Custody Courts About

The Courts for overseeing the custody of illegal aliens operates by virtue of the 9th amendment to the Entry to Israel Law-1952, which was passed by the Knesset on July 25, 2001.

The Courts Unit is under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice and is designated as a sub-division of the Attorney General's Office. Until June 2004 the courts operated under the auspices of the Interior Ministry.

 

The courts perform legal scrutiny of the detention orders issued by the Supervisor of the Border Controls in the Ministry of the Interior. The courts are not authorized to discuss deportation orders. The law is the sole authority over the courts.

 

The courts are authorized to affirm, amend or cancel a detention order. The reasons for the release from custody of a detainee as detailed by law are:

 

1. The court is convinced that the illegal presence of the detainee is a result of a mistake or an innocent mishap, and that he will leave Israel by the date designated for him to do so.
2. The court is convinced that the detainee will leave Israel by the date designated for him to do so, and that there will be no difficulty in locating him if he doesn't leave of his own volition.
3. The court is convinced that because of the age or state of health of the detainee, his detention in custody may cause damage to his health, or that there are other special humanitarian circumstances that justify his release on bail, including a location that at which, as a result of his detention, a minor will remain unsupervised.
4. The detainee has been in continuous custody for more than 60 days.

 

Despite these considerations, the law determines that a detainee will not be released from custody if:

 

1. His deportation from Israel is being prevented or delayed because of a lack of his full cooperation, including clarifying his identification or organizing the procedures for his deportation.
2. His release may threaten State security, public welfare or public health.

In accordance with the law, every illegal alien detained in custody is brought for judgment before a court no more than 4 days from the beginning of his detention.

 

An appeal regarding the court's decisions is presented as an Administrative Appeal to the district court at its session as court for administrative matters.

 

The courts sit at three main detention locations: Givon (Ramla), Michal (Hadera) and Ketziot.

 

There are currently 7 judges serving on the courts:

 

Adv. Sara Ben Shaul-Weiss

Adv. Elad Azar

Adv. Ruth Greenberg

Adv. Dan Liberty

Adv. Tomer Carmi

Adv. Yossi Maimon

Adv. Yaron Shlomo

 

The judges were appointed in accordance with ordinances of Clause 13(11) of the Law.

 

The Court Secretariat at the 'Givon' facility operates Sunday-Thurday between 8:00-15:00.

Telephone: 08-9256362

Fax:            02-6462505

  

The Court Secretary (at the Givon Prison): Ms. Ofra Sagi.

 

The courts' national secretariat operates from the offices of the legal advisor of the Ministry of Justice at 29 Salah a-Din Stret,  P.O.B 49029, Jerusalem 91490.

Telephone: 02-6466648

Fax:            02-6267023