Lawyer's Language: Home sweet home - JPost - Lifestyle

There's some helpful legal tips in the JPost today:

Lawyer's Language: Home sweet home - JPost - Lifestyle:

By CAROLINE WALSH 
11/22/2011 10:58 

Lawyer Caroline Walsh answers your questions about coping with the Israeli legal system.

Although many of us have a smattering or even a fairly good grasp of Hebrew for every-day purposes, when it comes to official documents it's almost impossible to make sense of these in a foreign language. If your mother- tongue is not Hebrew but you live or have interests in Israel, you may have accepted the fact you will be forced to sign documents in Hebrew which you don't understand – but is that wise? You don’t need a lawyer to tell you the answer is no and, more than that, it's often not really necessary. Did you know that you can get bank statements in English and that most of the Israeli banks can give you access to their on-line services in English as well?

When it comes to legally-binding documents, even more caution should be exercised. You should certainly not sign anything in Hebrew if you don't fully understand the contents or implications, especially if you have the option to sign in English.

Q: We are selling our apartment in Raanana and the buyers are also English speakers. Can we draw up the contract in English?

A: In most cases, yes. If the property you are selling is built on private land registered at the Land Registry and if the buyers are happy to have the contract drawn up in English, there is no reason why you should not do so. The sale contract does not have to be filed to transfer ownership, the deeds of sale are sufficient for this. These are standard one-page documents which your lawyer will prepare with details of the property and the transaction. You will need to submit the contract to the Registry to register a restriction in favor of the buyers, but most branches of the Land Registry (Tabu) accept documents in either Hebrew, Arabic or English. For the same reason, if you wish to sign a power of attorney authorizing your lawyer to act on your behalf in the sale, this can also be in English.

If the property is not registered at the Land Registry, or is not on private land, then you may need to have a contract in Hebrew. If so, your lawyer should provide you with a translation of the salient points. Alternatively, you could use a contract in English and have this translated and notarized. For example, although most properties in Raanana are privately owned, in areas such as Bet Shemesh the land is owned through the Israel Lands Authority which does not accept documents in English. In addition, if you are buying a new apartment which will not yet have been registered at the Land Registry, your lawyer will need to ask the developers whether they will accept documents in English. If not, in larger projects where there are several foreign buyers, the developers will often agree to have the paperwork translated for you.

Q: I own an apartment in Israel and have been told that I should have a second Will to cover only my Israeli property, but I don't speak Hebrew. Do you recommend having a separate Will and can it be in English?

A: A Will which is valid abroad will usually be valid in Israel but there are several reasons why you may wish to have a separate Will just for your Israeli property. Firstly, foreign probate orders are not recognized here in Israel and so your heirs will need to apply for a separate order here in Israel in any event. As foreign Wills are often lengthy and complex – for example, due to tax planning provisions - the Israeli courts are unlikely to accept these without requiring a notarized translation of the whole Will. You might also wish to appoint different executors to manage your estate here in Israel, particularly since the Israeli courts will not appoint non-resident executors. In addition, having a separate Will allows an application to be filed in Israel without waiting for procedures abroad to be completed.

If you do decide to draw up a separate Will for your Israeli property, I strongly recommend that is it drafted in English. It is vitally important that you understand exactly what you are signing. Since such Wills are usually simple and concise, the Israeli courts will often accept these in English without requiring a translation into Hebrew. Even if a Hebrew version is required at a later stage, a notarized translation can be prepared on the basis of your original will which will be accepted by all the relevant authorities.

An important reminder: If you do decide to draft a separate Will for your Israeli assets, you must make it clear that this does not revoke any other Wills you have for your property outside Israel.

This article is presented for your general information and does not constitute legal advice. You should obtain specific legal advice about your estate before taking (or deciding not to take) any action. Please contact Caroline for further information.© SaftWalsh 2011. All rights reserved.

