Local jurisdiction is a legal issue relevant to the question of which court (in which city) a claim should be filed against a defendant. The rules of local jurisdiction are intended to create legal certainty and also to protect the defendant so that the plaintiff does not harass him to courts located in distant cities. For example: without local jurisdiction rules, large companies that use law firms throughout the country will sue defendants who live in Kiryat Shmona in the court in Eilat or Beersheba. Of course, it is unreasonable to expect the defendant to come to such a distant court, when it is clear that the plaintiff has the option of filing his claim in a closer court as well.
If you are concerned that a lawsuit has been filed against you in a distant court simply to make it difficult for you to defend yourself, contact a lawyer familiar with the rules of local jurisdiction to review the issue. In appropriate cases, you can request that the lawsuit be transferred to the correct court.
כללי סמכות מקומית לפי תקנות סדר הדין האזרחי, תשע"ט – 2018
Provisions regarding local authority are set out in Regulations 7-8 of the Civil Procedure Regulations, and they state as follows:
7. (a) A claim shall be filed with the court located in the jurisdictional district of the defendant's residence or place of business or in the place of the act or omission for which the claimants are suing, and if the claim concerns real estate, it shall be filed with the court in whose jurisdictional district they are located; if there is an agreement between the parties as to the place of jurisdiction, the claim shall be filed with the court agreed upon.
(ב) כתב תביעה בשל פרסום או סחר ברשת האינטרנט יוגש לבית המשפט שבמחוז שיפוטו מצוי מקום מגוריו או מקום עסקו של הנתבע או התובע; הגיש עוסק כהגדרתו בחוק הגנת הצרכן, התשמ"א-1981 תביעה כאמור, תוגש התביעה במקום עסקו או במקום מגוריו של הנתבע בלבד.
(c) The court competent to hear a claim involving several defendants is a court competent to hear against one of them under subregulations (a) or (b).
8. A claim for which there is no appropriate place of jurisdiction under these regulations or under any other law shall be submitted to the Jerusalem Court, which has the subject matter jurisdiction to hear it. However, the Jerusalem Court may order otherwise if it believes that in the circumstances of the case, hearing in another court would be more appropriate for the parties.
That is, local jurisdiction is determined according to the defendant's place of residence or business or the place where the event relevant to the claim occurred. If it is an issue relevant to real estate, the local jurisdiction of the court is determined according to the location of the real estate.
If it is a claim relevant to advertising or online commerce, local jurisdiction is determined by the defendant's place of residence or business location.
If there are multiple defendants who each live in a different city, the plaintiff may choose which court File the lawsuit According to the relevant local authority only for one of them (even if the other defendant lives very far away).
What are the relevant jurisdictions for the issue of local jurisdiction?
The courts are divided into several jurisdictional districts:
Tel Aviv District
Tel Aviv District Court
Herzliya Magistrate's Court
Bat Yam Magistrate's Court
Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court
Central District
Lod District Court
Rishon LeZion Magistrate's Court
Rehovot Magistrate's Court
Ramla Magistrate's Court
Kfar Saba Magistrate's Court
Netanya Magistrate's Court
Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court
Jerusalem District
Jerusalem District Court
Jerusalem Magistrate's Court
Beit Shemesh Magistrate's Court
Southern District
District Court in Beer Sheva
Beer Sheva Magistrate's Court
Ashkelon Magistrate's Court
Ashdod Magistrate's Court
Eilat Magistrate's Court
Dimona Magistrate's Court
Kiryat Gat Magistrate's Court
Haifa District
Haifa District Court
Haifa Magistrate's Court
Magistrate's Court in Krayot
Acre Magistrate's Court
Hadera Magistrate's Court
Northern District
District Court in Nazareth
Nazareth Magistrate's Court
Tiberias Magistrate's Court
Beit Shean Magistrate's Court
Afula Magistrate's Court
Kiryat Shmona Magistrate's Court
Magistrate's Court in Katzrin
Safed Magistrate's Court
Magistrate's Court in the restaurant
We will illustrate the issue of local authority using the following example: Shalom wants to sue Roni Begin. slander published on the Internet. Shalom lives in Nazareth and Roni lives in Beersheba. In this case, Shalom is not required to sue Roni specifically in the Beersheba court but can also file his claim in the Ashdod Magistrate's Court, because this court is in the same jurisdiction.
It is possible that by the time you read this article, there will be some changes in the issue of local jurisdiction and even the jurisdictions may have changed. You can check which local jurisdiction is relevant to your claim with the help of the Nevo website.
Unique or parallel jurisdiction clause
Local jurisdiction is also subject to the agreement of the parties. That is, if the parties have agreed in advance and in writing that their dispute will be resolved in a specific court, then in the event of a dispute, the parties will be required to act in accordance with their agreement.
It is important to ensure that the jurisdiction clause is worded precisely. For example, if the agreement states that the dispute between the parties will be resolved in the court in Tel Aviv, this will be considered a parallel jurisdiction clause and in practice the lawsuit can also be filed in other courts in the same district.
In order to avoid misunderstanding regarding local jurisdiction, the jurisdiction clause should be written as follows: In the event of a dispute between the parties, the claim will be settled only In the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court, or the dispute between the parties will be resolved in the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court onlyThis wording is a unique judgment clause.
What do you do if a claim was filed in violation of local jurisdiction rules?
If a claim was filed that was not in accordance with the rules of local jurisdiction, and the defendant did not object, the court will proceed and hear the claim. If the defendant objects to the place of filing the claim because it does not comply with the rules of local jurisdiction, He must object at the first opportunity and file a motion requesting that the case be transferred to the relevant court.
If the defendant's request is granted, the plaintiff is expected to pay the defendant legal costs.
Frequently asked questions about local authority?
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Can violating local jurisdiction rules lead to the dismissal of the claim?
The likelihood that you submitted Claim Contrary to the rules, local jurisdiction will lead to the dismissal of the claim, which is null (in fact non-existent).
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What is the difference between local jurisdiction and subject matter jurisdiction of the court?
Local jurisdiction deals with the location of the lawsuit (in which city). In contrast, subject matter jurisdiction deals with the court's authority to hear the lawsuit on its merits.
For example: If a claim for 3 million shekels was filed with the Magistrate's Court, it can be argued that the court does not have subject matter jurisdiction to hear this claim (the jurisdiction of Magistrate's Court Limited to a total of 2.5 million shekels only).
In some cases, the court will raise the issue of subject matter jurisdiction on its own initiative, even if none of the parties has addressed it.
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Is it mandatory to address the issue of local jurisdiction in the statement of claim?
Yes. See Regulation 11(4) of the Civil Procedure Regulations.
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What happens if I filed a lawsuit that is not in accordance with local jurisdiction rules?
If the defendant (or the court itself) does not raise the issue, nothing may happen and the lawsuit will continue as if no default had occurred.
In the worst case, the court will order the transfer of the lawsuit to the correct court, and may charge the plaintiff with legal costs.
