Authority for Protective Measures§

68.
(a)The court may, at any time, at the request of the Attorney General or the Attorney General's representative, or at the request of an interested party, or even on the court's own initiative, take temporary or permanent measures as seem appropriate to the court for the protection of the interests of a minor and of a person for whom a guardian has been appointed, whether by appointing a temporary guardian or a guardian ad litem, or in another manner; the court may also do so if the minor or the person for whom a guardian has been appointed applied to the court directly.
(b)Where the application is for a direction to perform surgery or to take other medical measures, the court shall not so direct unless it is satisfied, on the basis of a medical opinion, that the said measures are necessary for the preservation of the physical or mental wellbeing of the minor or the person for whom a guardian has been appointed, after the court has weighed the person's wishes, the importance of the treatment, its necessity, its urgency, the possible effect on the person's way of life and the prospects of improvement in the person's quality of life.
(c)In this Chapter, except in section 80, "a person for whom a guardian has been appointed" — includes a person for whom the court is entitled to appoint a guardian, even if it has not yet been clarified whether the conditions for appointment have been met.

Representation in Medical Matters§

68a.

The court shall consider appointing a lawyer in accordance with the provisions of the Legal Aid Law, 5732-1972, for a person who is not represented by a lawyer, where one of the following obtains:

(1)a petition has been submitted to the court by a guardian for instructions pursuant to section 67f(b)(4), in respect of an act in a substantial medical matter to which the person of whom he is guardian objects or objected shortly beforehand;
(2)a petition has been submitted to the court for the appointment of a guardian for the purpose of substantial medical treatment and the person for whom a guardian is sought to be appointed objects or objected shortly beforehand to the appointment or to the treatment and has no relative who is in contact with him.

Standing of the Attorney General§

69.

The Attorney General or his representative may, if they are of the opinion that the welfare of a minor, of a legally incompetent person, or of the person for whom a guardian has been appointed, or the welfare of the public so requires, institute any legal proceeding, including an appeal, under this Law, and also to appear and plead in any such proceeding.

Standing of a Social Worker§

70.

A social worker appointed for the purposes of the Welfare Law (Procedure in Matters of Minors, Mentally Ill Persons and Absentees), 5715-1955, may, in a matter under this Law that is not pending before the court and if he sees a need therefor for the protection of a minor, of a legally incompetent person, or of a person for whom a guardian has been appointed, investigate any person whom he believes to have knowledge relevant to that person, and the person investigated is obliged to answer the social worker with honest and full answers, unless the answer is likely to incriminate him; and the social worker may, if authorised to do so by order of the court, enter any place where such a person is or may be found.

Savings Provisions§

71.

The provisions of sections 69 and 70 do not derogate from the provisions of the Welfare Law (Procedure in Matters of Minors, Mentally Ill Persons and Absentees), 5715-1955.

Standing of Relatives§

72.

In any matter under this Law the court may, also on its own initiative, hear the opinion of the relatives of the minor, the legally incompetent person, or the person for whom a guardian has been appointed, to the extent that the court finds it desirable to hear them.

73.§

(Repealed — תשנ״ה)

Variation of Decisions§

74.

The court may vary or revoke its decisions under this Law if circumstances have changed or additional facts have come to light after it gave its decision.

Approval of Acts by the General Guardian or by the Court, and Approval of Remuneration§

