Family Law

A v. Haifa Regional Rabbinical Court

Case/docket number: 
HCJ 4602/13
Date Decided: 
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Decision Type: 
Original
Abstract: 

[This abstract is not part of the Court's opinion and is provided for the reader's convenience. It has been translated from a Hebrew version prepared by Nevo Press Ltd. and is used with its kind permission.]

 

A petition against the judgment of the Great Rabbinical Court dealing with the issue of specific co-ownership of the residential home that was brought into the marriage by the husband and registered in his name. The petition raises the question of intervention by the High Court of Justice in the judgment of the Great Rabbinical Court due to the fact that weight was accorded to the alleged infidelity of the wife.

 

Background: the parties are subject to the property regime under the Spouses (Property Relations) Law. The couple lived in the house with their children for over 20 years, until they divorced. The wife (the Petitioner) claimed co-ownership of the property; the husband claimed that the property was entirely his. The Regional Rabbinical Court accepted the wife’s position, but on appeal, the Great Rabbinical Court ruled by majority that the Petitioner had no share in the plot or the house. The Petitioner argued that among the considerations for denying the partnership, the Great Rabbinical Court accorded weight to the factual claim that the wife was unfaithful to her husband while still married to him. In this, she argued, the Rabbinical Court applied religious law to the matter of specific co-ownership in a residential home, thus acting ultra vires.

 

The High Court of Justice, (per Justice D. Mintz, Justice A. Stein concurring, Justice I. Amit dissenting) denied the petition for the following reasons:

 

Justice D. Mintz (delivering the opinion of the Court): The judgment of the Great Rabbinical Court was based upon a factual finding that co-ownership of the property was not proved, due to the absence of “additional supporting evidence” to prove the partnership (per Judge Amos), or due to the absence of an “assessment as to the intention or partnership or gift” (per Judge Nahari), or due to the absence of an “intention of co-ownership” (per Judge Almaliah). While the matter of the Petitioner’s alleged infidelity was mentioned in the opinions of Judges Amos and Nahari, and Judge Nahari expressed the view that “the act of infidelity creates an intention of non-partnership of the owner of the property vis-à-vis the person who was unfaithful to him, and this also applies elsewhere,” this is not enough to justify the intervention of the High Court of Justice in the judgment.

 

There is no dispute that the couple’s property relations are governed by the Spouses (Property Relations) Law, according to which an external asset is excluded from the balancing of resources. However, spouses are not prevented from claiming ownership of assets by virtue of the general law, i.e. regular property law and contract law. For this purpose, and for the purpose of recognition of co-ownership of a particular asset, including the residential home that was brought into the marriage by one of the spouses, it is necessary to show additional factual circumstances beyond the existence of a long, common marital life. The question whether the intention of specific co-ownership was proved is factual, and must be proved by the person claiming it. It will be examined in accordance with the assessment of the wishes of the two parties, their express or implied agreement, and their life circumstances in relation to the specific asset. In the case of a residential home, a lesser amount of evidence is needed to prove co-ownership.

 

Just as the creation of the partnership is assessed along the axis of married life, the circumstances that indicate the absence of partnership are considered along the axis of married life, and “one is not punished for them retroactively.” In other words, the infidelity of one of the spouses cannot nullify co-ownership of property that crystallized prior to the adultery.

 

Prima facie, in the present case, the couple lived harmoniously for many years, and the alleged adultery of the Petitioner in the later years cannot be invoked to nullify co-ownership of property that had crystallized previously. However, Justice Mintz disagreed with the position adopted by Justice Amit whereby the three judges of the Great Rabbinical Court included adultery among the considerations for nullifying co-ownership of the asset, and that it was that conduct that tipped the scales against the Petitioner.

 

In Justice Mintz’s view, the opinions of Judges Amos and Almaliah and their reasoning demonstrate that their conclusion was not dependent upon the alleged adultery. Therefore, there are no grounds for saying that the conclusion of the majority in the Rabbinical Court was tainted by irrelevant considerations, or that the Rabbinical Court applied religious law to the property relations between the spouses. Therefore, the Rabbinical Court did not act ultra vires.

 

Since the Rabbinical Court did not act ultra vires, and given the limited scope of the intervention of the High Court of Justice in the decisions of the rabbinical courts, the  case does not fall within the scope of those cases that justify the intervention of the Court, even on the assumption that the Rabbinical Court erred in its application of the law.

