ISRAEL Law and Practice Contributed by: Talya Solomon, Iris Achmon, Ekaterina Yaremchuk and Niva Orion, Herzog Fox & Neeman
The criminal sanctions and penalties vary from a few of days in prison to custodial sentences of several months (behind bars or community service), and from ILS10,000 to more than ILS1 million. The authors are not aware of any precedent pertaining the extradition of Israeli residents to another jurisdiction due to restrictive arrange - ments. 5.6 Relevance of Effective Compliance Programmes The part of a compliance programme in the sentencing or administrative fines has yet to be regulated by law or ICA guidance, but it may be considered a mitigating factor when manage - ment was not actually involved in the breaches. In 1998, the ICA published some recommenda - tions regarding the desired format of compli - ance programmes. The recommendations noted that an effective compliance programme could be a defence under the officer criminal liability of provision of the ECL. There is no clear and more recent guidance from the ICA regarding the meaning of an “effective compliance pro - gramme” . It is clear, however, that an effective programme should include, among other things, some form of written guidance, routine inspec - tions, training employees on relevant specific issues in competition law and clear sanctions within the organisation in case of a breach. 5.7 Mandatory Consumer Redress Sanctions in governmental proceedings usually do not include mandatory consumer redress, as this is not part of the ICA′s enforcement meas - ures. However, they may be included in a con - sent decree.
Consumers are typically compensated through class action lawsuits. 5.8 Judicial Review or Appeal Both criminal and administrative ICA proce - dures can be appealed to the Supreme Court. An appeal can be submitted without requesting approval. Thus, appeals in antitrust cases are quite common. 5.9 Timeline of Cartel Enforcement Process A restrictive arrangement enforcement process usually takes several years. According to the ECL, any act or omission con - trary to its provisions is a tort under the Israeli Tort Ordinance. Therefore, both private firms and individuals harmed by a breach of the ECL may bring forth an action. Tort lawsuits require dem - onstration of a breach of the law, damage and causal connection between the breach and the damage that occurred. Private Actions Brought Before the Regular Civil Courts System 6. Civil Litigation 6.1 Private Rights of Action Private antitrust actions, as well as class actions, are brought before the regular civil court system and, therefore, the jurisdiction depends on the value of the action. Common Reliefs and Remedies Generally speaking, the Israeli tort law grants compensatory damages, and it is common for both private and class action claimants to seek financial compensation for their actual damage. Having said that, since most private antitrust claims end in settlements, there is little prece -
173 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook