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Probation Ordinance [New Version], 5729-1969

פקודת המבחן [נוסח חדש], תשכ"ט-1969

Published: 1969-08-01Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2023-09-18 · Last amended 2004-08-12✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-05
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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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Chapter I: Placing an Offender on Probation

Power of Court to Make a Probation Order§

1.

Where a person has been charged with an offence and the court has found that the charge has been proved, but is of the opinion, having regard to the circumstances of the case, including the character, antecedents, age, home conditions, physical health and mental condition of the person, the nature of the offence committed and any mitigating circumstances in which it was committed, that it is expedient to place the offender on probation, the court may do one of the following:

(1)convict the offender and order one of the following:
(a)to place the offender on probation;
(b)to place the offender on probation, and to impose on the offender one or more of those listed in paragraphs (1) to (5), in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VI of the Penal Law, 5737-1977 (hereinafter – the Penal Law), as the case may be:
(1)actual imprisonment which the convicted person shall serve as community service;
(2)a suspended sentence;
(3)a fine;
(4)service for the benefit of the public;
(5)an undertaking to refrain from committing an offence;
(2)make a probation order without convicting the accused if there is no suspended sentence on the accused which the court is entitled to order to be executed upon conviction for the offence with which the accused was charged.

Written Report Before Making a Probation Order§

2.

A court shall not make a probation order except after receiving a written report from a probation officer appointed under this Ordinance.

Explanation to Probationer Before Making a Probation Order§

3.

Before making a probation order, the court shall explain to the offender in plain language the meaning of the order and shall warn the offender that if the offender fails to comply with the order in any respect or commits a further offence, the offender will be liable to punishment, or to conviction and punishment, for the offence in respect of which the order was made (in this Law – the original offence), and the court shall not make a probation order unless the offender has expressed willingness to comply with the requirements of the order.

Period of Probation§

4.
(a)The period of validity of a probation order shall be specified therein, and it shall not be less than six months from the date of the making of the order nor more than three years from that date.
(b)The probationer shall be required by the probation order to be under the supervision, during the period specified therein, of a probation officer appointed or designated for the district or area in which the probationer will reside after the making of the order.
(c)(Repealed)

Provisions and Conditions in a Probation Order§

5.

A probation order shall also contain –

(1)such requirements as the court considers necessary for securing the supervision of the probationer;
(2)such additional conditions as to residence and other matters, including the probationer's obligation to receive medical treatment, as the court, having regard to the circumstances of the case, considers necessary for securing the mental and physical welfare of the probationer, for rehabilitating the probationer socially and educating the probationer toward good conduct, and for preventing the probationer from repeating the offence committed or from committing another offence.

Provisions of a Probation Order as to Residence§

6.
(a)Where a probation order contains a provision as to the residence of the probationer, the place where the probationer is required to reside and the period of residence shall be specified in the order.
(b)Where it is proved to the satisfaction of the court, in such manner as appears to the court to be appropriate, that there is an institution that agrees to receive the probationer and that such agreement is sufficient to bind it, the court may direct in the probation order that the probationer shall reside in that institution for a period to be specified in the order, which shall not extend beyond the period of validity of the probation order.
(c)A court that has given a direction as referred to in subsection (b) shall immediately notify the Director General of the Ministry of Welfare of the particulars of the direction.
(d)In determining the place where the probationer is required to reside as referred to in subsection (a) and in section 5(2), and in determining the institution in which the probationer is required to reside as referred to in subsection (b) and in section 22(b), the court shall take into account the religion of the probationer.

Copies§

7.

A court that has made a probation order shall give a copy thereof to the probationer and a copy to the probation officer under whose supervision the probationer is to be placed.

Consequences of a Probation Order Made Upon Conviction§

8.
(a)Where a probation order has been made upon conviction, the conviction shall not be taken into account for the purposes of enactments under which a convicted person is disqualified or ineligible, or under which a person is liable to a different punishment for any second or subsequent offence or for an offence committed after a previous conviction.
(b)Where a probation order has been made upon conviction and a punishment has been imposed for the original offence at the time of the making of the order pursuant to section 1(1)(b), or thereafter in lieu of the order pursuant to sections 16, 17 or 20, the conviction shall be taken into account for the purposes of enactments as referred to in subsection (a), except that for the purposes of an enactment under which a convicted person is disqualified or ineligible, the probationer shall be deemed to have been convicted on the day on which the punishment was imposed.