 

Justice A. Stein (concurring): The High Court of Justice does not intervene in the judgments of the rabbinical courts except in narrowly defined cases in which one of the following flaws is present: (1) ultra vires action; (2) clear departure from the provisions of the law that are directed at the religious court, which can be seen as acting ultra vires, or as an error of law that is clear and evident on the face of the judgment, which is equivalent to acting ultra vires, and (4) this Court reaches the conclusion that a petitioner ought to be given equitable relief that is not within the authority of another court.

 

Taking into consideration the claim of unfaithfulness as part of the facts relevant to the matter of implied partnership is not a facial error of law, and it certainly does not constitute an ultra vires act.

 

In the absence of an express agreement, the question of co-ownership of property in a particular case is a question of fact, and it may possibly be seen as a mixed question of law and fact. In order to answer this question, the judge must make factual findings concerning the existence or absence of an equal-rights partnership between the spouses in the specific asset in question. The High Court will not intervene in such findings.

 

The Court only examines whether the Rabbinical Court exceeded the boundaries of its authority.,

 

The change introduced by the Bavli ruling was the repeal of the old rule whereby “the law follows the judge”. Accordingly, the rabbinical courts must decide property matters in accordance with the community property presumption as defined in the general law. The Bavli ruling transferred the property aspect of the laws of marriage and divorce from a regime of status to one of contract, which allows the couple to act as an autonomous unit and to determine the financial consequences of marriage and divorce by themselves and for themselves, subject to the protections against abuse provided in the Spouses (Property Relations) Law and in the general laws of contract.

 

The spousal relationship is an individual matter, not only on the emotional and intimate level, but also in regard to property. The autonomy of the relationship requires that the court adopt a neutral, equal attitude to all patterns of life between couples, and all property arrangements, as long as no exploitation prohibited by law is involved.

 

In addressing the question of partnership, the civil courts and the rabbinical courts must infer the existence or absence of an equal-rights partnership in a disputed asset from the couple’s lifestyle and expectations. These expectations may include a condition of absolute sexual fidelity as a sine qua non for the agreement of one spouse to share his property equally with the other. Such a condition, insofar as it exists, must be respected and enforced by the secular and religious courts.

 

While Justice Stein agreed with Justice Amit that the law does not allow depriving a spouse of property due to infidelity, the present case concerns giving and not taking. It is a matter of examining whether the wife was granted a right that she had not acquired for herself, due to her marriage to the husband per se), and not of taking away the wife’s property due to an act of “betrayal” or “adultery.”  Whether such a right has or has not been granted is a matter of empirical fact, and not of guilt, punishment, justice or other consideration in the realm of norms, as distinct from facts. On this matter, the intention of the spouse who owns the asset is of the utmost importance. This intention might indicate a lack of desire to make the “unfaithful” spouse a partner in the asset, and the court is obliged to respect and enforce these intentions, too. This obligation exists by virtue of the transition to a contractual regime and the principle of autonomy of the relationship between spouses, which may be religious, secular, patriarchal, feminist, puritan or liberal according to the couple’s choice.

 

Two of the three judges of the Rabbinical Court decided the question of co-ownership against the wife, after examining all the elements of the relationship from the perspective of an implied agreement. This included the act of “betrayal” by the wife as a consideration negating or nullifying the husband’s intention to include her as an equal-rights partner in the house. For the above reasons, and by virtue of the talmudic rule “where a positive plea is met by an uncertain one, the positive plea prevails,” the Rabbinical Court was authorized to include this matter among its considerations. While the Rabbinical Court may have given the alleged infidelity too much weight, this has no bearing for judicial review of the High Court of Justice of the judgments of the religious courts, which is confined to the question of competence and to correcting fundamental errors.

 

Justice Amit (dissenting): The judgment of the Great Rabbinical Court takes us back to the days prior to the Bavli ruling. Inclusion of alleged “infidelity” in the court’s considerations constitutes a clear departure from the law and is ultra vires.

 

In accordance with the Bavli ruling, the secular law applies to the distribution of property. The secular law severs matters of the sexual conduct of the parties from the property dispute between them. This is not to say that the subject of infidelity can never have ramifications for the property dispute between spouses, but the matter must be examined from the perspective of the secular law for the purpose of the question of whether the community property presumption or specific co-ownership in an asset should be applied.

