Judiciary

Knesset Mandates Defense Counsel for Minors and Disabled Suspects

Published

Courtroom-sketch editorial illustration of three lawmakers seated in the Knesset plenum, with a kippah-wearing lawmaker using a telephone and writing in the foreground

The Knesset gave final approval to a law requiring defense counsel to be present when police question minors and certain suspects with intellectual, mental health or autism-related disabilities. Investigators must notify eligible suspects of the right before questioning, document any waiver and wait a reasonable period for a lawyer when the right is invoked. The five-year temporary measure allows limited delays when waiting could obstruct an investigation or seriously endanger a person, the public or state security, and excludes security and terrorism offenses. Justice Minister Yariv Levin called the law a historic reform intended to reduce false confessions.

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