Prevention of Violence in the Family Law, 5751 – 1991 [last amendment 17 June 2004]

1.	Definitions [amendment: 5755, 5756, 5758(2), 5761, 5764]
In this Law – 
“court” means the Magistrate’s Court, the Family Court, and a religious court in respect of sides whose matter it is competent to hear; 
“religious court” means a rabbinical court, Shari’a court, court for the Christian denomination, and a Druze court;
“spouse” includes a common-law spouse;
“family member” includes a person who was a family member in the past and is one of the following:
(1)	spouse, parent or spouse of a parent, parent of a spouse or spouse of the parent, grandfather or grandmother, descendent of a spouse, brother or sister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, nephew or niece;
(2)	a person who is responsible for the maintenance, health, educational needs or the well-being of a minor or a helpless person, who lives with him, and a minor or helpless person who lives with a person who is responsible for him as stated;
“helpless person” has the same meaning as in section 368A of the Penal Law, 5737 – 1977;
“minor” has the same meaning as in the Legal Competence and Guardianship Law, 5722 – 1962;
“welfare officer” means a person who is so appointed according to law;
“security authority” means the Police, the Knesset Guard, within the meaning of the Knesset Building, Precincts, and Knesset Guard Law, 5728 – 1968, the Israel Defense Force, the General Security Service, and the Prisons Service.
 
2.	 	Protection order [amendment: 5756, 5758, 5761, 5762]
(a)  	The court may issue an order prohibiting a person to do the following, in whole or in part, or to prescribe conditions for doing such action (hereafter -  protection order):
(1)	to enter an apartment in which a family member lives or to be present in an area a certain distance from the said apartment, even if the person has some right in it; 
(2)	to harass his family member in any way and in any place;
(3)	to act in any way that prevents or makes it difficult to use property that the family member is lawfully using, even if he has some right in the property;
(b)	A protection order may also include a demand for a bond both in respect of compliance and as to good behavior, or any other provision which in the opinion of the court is necessary to ensure the well-being and safety of a family member; the order may also include provisions as to the arrangements required as a result of the giving of the order.
(c)	The conditions of the bond referred to in subsection (b), including forfeiture, shall be set forth in the protection order.
(c1) 	The court may, for special reasons that shall be set forth in its decision, extend the good-behavior bond for a period that does not exceed one year from the day of termination of the protection order.
(d)	 	Repealed.
(e)	 	Repealed.
(f)	 	Repealed.
(g)	 (1)   Where a protection order for the protection of a minor is given, the court shall so notify the welfare officer within the meaning of the Youth (Treatment and Supervision) Law, 5720 – 1960.
(2)   Where a protection order for the protection of a minor is given, the court may order the welfare office referred to in subsection (1) to submit a written report at the time it shall determine.
(3)   Where a protection order for the protection of a minor is given as set forth in subsection (a)(1) in respect of a person who is responsible for the minor, the court shall order the welfare officer referred to in subsection (1) to submit a report to the court; the said report shall be submitted within 30 days, and shall include, inter alia, the welfare officer’s position regarding the possibility of maintaining communication between the minor and the person responsible for the minor. 
(4)	If the court is convinced, based on the report referred to in subsection (3), that maintaining communication between the minor and the person responsible for the minor as to whom the protection order was issued is consistent with the interest of the minor, it may issue directives as regards thereto.
(h)	 Where a protection order for the protection of a minor is given as set forth in subsection (a)(1) in respect of a person who is responsible for a minor, and the purpose of the order is not protection of the minor, the court may issue directives regarding communication between the person and the minor, provided that it is convinced, based on the report pursuant to the provisions of section 6 or in another way, that issuing the said directives shall not result in harm to the minor.
(h1)  	A court hearing an application for a protection order pursuant to the provisions of this Law may also issue an order that prevents threatening harassment to a person, in respect of his family member, in accordance with the provisions of the Prevention of Threatening Harassment Law, 5762 – 2001.
(i)	For the purposes of this section, “responsible for a minor” means a parent, stepparent, guardian, or a person to whom custody or supervision of the minor has been given.