 

Community property and specific co-ownership of an asset form at a certain point along the axis of married life. Even those who hold that weight should be attributed to the guilt of a spouse when dealing with property matters would agree that the impact of infidelity is from the particular point onward, and a distinction should be drawn between property that accumulated prior to the act of infidelity and property that accumulated from the date of infidelity and until the actual dissolution of the marriage.

 

In the present case, even according to the husband, the alleged infidelity of the Petitioner occurred in the last few months of the 31 years of their marriage. Therefore, it is puzzling as to how the infidelity could be included among the indications and facts for the purpose of deciding whether specific co-ownership has been created over the years. The weight given by the Rabbinical Court to the Petitioner’s alleged infidelity is contrary to the case law of the Court, whereby rights may not be negated retroactively. The Rabbinical Court acted contrary to the Bavli ruling and ultra vires.

 

In certain cases, the infidelity of one of the spouses may figure as one of the relevant facts in deciding whether specific co-ownership in a residential home that was brought into the marriage by one of the parties has been created. In general, where it has been proved that the “betrayed” spouse did not intend from the outset to share his property with the “betraying” spouse (whether at all, or in the event of infidelity), this intention must be respected. As opposed to this, it is not possible to perform a “retooling” and to decide that once the spouse committed an adulterous act, we must assume that the “betrayed” spouse did not intend from the outset to share his property with herIn the present case there is no indication that the husband did not wish to share his property with the Petitioner in the case of infidelity. The Great Rabbinical Court’s judgment states that in practice, in any case of adultery, it can be found that there was no intention of partnership.

 

The High Court of Justice held a further consideration (diyyun nosaf) in this case, with a panel of nice justices. This further round was initiated by the Rackman Center of Bar Ilan University.

Voting Justices: 
Primary Author
majority opinion
Author
concurrence
Author
dissent
Full text of the opinion: 

 

HCJ 4602/13

HCJ 9780/17

 

 

 

A.

Petitioner:

 

 

v.

 

 

 

Haifa Regional Rabbinical Court

Attorney General

Israel Bar Association

B.

 

1.

2.

3.

4.

Respondents in HCJ 4602/13:

Great Rabbinical Court

Haifa Regional Rabbinical Court

B.

1.

2.

3.

 

Respondents in HCJ 9780/17:

 

 

 

 

 

The Supreme Court sitting as High Court of Justice

(November 18, 2018)

Before: Justices I. Amit, D. Mintz, A. Stein

Petitions for an order nisi

 

 

Israeli Supreme Court cases cited:

[1]                   CA 7750/10 Ben Giat v. Hachsharat Hayishuv Insurance Ltd. (Aug. 11, 2011).

[2]                   LFA 1398/11 A. v. B. (Dec. 26, 2012).

[3]                    HCJ 8928/06 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court of Appeals in Jerusalem, IsrSC 63(1) 271 (2008).

[4]                   HCJ 1000/92 Bavli v. Great Rabbinical Court, IsrSC 48(2) 221 (1994).

[5]                   LCA 8672/00 Abu Rumi v. Abu Rumi, IsrSC 56(6) 175 (2002).

[6]                   HCJ 9812/17 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court (May 29, 2018).

[7]                   HCJ 2617/18 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court (April 30, 2018).

[8]                   HCJ 7940/17 A. v. Netanya Regional Rabbinical Court (Jan. 8, 2018).

[9]                   HCJ 609/92 Beham v. Great Rabbinical Court of Appeals, IsrSC  47(3) 288 (1993).

[10]                 LCA 8791/00 Shalem v. Twenco Ltd., IsrSC 62(1) 165 (2006).

[11]                  HCJ 202/57 Sidis v. President and Members of the Great Rabbinical Court, IsrSC 12(2) 1528 (1958).

[12]      CA 253/65 Bricker v. Bricker, IsrSC 20(1) 589, 596 (1966).

[13]      HCJ 185/72 Gur v. Jerusalem Regional Rabbinical Court, IsrSC 26(2) 765 (1972).

[14]      CA 384/88 Zisserman v. Zisserman, IsrSC 43(3) 205 (1989).

