1.
The Supreme Court ruling in C.A. 5121/98 Prv. Yisascharov v. The Head Military Prosecutor et. al. (4.5.06)
created new case law regarding the admissibility of evidence obtained
illegitimately in Israel. In that case, the Supreme Court recognized two avenues for examining the admissibility of a suspect's confession. Firstly, via Section 12 of the
Evidence Ordinance which stipulates that a confession by a suspect, and later a defendant, which was obtained through illegal measures impairing her/his free will to admit the commitment of the crimes of which she/he was accused, cannot be admitted as
evidence in her/his trial. Secondly, a doctrine by which the court has discretion to invalidate the admissibility of evidence in a criminal proceeding, if it ascertained that it was obtained illegally and that using it during the trial would be a serious infringement
upon the accused's right to a fair trial. The Yisascharov ruling was later developed in several other fundamental Supreme Court cases, and the development of the doctrine of inadmissibility of evidence is still an ongoing process within the Israeli
legal system, as stated by the Supreme Court (C.A. 2939/09 Filza v. The State of Israel (15.10.09)).
דפנה דרור-שפוליאנסקי, עו"ד
אשכול זכויות אדם במחלקה למשפט בין-לאומי
ייעוץ וחקיקה,
משרד המשפטים
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