In what cases can the provisions of the Contempt of Court Ordinance be used?
Contempt of court is relevant to two situations:
- Until he refuses to answer questions legally put to him.
- A person who violates an order given by the court.
These two matters are regulated in sections 5-6 of the Contempt of Court Ordinance, which state as follows:
The law of a witness who refuses to answer questions
5. סרב עד להחקר עפ"י החוק או להשיב על אותן שאלות שהוצגו לפניו כחוק, ולא הראה כל טעם צודק לסרובו, יכול בית המשפט לתתו מיד במאסר למועד שלא יעלה על חדש אחד, חוץ אם הסכים בינתים, לפני סיום המשפט, להחקר ולהשיב על שאלות.
Refusing to obey court orders
6. (1) בית המשפט העליון, בית המשפט לפשעים חמורים, בית משפט מיוחד שנתכונן עפ"י סעיף 55 של דבר המלך במועצה על ארץ ישראל, 1922, בית המשפט המחוזי, בית-המשפט לקרקעות ובית-משפט השלום, תהא להם הסמכות לכוף אדם בקנס או במאסר לציית לכל צו שניתן על ידם והמצוה לעשות איזה מעשה או האוסר לעשות כל מעשה.
(2) No order imposing a fine or imprisonment shall be made unless the offender has been summoned to appear and has complied with the summons, or, if he does not appear of his own accord, has been brought before the court on a warrant of arrest to show cause why such an order should not be made against him.
(3) If a court imposes imprisonment under subsection (1), it shall notify the Attorney General thereof.
(4) The Attorney General or his representative shall bring the case of a prisoner under subsection (1) before the court that imposed the imprisonment on him, for further consideration, when he deems it necessary and not less than once every six months from the date of commencement of the imprisonment.
(5) In the additional consideration, the court may, after giving the prisoner and any other party to the proceedings in which the imprisonment was imposed an opportunity to present their arguments, uphold the order, modify it, subject it to conditions or revoke it, or give any other instruction it deems appropriate.
(6) The Minister of Justice may determine by regulations procedures for additional consideration under this section.
The remedies available under a contempt of court order
A petition for contempt of court is filed when the decision cannot be enforced through Enforcement proceedings Or by other means. For example: If a monetary compensation award is made in your favor and the debtor does not pay, the correct way is to open a case at the Enforcement Office and take collection proceedings against the debtor, rather than filing a separate petition for contempt of court.
The possible remedies under the Contempt of Court Ordinance are:
- A fine for the benefit of the state.
- Imposing a prison sentence.
Can a contempt of court application be filed with any court?
Not every court can hear a petition for contempt of court. The courts that are authorized to hear this petition are listed in Section 6 of the Ordinance mentioned at the beginning of this article.
That is, the Labor Court or Small Claims Court lacks jurisdiction to hear these requests.
How do you file a petition for contempt of court?
A request must be drafted and detail all the facts relevant to the decision that was made and how it was violated by the respondent. To the extent that the request includes a factual description, an affidavit must be attached. Of course, the decision that was made and violated by the respondent must be attached.
The request must specify why the request should be considered according to the provisions of the ordinance and why the respondent cannot be made to act in accordance with the decision by other means (for example, through the Enforcement Bureau).
It is important to understand that the entire purpose of a contempt of court order is to grant a future-oriented remedy. That is, primarily to force the violator to comply with the decision and not to grant financial compensation to those harmed by the violator's conduct.
Supreme Court ruling on contempt of court
The Supreme Court ruling is a ruling that binds all other courts, and therefore you must be familiar with it so that you can use it in your requests, to convince the courts to accept your claims.
רע"א 8718/17 אקטיב ויז'ן בע"מ נ' מוקד הפרסום הארצי – פרסום מטרה בע"מ:
סעיף 6 לפקודת הביזיון מקנה לבתי המשפט "סמכות לכוף אדם בקנס או במאסר לציית לכל צו שניתן על ידם והמצוה לעשות איזה מעשה או האוסר לעשות כל מעשה". The purpose of the section is to enable enforcement of orders and judicial decisions, with a forward-looking perspective, that cannot be accomplished through conventional enforcement channels – for example, enforcement under the Execution Law., התשכ"ז-1967 (רע"א 1068/12 דנ-אל פתרונות תוכנה מתקדמים בע"מ נ' גיל סנפיר- סנפיר תוכנה וייעוץ, פסקה 5 (2012); משה קשת ביזיון בית-משפט 11 (2002) (להלן: קשת)).