[15]      HCJ 3995/00 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court, IsrSC 56(6) 883 (2002).

[16]      CA 264/77 Dror v. Dror, IsrSC 32(1) 829 (1978).

[17]      CA 819/94 Levi v Levi, IsrSC 50(1) 300 (1996).

[18]     HCJ 1135/02 Wasgael v. Great Rabbinical Court, IsrSC 56(6) 14 (2002).

[19]      LFA 7272/10 A. v. B. (2014).

[20]      LFA 2948/07 A. v. B. (April 18, 2007).

[21]      CA 1915/91 Yaacobi v. Yaacobi, IsrSC 49(3) 529 (1995).

[22]      HCJ 2642/08 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court Jerusalem (April 8, 2008).

[23]     LFA 2045/15 A. v. B. (May 21, 2015).

[24]      CA 300/64 Berger v. Director of Estate Tax, IsrSC 19(2) 240 (1965).

[25]      CA 135/68 Barelli v. Director of Estate Tax Jerusalem, [1969] IsrSC 23(1) 393 (1969).

[26]      CA 595/69 Efta v. Efta, IsrSC 25(1) 561(1971).

[27]      HCJ 1727/07 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court (March 19, 2007).

[28]      LFA 4545/09 A. v. B. (Jan. 7, 2010).

[29]      LFA 10734/06 A. v. B. (14.3.2007).

[30]      CA 8128/06 Levinson v. Arnon (Feb. 3, 2009).

[31]      LFA 2991/13 A. v. B. (Aug. 21, 2013).

[32]      LFA 7181/12 A. v. B. (Nov. 9, 2012).

[33]      LFA 5939/04 A. v. B., IsrSC 56(1) 664 (2004).

[34]      LFA 1477/13 A. v. B. (Aug. 6, 2013).

[35]      CA 806/93 Hadari v. Hadari, IsrSC 48(3) 685 (1994).

[36]      CA 3002/93 Ben-Zvi v. Siton, IsrSC 49(3) 5 (1995).

[37]      CA 741/82 Fichtenbaum v. Fichtenbaum, IsrSC 38(3) 22 (1984).

[38]      CA 4306/12 A. v. Bank Leumi Israel Ltd.  (July 15,2018).

[39]      HCJ 9734/03 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court, IsrSC 59(2) 295 (2005).

[40]      HCJ 1996/16 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court (June 21,2016).

[41]      HCJ 3689/15 A. v. Tel Aviv Regional Rabbinical Court (May 17, 2016).

[42]      HCJ 3394/18 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court Jerusalem (May 2, 2018).

[43]      HCJ 3042/18 A. v. Regional Rabbinical Court (May 1, 2018).

[44]      HCJ 4091/18 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court (March 25, 2018).

[45]     HCJ 7/83 Bayers v. Haifa Regional Rabbinical Court, IsrSC 38(1) 673 (1984).

[46]      HCJ 187/54 Barriya v Kadi of the Sharia Moslem Court, Akko, IsrSC 9 1193 (1955).

[47]      HCJ 8638/03 Amir v. Great Rabbinical Court Jerusalem, IsrSC 61(1) 259 (2006).

[48]      HCJ 3467/14 A. v. Haifa Regional Rabbinical Court (Sept. 21, 2015).

[49]     HCJ 2443/15 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court Jerusalem (April 12, 2015).

[50]      HCJ 5416/09 A. v. B., IsrSC 63(3) 484 (2010).

[51]      HCJ 323/81 Vilozny v. Great Rabbinical Court Jerusalem, IsrSC 36(2) 733 (1982).

[52]      CA 630/79 Lieberman v. Lieberman, IsrSC 35(4) 359 (1981).

 

Other Israeli cases cited:

[53]                 FA (Tel Aviv District) 13313-12-11 N.A.E.R. v. A.E. (26.2.2014)

[54 ]    FA (Haifa) 740/08 A. v. B. (19.11.2008)

 

 

JUDGMENT

(Nov. 18, 2018)

 

Justice I. Amit

The petition before us treats of the matter of specific co-ownership[1] in the residential home. The petition raises the question of whether there are grounds for intervention by this Court in the judgment of the Great Rabbinical Court in light of weight having been accorded to the alleged infidelity of the wife.