2A.  	Undertaking to receive treatment [amendment: 5756]
(a)	Where a protection order is given, the court may, upon issuing the order or at a later time, order the person to whom the order is directed to undertake to receive treatment from an entity that the court shall determine (hereafter in this section – undertaking to receive treatment).
(b)	A court shall only order an undertaking to receive treatment following submission to the court of the report referred to in section 6, and the court is convinced that the person to whom the protection order is directed is suitable for treatment, agrees, and understands the conditions and nature of the treatment, and that a framework for treating him exists. 
(c)	Where a court gives an order for undertaking to receive treatment, it shall order that report be made to the court in respect of the progress of the treatment, at the times and in the manner the court shall determine.

2B.  	Prohibition on possessing and carrying a weapon [amendment: 5761]
	Where a protection order is given as stated in section 2, the person to whom the order is directed shall be forbidden to possess or carry a weapon, including a weapon that was given to him on behalf of a security authority or other State authority; the court shall order, at the time it issues the order, the immediate seizure of the weapon of the person to whom the order is directed. 

2C.  	Permit to possess and carry a weapon [amendment: 5761]
(a)	Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2B, where a protection order has been given that does not include a prohibition as stated in section 2(a)(1), the court may, at the request of the person to whom the order is directed, who lawfully carries or possesses a weapon, permit him to continue to possess or carry a weapon, if it is of the opinion that doing so does not endanger the safety of a family member, and one of the provisions of paragraphs (1) to (3) are met – 
(1)	 he requires the weapon for self defense against real danger;
(2)	 he uses the weapon at work for a holder of a special license or in a eligible undertaking and the two following conditions are met: 
a)	forbidding him to possess or carry a weapon is liable to bring about dismissal from his work or significantly impede continuation of his work;
b)	the person in charge of the person to whom the order is directed at the holder of a special license or at the eligible undertaking filed a written application setting forth reasons for the person to whom the order is directed to continue possessing and carrying the weapon;
In this paragraph – 
“holder of a special license” means the holder of a special license pursuant to section [??]of the Firearm Law, 5709 – 1949 (hereafter – the Firearm Law);
“eligible undertaking” has the same meaning as in section 10 of the Firearm Law;
(3)  he is a member of a security authority and the person in charge of him in the security authority filed a written application setting forth reasons for the person to whom the order is directed to continue possessing and carrying the weapon;
In this paragraph – 
“person in charge” means one of the following:
a)	where the person to whom the order is directed is a member of the Police, a person in charge holding the rank of commander or higher;
b)	 where the person to whom the order is directed is a member of the Knesset Guard, a person in charge holding the rank of gonen mishneh [??]or higher; 
c)	 where the person to whom the order is directed is a member of the Israel Defense Force, a person in charge who is a unit commander holding the rank of lieutenant colonel or higher;
d)	 where the person to whom the order is directed is a member of the Prisons Service, a person in charge who holds the rank of gundar mishneh [??] or higher.
(b)	For the purposes of a person to whom the order is directed who is a member of the regular forces or reserve forces of the Israel Defense Force, a unit commander holding the rank of lieutenant colonel or higher may apply to the court for an order permitting the person to whom the protection order is directed as stated, to possess or carry a weapon, and the court may permit the person to whom the order is directed to do so if it is of the opinion that doing so would not endanger the safety of a family member.

2D.  	Hearing in the presence of the sides [amendment: 5761]
Hearing on an application under section 2C shall be held in the presence of the two sides, provided that in an application – 
(1)	under sections 2C(a)(2) or (3), a representative of the holder of the special license, the eligible undertaking, or the security authority, as the case may be, shall also be present at the hearing;
(2)	under section 2C(b), the person to whom the order is directed shall also be summoned to the hearing.

2E.  	Arrangements for ensuring the safety of family member [amendment: 5761]
Where the court permitted the person subject to the protection order to possess or carry a weapon pursuant to the provisions of section 2C, it shall specify the reasons and set forth in the order conditions and arrangements to ensure the safety of the family member of the person to whom the order is directed; where the permit is given upon application under sections 2C(a)(2) or (3), the court shall specify the measures to be taken by the holder of the special license, the owner of the eligible undertaking, or the security authority, as the case may be, which were determined with their consent to ensure compliance with the conditions and the arrangements that it established in regard thereto. 

2F.   	Notification of the court’s decision [amendment: 5761]
The court shall give notification of the protection order that it gave pursuant to the provisions of section 2, and of the permit it gave pursuant to the provisions of sections 2C and 2E, to the following:
(1)	the licensing officer within the meaning of the Firearm Law;
(2)	the Police;
(3)	the Israel Defense Force – if the person to whom the order is directed is in the reserves of the Israel Defense Force or if he was provided a weapon on behalf of the Israel Defense Force or received its consent to possess it, including a weapon provided him pursuant to a certificate of authorization as stated in section 5B(c) of the Firearm Law;
(4)	a security authority – the security authority to which the person to whom the order is directed is attached. 

