ISRAEL Law and Practice Contributed by: Yitzhak Yaari, Chen, Yaari, Vaki & Co.
5. Enforcement 5.1 Methods of Enforcement
service outside the country, and it is not a frivolous or vexatious claim. In addition, the court needs to be persuaded that the State of Israel is the proper forum for litigating the pro - ceeding. This last condition gives the court discretion not to assume jurisdiction over the case, if the natural forum for hearing the case is not Israel. The decisive criteria in this context is “the most connections test,” in which the facts indicating a connection between the parties or the subject-matter of the claim and the competing forums are examined. The considerations taken into account include the place where the events occurred, the domicile and business of the parties, access to evidence and witnesses, the law governing the case and the efficiency of the hearing. 4.2 Service of Proceedings out of the Jurisdiction Israel, like dozens of other countries, is a signatory to the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Mat - ters, which was concluded in The Hague in November 1965. The Convention was ratified and incorporated into Israeli law by means of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Convention, which allow for the service of documents in member states of the Con - vention (including the United States and all European Union member states). One of the ways listed in the Convention is service by mail. Courts in Israel also recognise service through an international courier company, by personal delivery with confirmation of service, as an alternative to service by mail. There are several countries that are signatories to the Convention (such as Germany, the Czech Republic, Greece, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia) that have had reservations about the clause that allows ser - vice by mail. In order to serve a statement of claim on a defendant who is in any of these countries, the approval of the Courts Administrator in Israel should be obtained, according to which the service request complies with the provisions of the Convention and the Regulations, and the document should be served through the Courts Administration in Israel to the cen - tral authority in the destination country.
Enforcement of a judgment in Israel is done through the Enforcement Office. Usually, 30 days after judg - ment is given, an enforcement file can be opened against the defendant, and if the defendant does not comply with the judgment within 20 days, enforce - ment proceedings can be filed against them, such as: • imposing liens on movable property, real estate, and money held by a third party; • imposing various restrictions (such as restrictions on passports, leaving Israel and the use of debit cards); • appointing a receiver; and • eviction proceedings, and other similar measures. To enforce an arbitration award, the award must first be approved by the court. This is a simple procedure, which may be lengthened if the defendant files a motion to cancel the arbitration award. In a motion to cancel an arbitration award, the court does not act as an appellate court with respect to the arbitrator, and it only needs to consider whether there were defects, such as that there was no valid arbitration agreement at all, that the arbitrator exceeded his authority, that the content of the award is contrary to public policy, etc. When an arbitration award is approved, it can be enforced at the Enforcement Office. When the court granted a temporary lien order or a temporary injunction (including a Mareva order), and the plaintiff wins the case, the orders become final and will continue to remain in effect until the judgment is performed (or until a further order of the court), in order to bridge the period of time between the giv - ing of the judgment and the opening of the enforce - ment file and prevent the concealment of assets at this stage. Even if temporary orders were not requested or grant - ed, the court may grant relief to ensure the perfor - mance of the judgment, when giving the judgment or immediately thereafter. Such a motion, for relief when the judgment is given or shortly thereafter, does not require the deposit of any surety or undertaking by the
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