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How Effective is Criminal Fine Enforcement in the Israeli Criminal Justice System?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2014

Tomer Einat
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Extract

Over-burdening of the prison system and serious reservations as to the usefulness of the prison sentence as a means of reducing crimes rates have led penologists and policymakers to seek ways to broaden the repertoire of criminal punishments available to the courts. In the search for effective and affordable sentencing policies, there has been increasing interest in the development and elaboration of intermediate sanctions as part of a menu of sentencing choices that match the severity of punishment to the seriousness of the crime.

This trend is clearly reflected in the development of the penal system in Israel. In elaborating alternatives to imprisonment, an integrated model, incorporating welfare and rehabilitation considerations, has emerged. Nevertheless, Israeli judges have remarkably few sentencing alternatives at their disposal, and the penal sanctions available to them can be counted on the fingers of one hand, namely, imprisonment, suspended prison sentence, probation, community service, and the fine.

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Articles
Information
Israel Law Review , Volume 33 , Issue 2 , Spring 1999 , pp. 322 - 338
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and The Faculty of Law, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1999

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References

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43 The Center is charged with the collection of fines, fees and taxes and the execution of court rulings in a number of areas governed by the Fishery Ordinance, the Ports Ordinance, the Fruit Council Law, the Poultry Board, the Vegetable Export Board, Price and Services Control, Equipment Registration and IDF Mobilization, the Mining Ordinance, the Safety in the Work Place Ordinance, the National Parks Law, Tax Laws, the Firearms Law, the Prison Ordinance, the Credit Cards Law, the Entry Visa Law, Identity Card and Trespassing, the Telecommunications Law, and the Wildlife Protection Law.

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46 Such as the databases of the National Insurance, the Israeli Police Force, the Companies Registrar, the Licensing Department of the Ministry of Transport, Bezek Telephone Company, the Electric Company, the Execution Department, Civil Secretariats of the Courts, “Tkefon” and “Tkefon Iski” — (an on-line program with access to all court databases), the program of the Center.

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57 Ibid., at 39.

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59 See Hillsman and Casale, supra n. 11.

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