Background

1.         Following is a précis of the essential facts pertaining to the case. The couple married towards the end of 1982, and they have three adult children. In February 2013, after more than thirty years of marriage, Respondent no. 3 (hereinafter: the husband or the Respondent) filed for divorce in the Rabbinical Court, and he incorporated property matters in the suit. In section 2 of the form, “Divorce Suit and Ancillary Matters,” the husband specified three grounds for divorce, namely: The wife is rebellious in that she has not engaged in marital relations for several years; “The wife has been unfaithful for several months with …”; “She does not attend to cleaning nor to meals, and she is not concerned with unifying the family …” (emphasis added – I.A.).

Following a hearing held on June 26, 2013, Respondent no. 2 (hereinafter: the Regional Rabbinical Court) ordered the Petitioner to divorce. When she refused to do so, and in light of the verbal exchanges that took place in the courtroom between her attorney and the panel of judges, the Regional Rabbinical Court ordered that the Petitioner be arrested and that her attorney be dismissed, and it imposed personal costs of NIS 15,000 upon the attorney. The Petitioner filed a petition with this Court (HCJ 4602/13). Following a hearing held before me, the parties came to an agreement, and a consent decree was issued, as follows:

The Parties: After having heard the Court and after having heard the comments of Adv. Jacoby, and in order to restore calm after matters digressed from appropriate proportions, and taking into account that the matter involves a couple who have been married for thirty years with three adult children, and since we wish to conduct the dispute between us in a cordial manner, we have come to the following agreements:

1.       The wife is willing, without any implication whatsoever of an admission to the claims and the grounds raised against her in the past, to divorce.

2.       The husband is prepared to accept the wife’s consent, and to divorce on the basis of said consent.

3.       Both parties declare in this courtroom that they are willing to divorce and to arrange a get [Jewish bill of divorce – ed.] in the near future in a rabbinical court. This obviates the need to impose constraints of various types on the wife.

4.      The willingness of the parties to divorce, and the actual divorce itself, will have no ramifications for the subject of property, which will be adjudicated in accordance with statutory and case law.

5.       In light of the divorce of the parties, and in that light only, the wife is prepared to leave the home, without this implying in any way whatsoever any waiver of her claim to rights in the home (whether by virtue of the presumption of specific co-ownership or any other claim).

6.       In light of the above, and without any implication of an obligation on the part of the husband, the husband is prepared, until the end of the litigation in the property dispute, to participate in the wife’s rental payments in the monthly amount of NIS 2000, as a substitute for an appropriate user fee for the home had she continued to live there.

7.       The husband requests on his own initiative to cancel the protection order and the restraining order issued against the wife.

8.       Each party maintains its claims in relation to the ketubah [Jewish marriage contract – ed.].

9.       The parties will jointly enter into a process of mediation in an attempt to settle both the property matter and the entire familial relationship. The children will be asked to participate in the mediation process insofar as they agree to do so. The two parties express their will and their consent to expedite the mediation proceedings and the determination of the subject of property.

10.       …

11.       …

Indeed, following this agreement, the parties quickly divorced, but the question of the distribution of property was not settled, and the litigation between the parties continued.

2.         On the basis of an actuarial opinion, the Petitioner was obligated to pay the husband the sum of NIS 341,000. The husband owned various real-property assets that had been acquired or that he inherited prior to the marriage, and which the parties agree belong to the husband (namely, two shops and half the rights in two apartments occupied by protected tenants). In addition, the parties own real property that was acquired jointly in the course of their marital life, and it is agreed that each of them is entitled to half the rights (a shop and three store-rooms, an additional commercial property, and an additional 25% of the ownership rights in two apartments that are leased under protected tenancies. According to the Petitioner’s attorney, the assets are encumbered, such that their realized value is not high).

The main disagreement between the parties turned on the residential home. The husband brought into the marriage a plot of land that he had inherited in 1982, several months before the couple married. In 1988, the husband signed a “combination agreement” with a contractor, in the framework of which he transferred three-quarters of the plot to the contractor in exchange for the construction of a residential home on the other quarter (and an additional payment by the contractor in the amount of $30,000). The couple lived in that house for more than twenty years, until the marital breakdown in 2013.