Consequences of a Probation Order Made Without Conviction§

9.
(a)A probation order made without conviction shall not entail the consequences of a conviction for any purpose, unless a contrary intention appears from this Ordinance or from any other enactment.
(b)If, after a probation order has been made without conviction, the probationer is convicted and punished for the offence in respect of which the order was made, the conviction shall be taken into account, for the purposes of enactments as referred to in section 8(a), from the day of conviction and punishment.

Restitution of Stolen Property§

10.

A probation order shall have the same effect as a conviction for the purposes of the restitution of stolen property to its owner or to its former condition and for the purposes of the power of the court to make orders in respect of such restitution and in respect of the delivery of property to its owner or the payment of money in respect of such restitution or delivery.

Liability for Compensation and Costs§

11.

Where a probation order has been made, the court may, if it thinks fit –

(1)order the probationer, immediately after the making of the order, to pay to the person injured a sum, not exceeding the sum prescribed in section 77 of the Penal Law, 5737-1977, by way of satisfaction or compensation for any damage caused to that person by the offence; this provision shall not affect the right of the injured person to a civil remedy;
(2)order the probationer to pay the costs of the proceedings, in whole or in part, including witness expenses, and to fix instalments for such payment;
(3)order the probationer, or the probationer's parents – if the probationer is a minor, to reimburse the State for the expenses, in whole or in part, incurred in fulfilling the conditions prescribed in the order for securing the mental and physical welfare of the probationer and for rehabilitating the probationer socially, provided that the probationer or the parents, as the case may be, have the means to do so.

Recovery of Compensation and Costs§

12.
(a)Any sum awarded under section 11 shall be a judgment debt due from the probationer or from the probationer's parents, as the case may be, to the person in whose favour it was awarded, and may be recovered accordingly.
(b)Where both a sum by way of satisfaction or compensation and costs have been awarded to the same person, both awards may be enforced as if they were a single award.

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Chapter II: Non-Compliance with Probation

Definitions§

13.

In this Chapter –

"conviction of a probationer for a further offence" means the conviction of a probationer for an offence committed during the period of validity of a probation order, or the making of an order under section 24 of the Youth (Adjudication, Punishment and Modes of Treatment) Law, 5731-1971, for an offence as aforesaid, even without a conviction;

"judge" means a judge of a Magistrate's Court or a judge of a District Court.

Probationer Convicted of a Further Offence§

14.

Where a judge has found that a particular probationer has been convicted of a further offence, the judge may make any of the following:

(1)a summons to the probationer to appear before the court that made the probation order at the place and time specified therein;
(2)a warrant to arrest the probationer and bring the probationer before the court that made the probation order, provided that a judge of a Magistrate's Court shall not make such a warrant except on the basis of a written notice supported by affidavit.

Power of a Judge of a Magistrate's Court§

15.

A judge of a Magistrate's Court who has convicted a probationer of a further offence –

(1)may order that the probationer be remanded in custody or released on bail, with or without sureties, until the probationer appears or is brought before the court that made the probation order, and if the judge makes an order under this paragraph shall send to the court that made the probation order such particulars of the matter as the judge considers appropriate;
(2)shall send to the court that made the probation order a certificate of the conviction signed by the judge, and for the purposes of proceedings in that court a certificate purporting to be so signed shall be evidence of the conviction of the probationer for the further offence.

Power to Impose Punishment After a Further Offence§

16.