3.   	Application for a protection order and the conditions for giving it [amendment: 5756, 5758]
At the request of a family member, the Attorney General or his representative, a Police prosecutor or welfare officer appointed in accordance with the Youth (Treatment and Supervision) Law, 5720 – 19060, the court may give a protection order against a person if it finds that one of the following exists:
(1)	Shortly prior to the filing of the application, the person acted violently toward, committed a sexual offense against, or illegally imprisoned a family member;
(2)	Th person’s conduct provides a reasonable basis to assume that he poses a real physical danger to a family member or is liable to commit a sexual offense against the family member;
(3)	The person emotionally abused a family member for an extended period of time, or acted in a manner that does not enable the family member to live his life in a reasonable and proper manner.
For the purposes of this section, “sexual offense” means an offense pursuant to article 5 in chapter 10 of the Penal Law. 

4.   	Procedure [amendment: 5758]
(a)	The court may give a protection order ex parte; where an order is given ex parte, a hearing shall be held in the presence of the two sides as soon as possible and no later than seven days from the day the order is given.
(b)	Where a hearing is set forth as stated in subsection (a), the court may extend the validity of the order as stated in section 5, cancel it, or alter it, and to do so also in the event that the person to whom the order is directed did not appear at the hearing.
(c)	Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), an order as set forth in section 3(3) shall be given only in the presence of the two sides, unless the respondent was properly invited [??summoned??] and did not appear at the hearing.

5.	Period of validity [amendment: 5758, 5761]
(a)	A protection order shall not be valid for more than three months; the court may extend the validity of the order from time to time, provided that the total period does not exceed six months. However, for special reasons that shall be set forth in its decision, the court may extend the validity of the order for a total period that does not exceed one year.
(b)	The prohibition on carrying and possessing a weapon as stated in section 2B shall remain in force also after the protection order expires, so long as it is not cancelled by the court upon the application of the person to whom the order is directed, and as regards a member of the regular forces or reserve forces of the Israel Defense Force also upon the application of a unit commander holding the rank of lieutenant colonel or higher; the hearing on an application pursuant to this subsection shall be held in the presence of the two sides; at a hearing pursuant to the application of a unit commander as stated, the person to whom the order is directed shall also be invited [??summoned ??].
(c)	The conditions and arrangements on which carrying and possessing a weapon were permitted as stated in section 2E shall remain in force until they are cancelled by the court upon the application of the person to whom the order is directed, and as regards a member of the regular forces or reserve forces of the Israel Defense Force also upon the application of a unit commander holding the rank of lieutenant colonel or higher; the hearing on an application pursuant to this subsection shall be held in the presence of the two sides as set forth in subsection (b).
(d)	Where a hearing on an application to cancel the prohibition or to cancel the conditions and arrangements in accordance with subsections (b) or (c), the court shall not rehear an application in respect thereof until six months have passed from the date that the decision was given at the previous hearing.
(e)	(1)   	Where the court accepts the application to cancel the prohibition or to cancel the conditions and arrangements in accordance with subsections (b) or (c), the weapon shall not be returned to the person to whom the order is directed before he presents a valid license that he received pursuant to the Firearm Law, if such license is needed to carry or possess the weapon.
(2) 	Cancellation of the prohibition to carry or possess a weapon by the court under this section shall not derogate from the powers of the licensing official pursuant to section 12 of the Firearm Law.

6.	Report [amendment: 5758, 5761]
For the purposes of a proceeding under section 4(b) or sections 5(b) or (c), the court may order a welfare officer to prepare a written report within the time the court shall determine as regards the giving of a protection order, and the provisions of the Welfare (Procedure in Matters of Minors, Mentally Ill Persons and Absent Persons) Law, 5715 – 1955, shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to its preparation, also in the event the report is requested in respect of a person who is not included in the said statute. 

7.	Violation of order [amendment: 5758]
(a)	Repealed.
(b)	Where a complaint of violation of the order, including a prohibition under section 2(a)(1), has been made to the Police, a Police officer may arrest the violator.
(c)	It shall not be a good defense for a person who violates a protection order that the family member did not insist on compliance with it or on implementation of the statutory provisions regarding its breach.

