56 THE US-ISRAEL | Legal Review 2025/26 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. The Tel Aviv and Haifa District Courts each have a specialized economic division. These economic courts are granted exclusive subject matter jurisdiction within the court over economic claims (such as shareholder disputes or derivative actions). Judges with the relevant knowledge and experience preside over each of these divisions. The Supreme Court is Israel’s highest judicial authority, functioning both as an appellate court for district court decisions (with an automatic right of appeal for firstinstance cases and by certiorari for appellate cases) and as a High Court of Justice endowed with judicial review powers. Standardly, it comprises 15 justices, headed by the President of the Supreme Court (there are currently 4 vacancies). Most cases are presided over by three justices, and five or more justices can preside over matters deemed especially significant. The decisions of the Supreme Court are final and are not subject to appeal, yet under extremely rare and unique circumstances a Supreme Court verdict can be subject to a re-hearing before an enlarged panel. As the High Court of Justice, the Supreme Court has material jurisdiction over petitions for judicial review of legislative and administrative actions, including limited review of decisions of the specialized tribunals. While the High Court of Justice is in fact the court of first instance for such petitions, it is not a trial court and it applies administrative rules of evidence, rather than the civil law rules of evidence. Appropriately, the High Court of Justice also has unique procedural regulations. Because many cases are granted rights to the Supreme Court, either by appeal or as first-instance petitions, the Supreme Court is extremely active - with approximately 11,274 proceedings opened in 2024. According to the Courts Administrator, the average length of regular civil proceedings (including claims that are dismissed or settled before final judgment), is 11.2 months for proceedings in the magistrate courts; 20.1 months in the district courts, and 23.2 months for civil appeals in the Supreme Court. Jurisdiction and Extraterritorial Service of Process in Israel The purpose of service of process is both to notify the defendant of the legal proceedings and to establish the Israeli court’s jurisdiction over a defendant - including a foreign defendant. The Regulations establish that a prospective plaintiff can serve a foreign prospective defendant in its domicile outside of Israel - if there are grounds for such extraterritorial service - without needing to obtain prior permission from the court. The plaintiff is still required to file a motion to the court requesting orders for executing the service. This motion must be accompanied by an affidavit supporting the cause of action of the prospective suit, as well as the existence of grounds for extraterritorial service, and must include the defendant’s address abroad to which process is intended to be served. The Regulations include a comprehensive list of grounds for extraterritorial service, such as that the claim concerns a property located in Israel, or that the claim concerns a contract that is subject to the laws of Israel. All the grounds require some connection between the claim and the State of Israel which justifies the court assuming jurisdiction over the claim. The court has the discretion to deny the prospective plaintiff’s motion for orders for extraterritorial execution of service, and rule that under the given circumstances process will not be served extraterritorially. If the court does not deny the motion, and process has been served accordingly, the defendant may move to quash the extraterritorial service, arguing that the Israeli court lacks jurisdiction, or that it is not the appropriate forum for adjudicating the dispute (forum non conveniens). The performance of extraterritorial service is regulated by the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (1965), to which Israel is a party. A claim may also be served on a foreign defendant who is not currently present in Israel through a local representative on its behalf that represents it on a regular basis with respect to its matters in Israel, if the action pertains to the same matter.
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