Where it has been proved to the satisfaction of the court that made the probation order that the probationer has been convicted of a further offence, the court may –

(1)if the probation order was made without a conviction for the offence in respect of which it was made – convict the probationer for that offence and impose a punishment;
(2)if the probation order was made after a conviction under section 1(1)(a) – impose a punishment on the probationer for the original offence in lieu of the probation order, all as the court would have been entitled to impose had the probationer just been convicted before it for that offence, and having regard, inter alia, to the following considerations:
(a)the period that has elapsed since the date on which the convicted person was placed on probation;
(b)the manner in which the convicted person complied with the probation up to the time of commission of the further offence;
(c)the gravity of the further offence;
(3)if the probation order was made after a conviction under section 1(1)(b) – impose an additional punishment on the probationer for the original offence in lieu of the probation order, having regard, inter alia, to any other punishment imposed on the probationer for the original offence and to the considerations referred to in paragraph (2).

Power of a District Court to Impose Punishment After an Offence During the Period of Validity of the Order§

17.

Where a probation order was made by a Magistrate's Court and the probationer is subsequently convicted before a District Court of an offence committed during the period of validity of the probation order, the District Court may –

(1)if the probation order was made without a conviction for the offence in respect of which it was made – convict the probationer for that offence and impose a punishment;
(2)if the probation order was made after a conviction under section 1(1)(a) – impose a punishment on the probationer for the original offence in lieu of the probation order, all as the court that made the probation order would have been entitled to impose had the probationer just been convicted before that court for that offence, and having regard, inter alia, to the considerations referred to in section 16(2);
(3)if the probation order was made after a conviction under section 1(1)(b) – impose an additional punishment on the probationer for the original offence in lieu of the probation order, having regard, inter alia, to any other punishment imposed on the probationer for the original offence and to the considerations referred to in section 16(2).

Probationer Who Has Failed to Comply with a Probation Order§

18.
(a)Where a judge has found that a particular probationer has failed to comply with any requirement of a probation order, the judge may issue a summons to the probationer requiring the probationer to appear at the place and time specified therein, or may issue a warrant for the arrest of the probationer; whether by summons or by warrant, the judge shall direct that the probationer appear or be brought before the court that made the probation order.
(b)A judge of a Magistrate's Court shall not issue a summons or a warrant under this section except on the basis of a written notice supported by affidavit.

Undertaking of the Probationer to Appear Before the Court§

19.
(a)A judge who has issued a warrant of arrest under section 18 may, if the judge thinks fit, add thereto a direction that, after arrest, the probationer be released on bail, with or without sureties, for the probationer's appearance as specified in the direction; the direction shall fix the amounts in which the probationer or the sureties are to be bound.
(b)Where a direction as referred to in subsection (a) has been given and the probationer has been arrested and brought to a police station, the officer in charge of the police station shall release the probationer after the probationer gives the undertaking, with or without sureties approved by the police officer, as specified in the direction, to appear before the court at the place and time stated in the undertaking.

Treatment of a Probationer Who Has Failed to Comply with the Order§

20.

Where it has been proved to the satisfaction of the court that made the probation order that the probationer has failed to comply with any requirement of the probation order, the court may, having regard, inter alia, to the period that has elapsed since the date on which the convicted person was placed on probation, to the manner in which the convicted person complied with the probation during that period, and to the circumstances of the non-compliance with the requirements of the probation order, do one of the following:

(1)warn the probationer without affecting the continued validity of the probation order;
(2)impose a fine on the probationer without affecting the continued validity of the probation order, and if a court subsequently comes to impose a punishment on the probationer under sections 16 or 17 or this section, the said fine shall be taken into account in determining that punishment;
(3)if the probation order was made without a conviction for the offence in respect of which it was made – convict the probationer and impose a punishment, and if the probation order was made after a conviction under section 1(1)(a) – impose a punishment on the probationer for the original offence in lieu of the probation order, all as the court would have been entitled to impose on the probationer had the probationer just been convicted before it for that offence;
(4)if the probation order was made after a conviction under section 1(1)(b) – impose an additional punishment on the probationer for the original offence in lieu of the probation order, having regard to any other punishment imposed on the probationer for the original offence.

Expiry of a Probation Order§

21.

Where a sentence has been imposed on a probationer for the original offence in place of the probation order, the probation order shall expire.

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OrdinanceCriminal LawWelfare & Social Security

פקודת המבחן [נוסח חדש], תשכ"ט-1969

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