8.	Rules of evidence [amendment: 5755]
(a)	In a proceeding under this Law, the provisions of sections 3 and 4 of the Evidence Ordinance [New Version], 5731 – 1971, shall not apply.
(b)	The provisions of section 8 of the Family Court Law, 5755 – 1995, shall apply to a Magistrate’s Court hearing a claim under this Law.

9.	Methods of service 
Court documents and orders in accordance with this Law shall be served by the court clerk, or by the person authorized in writing by the court or the administrator of the courts; however, a family member of a side to the proceeding or any person on his behalf, except his attorney if the latter so consents, shall not be authorized to make service.

10.	Jurisdiction [amendment: 5762]
In a proceeding under this Law, a court shall not refrain from hearing or from giving relief in a matter, solely because of the fact that the matter is being heard in another proceeding, that lack of local jurisdiction is argued, or that a person conditioned his right in accordance with law. 

11.	Expenses and compensation on frivolous applications 
Where the court rejected an application for a protection order and ruled that it was vexatious, it may impose on the person who requested the protection order the following or part of them:
(1)	expenses in favor of the State or the side that was harmed, in an amount that it deems proper;
(2)	suitable compensation to the person who was harmed by the filing of the application. 

11A.   	Duty to provide information [amendment: 5762 (2)]
(a)	In this section – 
“Social Services Department” means the welfare office within its meaning in the Welfare Services Law, 5718 – 1958;
“offense” means an offense under sections 333, 329 to 345, 335 to 380, 377, 348 and 382(c) of the Penal Law, 5737 – 1977.  [??these numbers make no sense??]
(b)	A physician, nurse, person working in education, social worker, police officer, psychologist, clinical criminologist, person working in the paramedical professions, attorney, religious official or rabbinical pleader, who, as a result of treatment or advice given to a person in the context of his work in his profession or in his position, has reasonable basis for thinking that an offense was recently committed against the said person (in this section – the patient) by the person’s spouse or former spouse, shall inform the patient of the possibility of going to the Police station, the Department of Social Services or the Center for Treatment and Prevention of Violence in the Family, of the Department of Social Services, and shall give the person the address and telephone number of the said places near the patient’s place of residence.
(c)	The minister in charge, upon consultation with the Minister of Justice and with the approval of the Knesset’s Committee for the Advancement of Women, shall establish directives for the implementation of subsection (b) and for documenting actions taken for its implementation;
In this subsection, “the minister in charge” means –  
(1)	as regards physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers in the health system, clinical criminologists and persons working in the paramedical professions – the Minister of Health;
(2)	as regards persons working in education – the Minister of education; 
(3)	as regards social workers, except for social workers in the health system – the Minster of Labor and Welfare;
(4)	as regards Police officers – the Minister of Internal Security;
(5)	as regards religious officials and rabbinical pleaders – the Minister for Religious Affairs.
(d)	 The National Council of the Israel Bar Association, with the approval of the Minister of Justice and the Knesset’s Committee for the Advancement of Women, shall enact rules, as regards attorneys, for the implementation of subsection (b) and for the documentation of the actions taken for implementing it.

12.	Saving of laws
The provisions of this Law are in addition to and not in derogation of any law. 

13.	Implementation and regulations [amendment: 5758(2)]
(a)	The Minister of Justice is charged with implementation of this Law and may enact regulations as regards its implementation.
(b)	The Minister for Religious Affairs, with the consent of the Minister of Justice, shall enact regulations, as were enacted pursuant to subsection (a), for every religious court, conforming them as necessary.

14.	Amendment of the Youth (Treatment and Supervision) Law 
In the Youth (Treatment and Supervision) Law, 5720 – 1960, after section 3 shall come:
“3A.  	Protection order
The court hearing the matter of a minor may, if it deems necessary, give a protection order in accordance with the Prevention of Violence in the Family Law, 5751 – 1991.”

15.	Amendment of the Criminal Procedure Law
In the Criminal Procedure Law [Consolidated Version], 5742 – 1982, at the end of section 44, shall come “the court may also give a protection order as stated in the Prevention of Violence in the Family Law, 5751 – 1991.”

16.	Commencement
This Law shall come into force ninety days following the day of its publication.

   Yitzhak Shamir 		   Dan Meridor
    Prime Minister		Minister of Justice

	Chaim Herzog			Dov Shilansky
      President of the State	      Speaker of the Knesset