Published in Afik News 066 05.01.2011
A foreign company argued that a judgment against it should be overturned in the absence of defense in light of an alleged flaw in the manner of submission of the claim documents, which were sent by registered mail, while Switzerland signed the Hague Convention with reservations that it refused to receive documents by registered mail. The Magistrate's Court, based on the rulings of other lower courts, determined that the manner of service of process is a technical question and does not affect the substantive issue of the ability to conduct a proceeding when it is proven that the party actually received the statements of claim.
We emphasize that, in our opinion, this holding is incorrect and contradicts the Supreme Court's holding on the matter. See our publication in Issue 55 dated August 5, 2010, in which we referred to the decision of the Supreme Court in LCA 1056/10-G Israel Credit Lines Supplementary Financial Services Ltd. v. Roni Eliad, dated July 20,
It should also be noted that the method of service of process according to the Hague Convention is of great importance, both in order to ensure that all the documents have been duly translated and delivered, and in order to preserve the principle of the sovereignty of the foreign state and the principle of reciprocity between states, as noted in that case, the Honorable Supreme Court Registrar, Justice Dana Cohen-Lekach, in a long and well-reasoned judgment. In that case, it was determined that the relevant Court document should be handed over to the central authority in Germany by the administration of the Courts in Israel, in a process involving the translation of the application and its appendices into the German language; Depositing a guarantee to secure the expenses of the invention; As well as the approval of the Director of the Courts in Israel that the application complies with the provisions of the Convention and the Regulations before being handed over to the central authority in Germany.
It should also be noted that the method of service of process according to the Hague Convention is of great importance, both in order to ensure that all the documents have been duly translated and delivered, and in order to preserve the principle of the sovereignty of the foreign state and the principle of reciprocity between states, as noted in that case, the Honorable Supreme Court Registrar, Justice Dana Cohen-Lekach, in a long and well-reasoned judgment. In that case, it was determined that the relevant Court document should be handed over to the central authority in Germany by the administration of the Courts in Israel, in a process involving the translation of the application and its appendices into the German language; Depositing a guarantee to secure the expenses of the invention; As well as the approval of the Director of the Courts in Israel that the application complies with the provisions of the Convention and the Regulations before being handed over to the central authority in Germany.