בהינתן חומרת האמצעים שניתן להפעיל במסגרתו, הליך הביזיון מצוי ב"אותו תחום דמדומים שבין ההליך האזרחי לבין ההליך הפלילי" It is generally considered a residual procedure that should only be taken if the execution of the judicial order cannot be enforced by less harmful means. (ע"א 371/78 מוניות הדר לוד בע"מ נ' ביטון, פ"ד לד(4) 232, 240 (1980) (להלן: עניין מוניות הדר); רע"א 4036/14 מסעודין נ' מנהל הרשות הממשלתית למים ולביוב, פסקה 25 (29.12.2014)).
יש ליתן את הדעת אף לכך שבענייננו בקשת הביזיון הוגשה על ידי גורם שאינו צד להליך, כלפי מפר שאף הוא אינו צד להליך. אמנם, הלכה היא כי כאשר הנסיבות מחייבות בית משפט רשאי להוציא צו לפי פקודת הביזיון כלפי כל אדם שסייע או הביא להפרת הצו השיפוטי, לרבות "גורם זר" להליך העיקרי (קשת, בעמודים 296–300; עניין מוניות הדר לוד, בעמ' 238–239; בש"פ 2137/16 פלונית נ' פלוני, פסקה כ"ב (20.3.2017)).
However, the question is whether someone who is not a party to the proceedings has the right to file a petition under the Contempt Ordinance. The concern about opening the door to external parties to file motions under the Contempt Ordinance intended to impose a quasi-criminal sanction in order to enforce a judicial order is that this will lead to the disrespect and awkwardness of the judicial process, as well as its abuse – such as the contempt motion filed in the present proceeding. Accordingly, courts must exercise extreme caution when faced with such a motion and uphold the interests underlying it. לצד האמור, ובהינתן התוצאה שאליה הגעתי, איני נדרשת להכריע לעת הזו בשאלת מעמדו של "הזר" כיוזם ההליך.
רע"א 6821/15 פלונית נ' משרד הבריאות:
כידוע, לערכאה הדיונית מסור שיקול דעת רחב לעניין הוצאת צווים מכוח פקודת ביזיון בית משפט (רע"א 2881/15 קנפלר נ' אברהם, [פורסם בנבו] בפסקה 11 (22.4.2015)). Furthermore, the ruling determined that due to the serious harm associated with the application of the quasi-criminal sanction attached to it, proceedings under the Contempt of Court Ordinance are only a residual proceeding. (ראו: רע"א 4036/14 מסעודין נ' קושניר, [פורסם בנבו] פסקאות 26-25 (29.12.2014)).
Also, this is a procedure aimed at enforcing compliance from now on, rather than punishing past non-compliance. The trial court ruled that the preliminary proceedings in respect of which the application for an order under the Contempt of Court Ordinance was filed were completed, and therefore found it inappropriate to grant the applicant's request to invoke the sanctions set forth in the Contempt of Court Ordinance. However, it ruled that the costs imposed on the state for failure to meet the established deadlines should not be canceled. I believe that this decision properly balances the need to maintain the efficiency of the hearing and the desire to use orders under the Contempt of Court Ordinance sparingly, Especially where the violation of the court's orders has ceased, as in our case, which undermines the application under the said ordinance..
In conclusion
The provisions of the Contempt of Court Ordinance can be used in two cases: When a person refuses to comply with Judicial decision Or when a witness refuses to answer a question that was lawfully asked.
The purpose of a contempt of court application is to make the violator comply with the decision. That is, the remedy is prospective and not past. If, before the decision on the contempt application is made, the violator complies with the decision that he violated, this will be sufficient to dismiss the contempt application.
The two remedies that can be sought in a contempt of court application are a fine in favor of the state and imprisonment.
In these cases, you will consult with Civil lawyer.
