Letting the fox guard the chicken coop: oversight, transparency, and violation of human rights in the Israeli Penal System

Abstract

Prisons and prisoners’ civil and health rights are one fundamental measure of the relationship between liberal democracy’s legislation and its enforcement and personal rights and freedoms. In light of this relationship, this article examines the Israeli legislation regarding prisoners’ civil rights and health services, explores the mechanisms for implementing these rights and analyzes the main causes for the gap between this legislation and its actual implementation. Main findings: (a) the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) is formally committed to the protection and realization of prisoners’ civil and health rights; (b) the implementation of these rights de facto and the level of oversight of prison staff activities in this field have been decreased to a bare minimum; and (c) the existing gap between the formal adoption of civil and health rights treaties and liberal law by the IPS and their actual implementation signifies the absence of a pragmatic instrument aimed at the protection and preservation of Israeli inmates’ fundamental human rights and a consequential erosion of such rights. The study recommends the implementation of various viable steps in order to assist the Israeli democracy in achieving positive personal freedoms as well as establishing one fundamental principle: provision of appropriate health services to inmates.