Asher Grunis to be the Next President of the Supreme Court

Justice Grunis

The Knesset is on its way to passing a law- The Grunis Law- that will change the status quo at the Supreme Court of Israel. The current practice is that when the President of the Court retires at age 70, the next most senior Justice (based on age) becomes the new President, although I don't think that is codified in the law. (See here.) The Courts Law- 1984 provides that the President of the Supreme Court shall be appointed in accordance with Section 4(a) of the Basic Law: The Judiciary which states in turn that "A judge shall be appointed by the President of the State upon election by a Judges' Election Committee." Section 8(c) of the Courts Law states that "a judge may not be appointed to the position of President or Vice President of the Court if he/she cannot serve in this position for at least three years until mandatory retirement under section 13(a)(1)" which mandates that a judge retire at age 70.

The current President, Dorit Beinish, is set to retire in a few months. Justice Grunis, who would replace her, would only serve as President for 2 years and 10 months before turning 70, seemingly disqualifying him from the position. The Knesset's new law would waive the 3 year requirement and apparently not replace with any time requirement at all. According to the JPost the new law would apparently have a two year minimum service requirement, but I didn't see that on the Knesset website. What I read seemed to say that the nomination of a suitable President will be left to the discretion of the Committee.

While the sponsor of the bill Yaakov Katz said that his motivation is to ensure that the country doesn't lose out on a competent President like Justice Grunis because he is 41 days too old, it seems to be an open secret that the cancellation of the law is a political maneuver by Knesset members who approve of Justice Grunis' opposition to judicial activism and reticence to annul laws passed by the Knesset.

I actually worked for Justice Grunis at the Supreme Court last year when I was a foreign law clerk. See my previous post here. I liked him a lot and hope he does become the next President of the Court.

Relatedly, another law is under consideration that will change the makeup of the Election Committee which currently consists of 9 members. Section 4(b) of the Basic Law: The Judiciary currently states that "The Committee shall consist of nine members, namely, the President of the Supreme Court, two other judges of the Supreme Court elected by the body of judges thereof, the Minister of Justice and another Minister designated by the Government, two members of the Knesset elected by the Knesset and two representatives of the Bar Association elected by the National Council of the Chamber. The Minister of Justice shall be the chairman of the Committee." The new law will change the method for appointing the members of the Bar Association. The Chairman of the Bar Association will be one member and another member from the political opposition will be the other. See here.

I admit I don't understand how that will work. It assumes that the Chairman of the Bar Association belongs to a political party. What if he doesn't? Is that possible? Does it seem strange to you that the members of the Bar Association are openly political?

JPOST: Police recommend charging ex-head of Israeli Bar

I just saw this article from the JPost. It's never good when the head of the Bar Association is being charged with corruption.

I remember reading an article discussing whether the high rate of corruption in Israel is indicative of a rotting legal/political system or a strong press corps and government willingness to end corruption. Could it be both?

Police recommend charging ex-head of Israeli Bar

By YAAKOV LAPPIN 15/11/2011

Attorney Guy-Ron, senior Meuhedet Health Fund officials are suspected of fraud, corruption.

Police said evidence exists to charge senior officials from the Meuhedet Health Fund with corruption following the completion of an extensive investigation, and recommended that the former head of the Israel Bar Association, attorney Yuri Guy-Ron, also be charged in connection with the affair.

Guy-Ron, who owns a marketing company together with his wife, is suspected of receiving hundreds of thousands of shekels from Meuhedet without providing a  service in return. 

"We found evidence that Mr. Guy-Ron committed offenses [while head of the IBA] relating to corruption, conspiracy to commit a crime, and aggravated fraud," police said in an official statement.

The funds were sent to Guy-Ron's company by Yehuda Aliash, former deputy marketing director of the Meuhedet Health Fund. "The two men are friends. The transfer of large funds was not reciprocated by any service," a police source close to the investigation told The Jerusalem Post.

Responding to the allegations, Guy-Ron told Channel 2 News, "I received the news with surprise and shock. I can't understands the police's recommendation. The decision will rest with the prosecution, and I am convinced that it will find that I did not commit any offense."

The National Fraud Unit launched its inquiry following a report by the State Comptroller on the Meuhedet Health Fund, which raised concern over major irregularities.

