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94 The US-Israel Legal Review 2019
ISRAEL: LITIGATION
T
he State of Israel has an independent, adversarial
legal system, modeled after the Common Law
tradition. Disputants are free to define the scope
of their dispute and the court will adjudicate only
on the basis of their pleadings and the evidence
they present.
In determining the outcome, the court will
apply the law, consisting of primary legislation
enacted by parliament, subsidiary legislation such
as regulations and legal precedent. All judicial
proceedings in Israel are bench trials as there is no
right to trial by jury.
Israeli civil procedure is partial to written
submissions and affidavits (subject to cross
examination), rather than oral arguments and
testimony. However, a recent revision to the Civil
Law Procedure Regulations (“the Revision”) has
tipped the balance in favor of direct examination
and oral summation. The Revision will take force on
5 September 2019 and will apply prospectively to
claims initiated after the Revision entered into force.
In past years the Israeli legal system has
deviated fromCommon Law to Civil Lawprinciples.
One example is the Revision, which also envisages
a much more active role for the judge. Another
example is the continuous effort by parliament to
codify civil substantive law.
Israel is a highly litigious country with the
highest numbers of lawyers per capita, and an
overwhelming number of claims filed each year
crowding its court system. According to the Courts
Administrator, 810,685 new claims and appeals
were filed in 2016 – roughly 1 claim per 10 people.
The result is a tendency to use legal proceedings
(both in the court system and alternative dispute
resolution forums such as arbitration) as a way of
solving disputes.
The Structure of the Israeli Legal System
The Israeli judiciary is comprised of a general
court system and specialized tribunals. The
general court system is comprised of the Supreme
Court, 6 District Courts (one in each judicial
district) and 28 magistrate courts spread out over
the different districts.
Additionally, there are permanent specialized
tribunals with limited subject matter or personal
jurisdiction such as labor courts, administrative
courts, military courts, religious courts, family
Courts, the Antitrust Tribunal and the Standard
Form Contracts Tribunal.
The magistrate courts serve as the trial court of
first instance for most civil disputes, having subject
Civil Litigation in Israel in
Theory andPractice
Those acquainted with Common Law will recognize many of
the foundational principles of the Israeli legal system, alongside
other formal and unwritten rules unique to Israel.
Israel is a highly litigious country
with the highest numbers of
lawyers per capita.