74a.
(a)An application for approval under sections 20, 23(a) in fine, 32f(d) and 47(a) or (b), or an application for approval of a guardian's remuneration submitted to the General Guardian under section 56 (in this section — an application), shall be submitted to the General Guardian.
(b)The application shall be submitted in the manner that the General Guardian shall publish on the website of the Ministry of Justice and in accordance with the procedure to be published as aforesaid, and the position of the donor, as defined in section 32a (in this section — the donor), the position of the person for whom a guardian has been appointed, or the position of a minor who has reached the age of 16 years (in this section — the minor), if a guardian has been appointed for him, as the case may be, shall be stated therein; in the application the applicant shall declare that a position as aforesaid was received after he acted in accordance with the provisions of section 32i or 67f, as the case may be.
(c)
(1)The General Guardian shall examine the application, and if he finds it appropriate he may approve it or approve it subject to conditions to which the applicant has agreed; if the General Guardian does not find it appropriate to approve such an application, he shall transfer it to the court in accordance with the provisions of subsection (e);
(2)In this subsection and in subsections (d) to (f), "the General Guardian" means the General Guardian or a person whom he has authorised thereto from among the State employees under his supervision, and notice of such authorisation shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).
(d)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c), the General Guardian shall not entertain an application, and shall transfer it to the court in accordance with the provisions of subsection (e), if one of the following obtains:
(1)it is stated in the application that the donor, or the person for whom a guardian has been appointed, or the minor, as the case may be, objects to the application;
(2)the application is contrary to advance directives to an attorney-in-fact as defined in section 32a, or to advance directives for the purpose of appointment of a guardian as defined in section 35a, that have been deposited with the General Guardian, as the case may be;
(3)the application concerns an apartment or an agricultural, industrial, craft or commercial business unit, in all cases where on the eve of the submission of the application the apartment or unit as aforesaid is in the sole ownership of the minor, unless the minor has declared in writing that he consents to the application;
(4)other circumstances, which shall be recorded, have obtained by reason of which the General Guardian found it appropriate not to entertain the application.
(e)If the General Guardian has not approved an application as referred to in subsection (c) or has not entertained an application as referred to in subsection (d), he shall notify the applicant thereof and shall state in the notice that it is open to the applicant to transfer the application to the court if the applicant so wishes; the transfer of the application to the court shall be accompanied by the General Guardian's position on the application and all the documents submitted in the framework thereof, and it shall be deemed a claim under section 1 of the Family Court Law, 5755-1995.
(f)The General Guardian's approval under subsection (c) or notice of the transfer of the application to the court as referred to in subsection (c) or (d) shall be delivered to the applicant within 60 days from the date on which the application was submitted or from the date on which all the documents and information required for the purpose of granting the approval were submitted to the General Guardian, whichever is the later; if approval or notice as aforesaid has not been given within the said period, the applicant may apply to the court with a request for approval, and it shall be deemed a claim under section 1 of the Family Court Law, 5755-1995.
(g)Nothing in the provisions of this section shall derogate from the provisions of sections 32i(e) and 67f(b)(4).
(h)The Minister, with the approval of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset, may prescribe provisions regarding fees to be paid for the submission of applications.
(i)Without derogating from the provisions of section 79, where a religious court is competent by law to adjudicate, the sections enumerated in subsection (a) shall be deemed as if the approval authority prescribed therein is vested in the religious court.
75.§

(Repealed — תשנ״ה)

Jurisdiction from an International Perspective§

76.

The courts in Israel are competent —

(1)to declare a person legally incompetent or to revoke a declaration of legal incompetency if the place of domicile or place of residence of the person is in Israel;
(2)to act under Chapter II to Chapter III of this Law in any case where the need to do so has arisen in Israel.

Private International Law§

77.
(a)The matters of this Law shall be governed by the law of the place of domicile of the minor, the legally incompetent person, or the person for whom a guardian has been appointed; however —
(1)a legal act performed in Israel by a person whose legal capacity is limited or removed that is of a kind that persons of such description normally perform, and likewise a legal act performed in Israel between a person whose legal capacity is limited or removed and a person who did not know and was not required to know of that fact, shall be valid unless it involved substantial harm to that person or to his property;
(2)in relation to an act performed in Israel by the parents of a minor or by a guardian, it shall not be pleaded against a third party that the authority of the parents or guardian was more limited than the authority conferred on them under this Law, unless that party knew or was required to know of that fact.
(b)The question of the validity and scope of a continuing power of attorney under Chapter II-A or of advance directives to an attorney-in-fact under that Chapter shall be governed by the law of the place of domicile of the donor on the day of the execution of the continuing power of attorney; these provisions shall not apply to the variation, restriction, revocation or lapse of a continuing power of attorney.

The Competent Court§

78.

