ISRAEL Law and Practice Contributed by: Dan Or-Hof, Eran Gandman, Netanel Aharon and Matan Adar, Or-Hof Law
Sanctions Compliance (the 2026 Shift) Traditionally, Israeli private entities were not required to comply with non-UN foreign sanctions in the absence of a legal nexus. A Bank of Israel Directive (January 2026) now requires banks to limit the accounts of people sanctioned by allied jurisdictions to support financial stability and correspondent banking. Interaction with Privacy Law (Amendment No 13) The PPL functions as a practical constraint on foreign disclosure. • Legal obligation exception: Disclosure is permit - ted only where required under Israeli law; foreign subpoenas alone are insufficient. • Purpose limitation: Data collected for service provi - sion cannot be repurposed for foreign litigation without informed consent. • Judicial balancing: The courts apply a proportion - ality test, weighing privacy rights against foreign judicial interests. 5.5 Recent Developments The most significant recent change in Israel impact - ing the Data Transfer Regulations is Amendment No 13 to the PPL. The amendment gives the PPA greater enforcement powers, including the right to issue fines when organisations do not comply with orders to stop processing data in violation of Data Transfer Regula - tions. For example, ignoring a PPA order to halt unlaw - ful data transfers can lead to significant penalties. Since 1 January 2025, individuals have been able to request deletion of their personal data transferred from the EEA to Israel by third parties. This right also covers any other personal data in Israeli databases that contains EEA‑originating data.
Directive 364 (Management of IT, Information Security, and Cyber Protection Risks) permits remote access to sensitive systems only under strict safeguards, includ - ing encryption, multi-factor authentication, continuous monitoring, and access limited by business necessity. In effect, while no formal localisation mandate exists, sectoral rules often produce localisation-like out - comes across regulated industries. 5.4 Blocking Statutes Blocking Statutes and Foreign Judgments Israel has no general “blocking statute” prohibiting compliance with foreign discovery. However, sector- specific secrecy regimes may effectively restrict dis - closure. • Foreign Judgments Enforcement Law, 5718-1958: Foreign judgments, including discovery orders, are not self-executing and require an Israeli court declaration of enforceability. • The “Public Policy” Defence: Enforcement will be denied where it contradicts Israeli public policy, including disproportionate infringements of privacy or trade secrets. Foreign Discovery and the Hague Evidence Convention Israel is a party to the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad (1970). • Procedure: Discovery is pursued through a letter of request, executed under Israeli court supervision. • Restrictions: Disclosure is limited to specific, relevant documents; broad discovery and pre-trial depositions are generally prohibited.
197 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook