| In the Supreme Court |
| Additional Civil Hearing 2045/05 |
| Before: | The Honorable President A. Barak |
| The Honorable Vice-President (Ret.) M. Cheshin | |
| The Honorable Judge D. Beinisch | |
| The Honorable Justice E. Rivlin | |
| The Honorable Judge A. Procaccia | |
| The Honorable Judge A. E. Levy | |
| The Honorable Judge A. Grunis | |
| The Honorable Judge M. Naor | |
| The Honorable Judge S. Jubran |
| Applicants: | 1. Vegetable Growers Organization – Cooperative Agricultural Society Ltd. |
| 2. Negev Farms – Central Cooperative Society for Agriculture Ltd. | |
| 3. Kibbutz Urim |
| Against |
| Respondent: | State of Israel |
Further Discussion
| On behalf of the applicants: | Adv. Tuvia Erlich
Adv. David Ziller |
| On behalf of the Respondent: | Adv. Tamar Bar-Asher-Zaban |
Judgment
Justice E. Rivlin:
- "The ways in which a contract is interpreted – the language of a written contract; the circumstances of the conclusion of a contract and oral evidence on those circumstances; subjective purpose and objective purpose; All of these and everything in between" were placed before us, according to the decision of my colleague Vice-President M. Cheshin, to hold an additional hearing on the matter discussed in the matter of other municipal applications 2553/01 Vegetable Growers Organization Cooperative Agricultural Association in Tax Appeal v. State of Israel Net(5), 481. Let us preface by saying that we have reconsidered the matter and reached the conclusion that the dispute that is the subject of the petition does not give rise to a dispute in principle – old or new – on these matters, and that even on the merits of the matter, the petition should be dismissed.
The Facts and Proceedings
- On May 4, 1994, an agreement was signed in Cairo between the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization regarding the Gaza Strip and the Jericho area (hereinafter: the Cairo Agreement; see Charter 1067). The agreement stipulates, among other things, that the agricultural products of each side will have free access to the other. With regard to a number of crops, including potatoes, imports to Israel were limited by temporary restrictions, which were intended to be gradually reduced until they were completely eliminated. Following the Cairo Agreement, an agreement was signed between the 1st Petitioner and the Respondent entitled "An Agreement on the Subject of Compensation for Vegetable Growers Following the Peace Agreements" (hereinafter: the Agreement or Contract). The agreement was signed, on November 24, 1994, by representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Vegetable Council and Petitioner 1. Clause 5 of the agreement is the central clause for our matter, and among it, mainly, subsection F. The provision of section 5 states:
- Additional compensation for the cancellation of quotas as a result of the exposure of quota crops to autonomy
The Ministry of Agriculture will submit to the Ministerial Committee for the Economy by December 15, 1994 a proposed resolution according to which:
- The Ministers of Agriculture, Industry, Industry, and Finance will refrain from signing quota orders in all large areas except potatoes.
- The government will act to change the Vegetable Council Law in such a way that it will not be possible to set production quotas for these vegetables in the future.
The compensation for the cancellation of the quotas will be NIS 1,700 per dunam. However, the individual compensation for carrots and onions is subject to the construction of an agreed compensation table according to the seasons that are prepared by the Vegetable Council.