Details

Israel - Autoridade Central (Art. 2) e informações práticas

Central Authority(ies):

Administration of Courts

Contact details:
Address: Administration of Courts
Legal Assistance to Foreign Countries
22 Kanfei Nesharim st.
Jerusalem 9546435
Israel
Telephone: +972 (74) 748 1836
Fax: +972 (74) 748 1836
E-mail: Foreign.countries@court.gov.il
General website:  
Contact person: Legal adviser for the Administrator of Courts
Foreign.Countries@court.gov.il
Languages spoken by staff: English, Hebrew

 

Practical Information
Blocking statutes: No blocking statute in force.

Chapter I
(Letters of Requests)
Transmission of Letters of Requests: Letters of Request are first sent to the Central Authority of the requesting State before being sent to the Central Authority of the requested State.
Authority responsible for informing of the time and place of the execution of Letter of Request
(Art. 7):		 Central Authority.
Presence of judicial personnel at the execution of the Letter of Request (Art. 8): Declaration of applicability. No prior authorisation needed.
Privileges and duties existing under the law of States other than the State of origin and the State of execution
(Art. 11):		 No declaration of applicability.
Translation requirements
Arts 4(2) and 33):

Accepts Letters of Requests written in or translated into French, English and Hebrew. However, a translation to Hebrew or English will help to speed up and facilitate the processing of the request.

Please note that requests intended for residents of the Palestinian Authority should be directed through the Director of Courts. This authority forwards the requests to the Palestinian Authority. In addition:

a. The requests are to be translated into Arabic and Hebrew.
b. The request must include the full name (four names) of the recipient.
c. The request must include the Identification Number of the recipient.
d. The request must include the full address as far as possible.
Costs relating to execution of the Letters of Request
(Arts 14(2)(3) and 26):		 Israel has not sought reimbursement of costs under Art. 14(2).
There are no constitutional limitations with regard to the reimbursement of fees and costs, in connection with the execution of Letters of Request, for the service of process necessary to compel the appearance of a person to give evidence, the costs of attendance of such persons, and the costs of any transcript of the evidence (Art. 26).
Time for execution: 12 months.
Pre-trial discovery of documents
Art. 23):		 Letter of Request may be executed (no declaration).
Information about domestic rules on the taking of evidence:  Taking of evidence must conform with Israeli evidence law.

Witness examination under Chapter I
Should Letters of Request include specific questions to be used during witness examination or only a list of matters to be addressed? Yes.
Is it a public or private hearing? Public, unless a judge determines otherwise pursuant to applicable law.
Do the judicial authorities "blue-pencil" Letters of Requests (i.e. rephrase, restructure and / or strike out objectionable questions or offensive wording so that a Letter of Request may be executed under the laws of the requested State)? No.
Is the witness provided in advance with a copy of the questions / matters to be addressed as contained in the Letter of Request? No, unless requested by the requested authority.
Are documents produced by the witness authenticated by the court? No.
Is an oath generally administered to the witness? The witness is notified of his or her duty to testify truthfully and is informed that there are penalties under law for giving a false testimony. The witness must then confirm that he or she understands this and must undertake to testify truthfully. In addition, the court may require an oath or affirmation if there are grounds to believe that doing so would assist in uncovering the truth.
Can the witness be made subject to further examination and recall? No, unless the court decides otherwise or an additional request is received.
Are there sanctions for non-appearance of witness? The witness might be subject to the contempt of court legislation, and a compulsory attendance order may be issued against the witness.
Must interpreters who assist with the witness examination be court-certified? No.
How is the testimony transcribed? The testimony is transcribed by an accredited court reporter.

Chapter II
(Taking of evidence by diplomatic officers, consular agents and commissioners)
Article 15 Applicable.
Article 16 Applicable. See Competent Authority.
Article 17 Applicable. See Competent Authority.
Article 18 No declaration of applicability (i.e., a diplomatic officer, consular agent or commissioner may not apply for appropriate assistance to obtain evidence by compulsion).

Taking of evidence by video-links
(under either chapter)

Chapter I
Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? No. There is nothing in the Convention to exclude a video-link. This new medium seems to be covered by the Convention as much as any other pre-existing medium.
Technology used: Secured video-link.
Level of interpretation required: The relevant authority relies on the parties or their counsel for the interpretation.
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: Sequence interpretation.
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? Only required in the requested State.
Who pays for the interpretation? The court.
How would a request for evidence be handled if witness not willing? It has never happened before.

Chapter II
Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? No. There is nothing in the Convention to exclude a video-link. This new medium seems to be covered by the Convention as much as any other pre-existing medium.
Technology used: No information available.
Level of interpretation required: No information available. 
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: No information available.
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? No information available.
Who pays for the interpretation? No information available.

Other Information
Bilateral or multilateral agreements  
Useful links: The Judicial Authority
Competent authorities (Art. 16, 17) See here.
Additional authorities (Art. 24)  

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Convenções (incl. Protocolos e Princípios)