The issue that was brought before the Regional Rabbinical Court was whether specific co-ownership of the residential home should be recognized. Several judgments have been handed down on this question by this Court, and I will mention two of them (CAA 7750/10 Ben Giat v. Hachsharat Hayishuv Insurance Ltd. (hereinafter: Ben Giat [1]); LFA 1398/11 A. v. B.  (hereinafter: A. v. B. [2]).

3.         In its judgment of Feb. 29, 2016, the Regional Rabbinical Court ruled that specific co-ownership in the residential home should be recognized, and the Petitioner is therefore entitled to half the value of the rights in the residential home registered in the husband’s name. In its decision, the Court relied, inter alia, on the husband’s statements in the framework of the litigation in the aforementioned HCJ 4602/13, from which it inferred an intention of co-ownership, such as: “Since I understood that there is a problem with the house, I suggested that the house be registered in the names of the children, and I said, Heaven protect us, the house will be there for me or for her in old age, if we should need hospitalization, we could sell it … I raised the problem of the residence, but I am not prepared for her boyfriend to live off the fruit of our labor of thirty years” (emphasis added – I.A.). The Regional Rabbinical Court also attached importance to the renovations and investments that had been made in the residential home. At the end of its judgment, the Regional Rabbinical Court summarized its conclusion, as follows:

Indeed, it appears that in the present circumstances, the conditions and the parameters specified in the above case law [the case of A v. B. [2] – I.A.] have been met. As stated above, the parties closed off a playroom, including painting and piping in the room, when the oldest son was a soldier, they closed off a space with a plasterboard wall, and they broke down the stairs and the pipes. The parties also replaced tiles and plumbing, and they built a kitchen at their expense. Thus, it seems that the renovation that was done was not minor and routine, and it would seem to comply with what the case law requires. It would appear that the renovation that was carried out, which from a factual point of view was agreed to by the two parties, and as described above, proves co-ownership.

We would add to this the long period of time, twenty years, during which the parties lived together in the said residential home.

Moreover, the Rabbinical Court finds reason to assume that an atmosphere of co-ownership with respect to the home prevailed between the parties, in light of what the plaintiff said in this case, as quoted above, from which it appears that he regarded the house as a joint potential asset, as stated at that time, which would serve both parties equally. This statement appears to be an intention of co-ownership. His words, “I am not prepared for her boyfriend to live off the fruit of our labor of thirty years” also give a similar impression.

Furthermore, in the present case we are not dealing with a house that the husband owned prior to the marriage, but with a house that was built by both parties in the course of their life, and possibly at the initiative of them both and with mutual assistance from the logistical aspect –  even though it was built in a "combination deal from the land that the husband had owned previously – and therefore there is more than a reasonable chance that in building the present house, the residential home, the parties were co-owners.

In light of all the above, and in light of the latest case law on this issue of distribution of an asset registered in the name of one of the parties, the court does not find grounds, nor the possibility, for not dividing the residential home between the parties, and in light of all the above, the court has decided to deviate from section 5(a)(1) of the Spouses (Property Relations) Law, whereby an asset that was owned by one of the spouses prior to the marriage is not included in the aggregate joint property and will not be included in the balancing of resources arrangement.

Consequently, the Rabbinical Court granted the Petitioner half the rights in the residential home.

 

Judgment of the Great Rabbinical Court

4.         The husband appealed to the Great Rabbinical Court. In its judgment of July 27, 2017, the Great Rabbinical Court (Judges Amos, Nahari and Almaliah) allowed the appeal on the decision of the Regional Rabbinical Court. According to the majority opinion, the wife was not entitled to any share, neither of the land nor of the house that was built upon it. According to the minority opinion, the wife was not entitled to a share in the land, but she was entitled to a share of only 20% of the structure (the house). Below I will review the main points of the judgment.

