ISRAEL Law and Practice Contributed by: Joseph (Yossi) Ashkenazi, Haim Machluf and Roy Schondorf, Herzog Fox & Neeman
trary to the declaration, a plaintiff may commence new proceedings on the basis of the court’s declaration and defendant’s conduct, and then seek to enforce an operative judgment in those new proceedings. 2.7 Register of Domestic Judgments There is no official public judgment registry in Israel. If one knows the case number of a specific case involv - ing a specific defendant, one can usually locate the judgment on the judiciary docket, available publicly (unless the case is confidential). Furthermore, private databases of judgments are available subject to pay - ment, but do not necessarily include all judgments and decisions. 3. Foreign Judgments 3.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Under Israeli law, a judgment of a foreign court would generally be declared as enforceable in Israel in accordance with and subject to the provisions set out in the Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Law (1958). The types of civil judgments which can be enforced in Israel include pecuniary judgments, specific per - formance orders and injunctions (only as final orders), and judgments granting multiple/punitive damages. The conditions specified in the Enforcement of For - eign Judgments Law for the enforcement of a foreign judgment are that: • the judgment was given by a foreign court that, according to Lex Fori, was authorised to render it; • the judgment is unappealable (an alimony foreign judgment may be enforced even if it still appeal - able, if the court deems it just and fair, and if the rest of the conditions specified above and below are met); • the judgment is executable in the jurisdiction in which the judgment was rendered; • the judgment is enforceable under the Israeli laws on enforcement of foreign judgment, and the judg - ment’s content is not contrary to public policy; and • the judgment is subject to the reciprocity rule – ie, the judgment was rendered in a country whose
laws allow for the enforcement of an Israeli judg - ment of a similar kind. It is noted that in two recent cases the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the reciprocity requirement for the enforcement of a foreign judgment is fulfilled where there is reasonable potential for the enforcement of Israeli judgments in the country that issued the judg - ment, even where there were no examples in practice of the foreign country having enforced Israeli judg - ments. See Civil Appeal 3081/12 Double K Oil Prod- ucts (1996) Ltd v Gazprom Transgaz Ochta (Nevo, 9 September 2014), where the court held that the reciprocity principle is upheld with regard to Russian judgments, partly due to the Russian courts’ new - found tendency of authorising enforcement of foreign judgments absent the existence of a treaty. Similar - ly, in Civil Appeal 7884/15 Itzhak Reitman v Jiangsu Overseas Group Co Ltd (Nevo, 14 August 2017), the Supreme Court held that reasonable potential for reci - procity is sufficient for the purposes of enforcing a judgment issued in China. Finally, a court will not grant a motion to declare a foreign judgment as enforceable if it was filed over five years after the foreign judgment was rendered, unless an extended period was agreed upon in a treaty between Israel and the country in which the judgment was rendered, or if the court finds other special circumstances which justify extending this period. 3.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Foreign Judgments If a foreign judgment grants only a declaratory relief, meaning there is no in personam order to enforce, it may be recognised in Israel, either directly or inci - dentally. If a party then acts contrary to this foreign judgment, it may be used as a basis to instigate pro - ceedings in Israel towards that party. The conditions for direct recognition are that: • a treaty with a foreign country applies to the judg - ment (Israel is a signatory to bilateral treaties with the UK, Austria, Spain and Germany); • Israel has taken upon itself the obligation in that treaty to recognise such judgments; • the obligation does not apply to judgments that may not be enforced under Israeli law; and • the judgment complies with the terms of the treaty.
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