The enforcement and recovery authority
The enforcement and recovery authority
In Israel, the enforcement and recovery authority is the governmental body whose role is to apply the judicial decisions taken in all issues concerning financial and monetary matters as well as the recovery of fines and debts. This authority is divided into two separate units, the first is the execution office, the second is the center for collection of fines, expenses and fees.
The execution office
It is the enforcement office, which is regulated by Israeli implementing law of 5727-1967, which initiates the procedure by which the creditor will enforce the judgment of the court rendered in his favor. The execution of the seizure of goods will be made according to the regulations of the law. Depending on the case, various authorities deal with it, such as the director of the enforcement office, the enforcement clerk, the supreme judicial or administrative body of the enforcement office. This is usually about the execution to solve a debt, a dispute or an accusation between two persons or businesses, but sometimes it can also be between two state agencies when it comes to the payment of legal costs.
Center for collection of fines, expenses and fees
The center for the collection of fines, expenses and fees is the one that has the right to collect various debts that were not paid on time, including linkage differentials and interest, plus arrears, which were added to debt according to law. The only exception is in the case of the compensation for victims after the criminal proceedings, in this case the state collects the compensation.
The enforceable title
An “enforceable title” is a written legal document stating the court’s judgment, which gives the right to a creditor to recover his claim by force, which is to say via a seizure of property. The debtor is the one who owes money to the creditor, the creditor is the one who can go to a bailiff to request a forced execution on the property of the debtor to repay his debt, if the debtor does not repay, or not in time. Such writing can be about mortgages, alimony, bills or any other monetary debt.
Changes in the law over the years
Over the years, the implementing law has seen many changes, the goals of which were, of course, to improve and standardize the execution as well as the collection of debts by adding various enforcement tools to help the creditor while not violating the debtor’s fundamental rights. For example, amendment 29 provided the possibility for enforcement to have access to general databases as well as to impose various restrictions on the debtor. This amendment also reduced prison sentences, so the debtor rarely goes to jail. He will nevertheless have many restrictions in his private social life as well as in his work, such as, among other things, the prohibition to leave the country, the impossibility to hold a driving license, seizures of property, restrictions on the height of their pay and many others. It is simply more logical than to put the debtor in prison where he cannot do anything to pay off his debt, while if he is outside he has various means to improve his condition by repaying it little by little.
Amendment of the law in 2015
In 2015, the Knesset has approved an amendment of the implementing law; it concerns the authorization given to the officials of the execution and the collection to exempt debtors with limited means after 4 years. This means that debtors who do not have assets, those who have good-faith debts, those who pay off as they should, but can never repay everything, will be able to find help by applying to this exemption, but only if they fulfill the following conditions:
- The debt is smaller than 800,000 NIS
- He has no valuable assets that can be seized and sold
- He has only his salary or any other income to which he is entitled
- He complied with the clerk’s payment order in the last 3 years
- There is no application for bankruptcy concerning him
- There were no proceedings instituted against him
This amendment was made to help debtors with limited means to get back on their feet. It is always better than having them in prison with debts that will not be reimbursed by themselves.