The powers conferred under this Law on the court shall be vested in the Family Court, subject to the provisions of section 79.

Savings Provisions and Adjudication§

79.

This Law does not come to affect the laws of marriage and divorce; it does not come to add to the jurisdictional powers of religious courts or to derogate therefrom; and where a religious court is competent by law to adjudicate, every provision in this Law — except section 75 — that refers to a court shall be deemed to refer to a religious court.

Definitions§

80.

In this Law —

"ward" — (deleted);

"representative" of a person — his parents or his appointed guardian, all in accordance with the provisions of Chapter II and Chapter III;

"relative" — spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter;

"place of domicile" of a person — the place in which the centre of his life is situated; a minor, a legally incompetent person and a person for whom a guardian has been appointed are presumed to have their place of domicile at the place of domicile of their representative so long as it has not been proved that the centre of their life is situated elsewhere.

"Patient Rights Law" — Patient Rights Law, 5756-1996;

"Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law" — Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law, 5758-1998;

"welfare" of a person — the totality of the rights, interests and needs of the person;

"continuing power of attorney" — as defined in section 32b(a);

"residential institution" — as defined in the Supervision of Residential Institutions Law, 5725-1965, excluding a place that is not used for residential purposes;

"the Minister" — the Minister of Justice.

Application of Provisions to a Foetus§

80a.

The provisions applicable under this Law to a guardian of a person and to a person for whom a guardian has been appointed or for whom the court may appoint a guardian shall apply, with the necessary modifications, also to a guardian of a foetus and to a foetus for whom a guardian has been appointed or for whom the court may appoint a guardian.

Interpretation Regarding the Term "Ward" in Legislation§

80b.

Where a provision in legislation concerns a ward within the meaning of this Law as worded on the eve of the publication of the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law (Amendment No. 18), 5776-2016, the meaning of the term "ward" shall be a person for whom the court has appointed a guardian under section 33 or a person for whom the court may appoint a guardian as aforesaid, even if it has not yet been clarified whether the conditions for appointment have been met, all as the case may be.

Updating of Amounts§

80c.
(a)The amounts prescribed in this Law shall be updated on 1 January of each year (in this section — the updating date), in accordance with the rate of change in the index known on the updating date compared with the index known on 1 January of the preceding year.
(b)The Minister shall publish in Reshumot (Official Gazette) a notice of the updated amounts.

Transitional Provisions§

81.

A person who was declared legally incompetent before the commencement of this Law shall be regarded, from the commencement of this Law, as if he had been declared legally incompetent under this Law; a person who was appointed guardian by a competent court or religious court before the commencement of this Law shall be regarded, from the commencement of this Law, as if he had been appointed under this Law.

Repeals§

82.

The following are repealed —

(1)sections 941 to 947 and 957 to 997 of the Mejelle;
(2)sections 50 to 53 of the Ottoman Land Law;
(3)section 2 of the Ottoman Commercial Law;
(4)section 5 of the Ottoman Law on Associations;
(5)section 5 of the Partnerships Ordinance.

Implementation and Regulations§

83.
(a)The Minister of Justice is charged with the implementation of this Law, and he may make Regulations in all matters relating to its implementation.
(b)The Minister, with the consent of the Minister of Health and with the approval of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset, may —
(1)prescribe rules for the giving of expert opinions for the purpose of determining whether a person has capacity within the meaning of sections 32m, 32n, 32o and 32s, or for the purpose of determining whether he is capable or incapable of understanding the matter, with respect to a person's ability to express his opinion and wishes and with respect to his ability to make decisions or to manage his affairs in relation to proceedings under this Law;
(2)prescribe categories of experts in addition to physicians who shall be competent to give expert opinions on the matters referred to in paragraph (1), in whole or in part, including rules regarding training, expertise and experience;
(3)prescribe rules concerning the establishment of a list of experts who shall be entitled to give expert opinions on the matters referred to in paragraph (1);
(4)prescribe rules relating to professionals as defined in section 32o, including rules regarding training, expertise and experience.

Commencement§

84.

This Law shall commence three months after its adoption by the Knesset.

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