I lost my appeal in an Israeli District Court. Can I take it to the Supreme Court?

The Israeli system gives you one appeal, not two. Where the District Court has already heard your case as an appellate court, Section 41(b) of the Courts Law [Consolidated Version] 5744-1984 lets you go further only if the Supreme Court grants leave, and the fee for asking is NIS 1,187. Israeli lawyers call it the third round, and the working assumption is that it does not open.

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Detailed Answer

Section 41 splits appeals into three situations. A District Court judgment given at first instance is appealable to the Supreme Court as of right. An interlocutory decision of the District Court, and a District Court judgment given on appeal, are appealable only with leave. The standard the Supreme Court applies to that second category has been constant for decades: leave is granted where the question raised transcends the particular dispute, meaning a legal issue of general or public importance, an inconsistency between lower courts that needs resolving, or a serious injustice on the face of the record. Being right is not the test. A litigant who lost twice on the facts, or who says the District Court weighed the evidence badly, is describing exactly the sort of complaint the third round exists to filter out. The fee structure signals the same thing. An appeal that lies as of right against a District Court judgment costs NIS 3,539, while a request for leave against an appellate judgment costs NIS 1,187, and the request is usually decided on the papers by a single justice without the parties ever being heard.

From abroad the calculation is mostly about money and time rather than doctrine. You have already paid an ad valorem fee at first instance and again on the appeal, typically 2.5% of the sum claimed in two instalments, and you may also be carrying a costs order from the round you just lost. A request for leave is drafted in Hebrew, filed electronically by Israeli counsel, and normally attracts a demand for security where the applicant lives outside Israel, which means real money deposited in court before the request is even considered. Timing is short and is measured from service on your Israeli lawyer, not from the day you read the judgment in Sydney or Chicago, so a client who takes three weeks to obtain a translation has already spent much of the window. Note too that filing a request for leave does not by itself stop the other side enforcing against your Israeli assets, a point covered in our answer on stopping enforcement of an Israeli judgment while you appeal from abroad.

In Practice: Under Section 41(b) of the Courts Law [Consolidated Version] 5744-1984, a District Court judgment given on appeal reaches the Supreme Court only by leave, and the test is whether the question goes beyond the interests of the parties. The fee is NIS 1,187 for the request for leave, against NIS 3,539 for an appeal as of right against a first-instance District Court judgment. Most requests are decided on the papers by a single justice, commonly within three to six months of filing, and a non-resident applicant should expect a security order before the request is considered.

When to Consult a Lawyer

• Your case turns on a point on which District Courts have plainly gone in different directions, which is the strongest available ground for leave and needs to be evidenced with the conflicting judgments rather than asserted
• You are still inside the appeal window and have not yet decided between a request for leave and simply complying, because the costs of a refused request land on top of the costs order you already carry
• Enforcement has begun against an Israeli bank account or property while you consider the third round, since a stay is a separate application with its own security requirement

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Speak With an Israeli Attorney

Most third-round requests should not be filed, and the value of advice here is usually in the honest assessment rather than the drafting. We read the two judgments, tell you whether a genuine leave point exists, and file only where it does.

Contact us for a confidential initial consultation.