Aliash is suspected diverting tens of millions of shekels from the advertising budgets towards marketing companies that employed his associates and relatives.

He is also suspected of paying bribes, money laundering, and fraud. "A basis of evidence exists to back up these suspicions," a police spokesman said on Tuesday.

Another suspect in the investigation is former Fund director-general Uzi Salant, who police suspect of illegally attempting to recruit new members to the fund. 

Police told state prosecutors on Tuesday that he too should be charged.

Israel Real Estate Law

Due to the housing shortage which was one of the causes of the widespread tent protests this past summer, the government has taken steps to encourage investors to sell their properties and to discourage them from buying more properties by increasing the purchase tax and eliminating the capital gains on sales of residential properties if it is not the seller's main residence.

The purchase tax rates are as follows: for a purchase price up to 1,350,000 NIS- 0%, 1,350,000 NIS to 1,601,210 NIS- 3.5%, above 1,601,210 NIS– 5%.

Under Section 49B of the Land Tax Law, the sale of a residential property may be eligible for an exemption from the capital gains tax if one of the following conditions are met:

1. the seller has not sold a tax-exempt property within the last 4 years (but starting January 1, 2013 until January 1, 2021, for the last 8 years;
2. the property being sold is the seller's only residential property in Israel and he has not sold a tax-exempt property within the last 18 months, and in the last 4 years he has not owned more than one residential property at a time.
3. a beneficiary of a relative's will (a parent, parent-in-law, or spouse) is entitled to the exemption if the deceased person would have been entitled to it were he still alive.

The law in effect now give sellers in the year 2011 an exemption on the capital gains tax for residential properties up to a value of 2.2 million shekels. And sellers can use this exemption up to two times in the calendar year.

Furthermore, the law also reduced the betterment tax imposed at the time of issuance of a building permit or the sale of properties whose value has risen due to changes in the rights or zoning of the property. The maximum rate was reduced from 45 to 20 percent.

For a Hebrew article on this, see here.

For an English article see here.

The Bar Gets Higher: Record Low Bar Passage Rate in Israel

News outlets are reporting that preliminary results show that only about 50% of those who took the Israeli Bar Exam last week successfully passed the test. (See the hebrew article at The Marker here.) The average score was a 64 out of 100, and the passing grade is a 65.

Is this the Bar Association's way of thinning the herd and dealing with the problem of too many lawyers?

Does an overly difficult exam violate students' basic right to freedom of occupation?

The students who took the exam are weighing their options, including appealing the fairness of some of the question, suing the Bar Association, and protesting.

There are other countries with harder exams. The bar passage rate last year in Japan was 25% and two law schools in that country reported that none of their graduates passed the exam. See the article from the ABA Journal here. And I've seen some people writing that Brazil's bar passage rate is even lower but I didn't see a reliable source for that claim.

Tips for Litigation Meetings with Clients: Answering a Complaint

I recently sat in a meeting with a client regarding ongoing litigation and noticed the gap that exists between lawyers and other professionals when a lawsuit is pending.

Imagine a client that is being sued for millions of dollars regarding a dispute about a construction project gone awry. The plaintiff's complaint is about 30 pages long with over 200 numbered paragraphs full of dollar amounts and references to hundreds of attached pages of exhibits. The client needs to prepare an answer to the plaintiff's complaint. He spent the first weeks/months gathering the information to respond to the complaint and now it needs to be organized and written up. But the client's project team is not composed of lawyers and they don't have experience with drafting answers to complaints. The clients have the information but the lawyers have the drafting experience. What the client needs is direction.

Tip #1: Break the complaint up into sections. Answering a complaint with hundreds of paragraphs could be overwhelming for a client. Like any other task, breaking it into smaller pieces should help. Usually there are natural section breaks in the complaint. The beginning of the complaint consists of general introductory facts about who the parties are and their relationship to one another. After that it gets more specific and if written well it will have headings for each claim with the supporting claims below. Walking a client through the different sections in the claim can make it less intimidating.