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The US-Israel Legal Review 2019 95
matter jurisdiction over claims for relief valued
under ILS 2.5 million. The magistrate courts are
usually presided over by one judge.
District courts have appellate jurisdiction over
the magistrate courts, and they serve as a residual
trial court of first instance when the magistrate
courts and specialized tribunals lack jurisdiction.
The district courts are usually presided over by
one judge in their capacity as trial courts, and three
judges in their capacity as appellate courts.
In recent years, the Israeli Parliament passed a
bill establishing two economic courts as divisions of
the Tel Aviv and Haifa District Courts. The economic
courts were granted exclusive subject matter
jurisdiction within the court over economic claims
(such as shareholder disputes or derivative actions).
Judges with relevant knowledge and experience
were appointed to preside over each court.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in Israel.
It serves both as an appellate court for the district
courts and as a High Court of Justice with powers of
judicial review. The decisions of the Supreme Court
are final and are not subject to appeal.
As a High Court of Justice, the Supreme Court
has material jurisdiction over petitions for
judicial review of legislative and administrative
action, including limited review of decisions of
the specialized tribunals. While in some cases
the High Court of Justice is in fact the court of
first instance, it is not a trial court and it applies
administrative rules of evidence, rather than the
civil law rules of evidence.
According to the Courts Administrator, the
average length of regular civil proceedings in the
magistrate courts is one year (including claims that
are disposed of before final judgment), with 5% of
the proceedings exceeding 3 years. The average
length of regular civil proceedings initiated in the
district courts is 16 months (including claims that
are disposed of before final judgment), with 3% of
the proceedings exceeding 4 years.
JURISDICTION AND EXTRATERRITORIAL
SERVICE OF PROCESS
The current Civil Law Procedure Regulations
establish that a prospective plaintiff seeking
to initiate proceedings against a prospective
defendant located outside of Israel, must request
leave of extraterritorial service of process from
the court. By power of the service of process under
such leave, the Israeli court acquires jurisdiction
over a foreign defendant.
The court will grant leave of service only if the
plaintiff meets several cumulative conditions:
• The plaintiff must demonstrate adequate cause
of action, specifically that the cause of action
is a serious matter worthy of adjudication. In
practice, a claim is considered to demonstrate
an adequate cause of action for the purpose of
granting leave of service if it is not devoid of
merit
prima facie
.
• The plaintiff must demonstrate that the Israeli
forum is the most appropriate forum for the
adjudication of the dispute. If the court finds
that there is a more appropriate forum available
to the parties (
forum non conveniens
), it might
YECHIEL KASHER
PARTNER
The Supreme Court is the
highest court in Israel. Its
decisions are final and are
not subject to appeal.