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Representation in Military Courts
A separate legal system with its own rules
Soldiers in compulsory service, career service, and reserve duty are subject to the Military Justice Law and are tried in a separate system: district military courts and the Military Court of Appeals. The system hears both unique military offenses (absence without leave, desertion, failure to obey an order, guard duty offenses) and “civilian” offenses committed by soldiers: drugs, violence, weapons, property offenses, and more. Alongside it operates the disciplinary system: expedited proceedings before a disciplinary officer for minor offenses.
The differences you must know
The procedures, the composition of the judges, the sentencing policy, and the points of emphasis differ from the civilian system: the military courts give enormous weight to the values of discipline, deterrence, and equality in bearing the burden, and are stringent in offenses perceived as harming the core of service. On the other hand, the system has unique mechanisms and tracks that a defense lawyer who knows them can make use of: from charging decisions, through plea agreements with the military prosecution, to considerations of rehabilitation and continued service.
The right to a civilian lawyer
Every soldier standing trial in a military court has the right to be represented by a civilian lawyer of his or her choosing, alongside or instead of the military defense. In cases with civilian consequences, a criminal record, a future profession, parallel civilian cases, experienced civilian criminal representation has decisive value: it sees the full picture, in the military and after it.
Legal representation
Israel Arama, a former member of the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office, represents soldiers and career service personnel in proceedings in the military courts and in disciplinary proceedings, from the first MPCID questioning to the appeal. Contact us for an initial consultation with no obligation.
What is the difference between absence without leave and desertion?
The Military Justice Law distinguishes between two offenses: absence without leave, absence from service without authorization, punishable by up to 3 years of imprisonment; and desertion, absence with the intention of not returning to service, punishable by up to 7 years of imprisonment, and in serious circumstances even more. In practice, the distinction is derived mainly from the length of the absence and the circumstances: long absences are handled as desertion, and military policy sets sentencing levels according to the number of days of absence.
What happens when someone is caught or reports in?
An absent soldier is declared absent without leave, and after a defined period a desertion case is opened against him and he is wanted by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division. Upon arrest or reporting in, the soldier is brought to trial: short absences usually end in disciplinary proceedings before a judicial officer, and long absences in an indictment before the military court, where confinement and actual imprisonment are imposed. Important to know: proactive, coordinated, and prepared reporting in is significantly easier than arrest, and it is the opportunity to present the circumstances that led to the absence.
The circumstances behind the absence
Behind most absence without leave cases are human circumstances: family financial distress, mental condition, unsuitability for service, medical problems that were not treated. An orderly presentation of the circumstances, accompanied by documents, treatment professionals, and mental health professionals, directly affects the sentence, and sometimes opens a path to ending the service through the appropriate channels instead of imprisonment.
Zero tolerance: the rules in the military are completely different
What in civilian life often ends in a settlement or the closing of a case is a different world in the military: the IDF practices a zero-tolerance policy on drugs, and use of a dangerous drug by a soldier is an offense under the Military Justice Law even when done on leave, at home, far from any base. A soldier who admits in a urine test or in questioning by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division to cannabis use at a civilian party risks an indictment in a military court, incarceration, and consequences for the continuation of his service.
How are the cases opened?
Initiated urine tests in units; intelligence information; incrimination by other soldiers during questioning; and correspondence found on phones. Questioning by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division is an investigation in every respect: a soldier has the right to consult a lawyer before giving a version, and the right to remain silent. The common and fatal mistake: young soldiers who immediately confess and give the names of friends, thinking that "cooperation will help." The confession is the main evidence in most cases.
The punishment and the consequences
The punishment is derived from the type of drug, the extent of the use, and whether it involves only use or also possession, mediation, and supply to other soldiers (far more serious offenses): from confinement and a suspended sentence, through actual imprisonment in military detention, to demotion in rank. Beyond the punishment: a criminal record that carries over into civilian life, harm to roles and security clearance, and at times the question of continuation of the entire service.
A separate legal system with its own rules — what is important to know?
Soldiers in compulsory service, career service, and reserve duty are subject to the Military Justice Law and are tried in a separate system: district military courts and the Military Court of Appeals. The system hears both unique military offenses (absence without leave, desertion, failure to obey an order, guard duty offenses) and “civilian” offenses committed by soldiers: drugs, violence, weapons, property offenses, and more. Alongside it operates the disciplinary system: expedited proceedings before a disciplinary officer for minor offenses.
What is the difference between absence without leave and desertion?
The Military Justice Law distinguishes between two offenses: absence without leave, absence from service without authorization, punishable by up to 3 years of imprisonment; and desertion, absence with the intention of not returning to service, punishable by up to 7 years of imprisonment, and in serious circumstances even more. In practice, the distinction is derived mainly from the length of the absence and the circumstances: long absences are handled as desertion, and military policy sets sentencing levels according to the number of days of absence.
The circumstances behind the absence — what is important to know?
Behind most absence without leave cases are human circumstances: family financial distress, mental condition, unsuitability for service, medical problems that were not treated. An orderly presentation of the circumstances, accompanied by documents, treatment professionals, and mental health professionals, directly affects the sentence, and sometimes opens a path to ending the service through the appropriate channels instead of imprisonment.
The punishment and the consequences — what is important to know?
The punishment is derived from the type of drug, the extent of the use, and whether it involves only use or also possession, mediation, and supply to other soldiers (far more serious offenses): from confinement and a suspended sentence, through actual imprisonment in military detention, to demotion in rank. Beyond the punishment: a criminal record that carries over into civilian life, harm to roles and security clearance, and at times the question of continuation of the entire service.
This information is for initial orientation about the service and contact process. It is not individual legal advice.
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