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1. In this Law:

"Foreign judgment" - a judgment given by a court in a foreign state in a civil matter, including a judgment for the payment of compensation or damages to an injured party even though it may not have been given in a civil matter.

Definition

2. A foreign judgment will not be enforced in Israel save under this Law.

No Enforcements Save Under This Law

3. A Court in Israel may declare a foreign judgment enforceable if it finds that the judgment complies with the following:

(1) The judgment was given in a state the courts of which were, according to its laws, competent to give it; and

(2) the judgment is no longer appealable; and

(3) the obligation of the judgment is enforceable under the Statues of Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Israel, and the content of which does not contradict the public policy in Israel; and

(4) The judgment is executory in the State in which it was given.

Conditions of Enforcement (Changed 1975)

4. (a) A foreign judgment will not be declared enforceable if it was given in a state the laws of which do not provide for the enforcement of judgments of Israeli Courts.

(b) The Court may, on the application of the Attorney General, enforce a foreign judgment even where reciprocity, within the meaning of subsection (a), is not accorded.

Reciprocity of Enforcement

5. The Court will not hear an application for the enforcement of a foreign judgment if such application is filed more than five years after the day on which the judgment was given, unless a different period has been agreed upon between Israel and the state in which the judgment was given or unless the court considers that there are special reasons justifying the delay.

Period of Enforcement

6. A foreign judgment will not be declared enforceable if it is proved to the court that one of the following had occurred:

(1) The judgment was obtained by fraud; or

(2) The defendant was not afforded a reasonab1e opportunity to present his arguments and to produce his evidence before the judgment was given; or

(3) The judgment was given by a Court not competent to give it; or

(4) The judgment is in contradiction with another judgment given in the same matter between the same parties that is still valid; or

(5) At the time the action was brought before the foreign court a suit in the same matter and between the same parties was pending before a Court or a Tribunal in Israel.

(b) For the purpose of Subsection (a) (3), a person will not be deemed to have acknowledged the authority of the Court which gave judgment against him, even if that person participated in the proceeding before the said Court, whether on certain conditions or whether without any conditions, if he claimed one or more of the following:

(1) That person objected to the authority of the Court or protested against it;

(2) Claimed the proceedings should be stricken out or delayed for the purpose of transferring the claim to arbitration or to a Court in another country;

(3) Claimed with regard to releasing his assets which were seized or about to be seized, or while protecting such assets.

(c) It does not matter if along with the claims mentioned in Subsection (b) the defendant claimed to the merits of the dispute or participated in the proceedings in any other matter - provided he participated in same before the foreign Court gave its final decision on the question of authority.

Protections Against Enforcement (Changed 1975, 1990)

7. A foreign judgment will not be declared enforceable if its enforcement is likely to prejudice the sovereignty or security of Israel.

Restriction on Enforcement

8. The court may, if it considers that the circumstances of the case justify it doing so, enforce a foreign provisional judgment or interim order in a matter of maintenance even though such judgment or order may still be appealable, so long as the other conditions imposed by this Law are fulfilled in respect thereof.

Enforcement of Provisional Judgments and Interim Orders

9. Cancelled.

Power of Enforcement (Cancelled 1978)

10. (a) A foreign judgment which has been declared enforceable will, for the purposes of execution, have the effect of a judgment validly given in Israel.

(b) A foreign judgment which has been declared enforceable, and according to which a person is obligated to make a payment in a foreign currency, the obligation will be fulfilled by payment in Israeli currency according to the exchange rate at the day of the payment; However, a creditor may fulfill his obligation, if he pays the amount that is required in the foreign judgment in the required foreign currency, according to the statues governing the control of foreign currency in Israel.

(c) The Minister of Justice, and following an approval of the Knesset's Finance Committee, will determine regulations as to the ways of determining the exchange rate for the purpose of this Section.

Execution of Enforceable Foreign Judgment (Changed 1978)

11. A Court or Tribunal in Israel will recognise a foreign judgment when all of the following exist:

(1) A treaty with a foreign country applies to such judgment; and

(2) Israel has agreed in such treaty to acknowledge such judgments; and

(3) The obligation does not apply to judgments other than judgments which are enforceable under Israeli Law; and

(4) The judgments complies with the terms of the treaty.

(b) In hearing a matter within its jurisdiction, a Court or Tribunal in Israel may recognise a foreign judgment, even if the conditions of Subsection (a) do not apply to it, if it deems it proper so to do in the interests of law and justice.

(c) Subsections 6 (b) and (c) will apply to proceeding for acknowledging a foreign judgment under this Section.

Recognition of Foreign Judgments (Changed 1978, 1990)

12. The following are hereby repealed -

(1) The Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement Ordinance);

(2) The Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement - Egypt) Ordinance);

(3) The Probates (British and Colonial Ordinance);

(4) The Foreign Judgments Regulations 1928.

Repeal

13. The Minister of Justice is charged with the implementation of this Law and may make regulations as to any matter relating to such implementation, and in regulations under this Section he may prescribe special rules for dealing with applications for enforcement, in so far as such is necessary in order to give effect to an agreement between Israel and a foreign state.

Implementation and Regulations

David Ben Gurion

Prime Minister

       Pinchas Rosen

       Minister of Justice

     Yitzhak Ben Zvi

     President of the State