            In his written opinion, Judge Amos emphasized that we are dealing with an asset that the Respondent had acquired prior to the marriage and which remained registered in his name. In these circumstances, in order to prove specific co-ownership in the dwelling, some additional supporting evidence was required to show an intention of co-ownership. Judge Amos referred to what I wrote in the A. v. B. [2] case, to the effect that some flexibility is required in this regard when co-ownership of a residential home is concerned, but he nevertheless decided that “in this case it is difficult to say that it was indeed proved that there was some extra evidentiary support, other than the fact that the parties lived together, and at very least we could not dispel the doubt as to whether there was any additional supporting evidence.” This conclusion was explained by the fact that the indications noted by the Regional Rabbinical Court to prove a specific co-ownership were not sufficiently significant: the renovation of the house was not significant, and it is doubtful whether the Petitioner participated in paying for it, since she did not work at that time; the Petitioner did not present documents supporting her claim; the utterances of the Respondent concerning “the fruit of our labor” did not necessarily refer to the dwelling in dispute; “the atmosphere of co-ownership” in itself is not sufficient proof. In addition, it was noted that the Petitioner is leaving the marriage with property and in a good economic situation as compared to the Respondent. Given the starting point in sec. 5(a)(1) of the Spouses (Property Relations) Law, 5733-1973 (hereinafter: the Property Relations Law), to which the case law concerning specific co-ownership constitutes an exception, and given that the Respondent is in possession of the house, it was ruled that the doubt that remained does not allow for recognition of the rights of the Petitioner in the house, and “how can we, on the basis of a doubt, take money away from a person who with absolute certainty owns the land which he undisputedly inherited from his forbears?”

Judge Amos did not stop there, noting:

To this it must be added that in the present case, the wife was unfaithful to her husband, she was ordered to accept a get, and restraining orders were issued against her, and only after much argument did she agree to accept her get. In this case, the question arises: Must it be assumed that also in the case of a wife who was unfaithful, a partnership was intended….?

Judge Amos opined that this point was important for the purpose of the conclusion regarding the intention of partnership, since:

We see that he [the spouse] had no intention to include as a partner in the property that was in his name alone the one who had harmed, destroyed and uprooted all the family life, and even if from his actions it was evident that he intended that there be a partnership, all of this was done mistakenly, and it is an umdana d’mukhah [2] that he was deceived and misled, and therefore this intention is void ab initio.

Judge Amos noted the rule under Jewish law that “a person is not punished retroactively for infidelity by taking away his rights in the common property” (HCJ 8928/06 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court of Appeals in Jerusalem [3] (hereinafter: HCJ 8928/06), but he held that a distinction must be made between penalization “in respect of rights that had already vested in one of the parties,” and consideration of the question of infidelity for the purpose of negating rights in an asset by virtue of the intention of co-ownership. In support of his position, Judge Amos referred to the judgment in FA (Tel Aviv District) 13313-12-11 N.A.E.R. v. A.E. [53], where the court said that “it is difficult to attribute an intention to a spouse to be partners in an ‘external asset’ with the other spouse, when the other does not maintain loyalty to his spouse [and] is unfaithful to her with other women.”

Subsequently, and under the heading of “And now to the halakhic aspect,” Judge Amos further emphasized that “the whole concept of the intention of co-ownership is contrary to the halakha,” and that consideration of the intention of co-ownership is a creature of the case law, which crystallizes in accordance with the circumstances of each case. As long as this is not anchored by statute, it cannot be said that the “intention of co-ownership” is part of state custom. It was further stated that the Rabbinical Court’s interpretation “is of equal value to the interpretation of any other judicial instance,” and must be effected in accordance with Jewish law. Moreover, it was noted that the intention of co-ownership cannot be accorded the force of “a well-known custom” since the condition for this is the husband’s knowledge of this rule, and intention on his part to be in partnership with his wife in respect of the property. In our case, this was not proved, and “when there is a doubt, the property must be deemed to belong to the one who possesses it.”

However, Judge Amos drew a distinction between the land and the building that had been erected on it. With respect to the building, it was noted that “there may possibly be a lesser partnership in it,” and therefore the Petitioner is entitled to 20% of its value, “since this was an dwelling that was built in the course of the marriage and in partnership with the wife in the course of the construction,  and it is possible that she even invested financially in it.”

Judge Nahari concurred in the conclusion of Judge Amos, and added that in his view, a narrow approach must be adopted in proving an intention of partnership, “a fortiori when the case also includes the ground of unfaithfulness, with respect to which an intention of co-ownership on the part of the betrayed appellant may certainly not be presumed.” Judge Nahari compared the intention of co-ownership to the laws of gifts, and concluded that the serious harm to the fabric of the marriage amounts to disgraceful behavior that justifies retraction of the intention of co-ownership, even if such an intention had been proved. According to him, this also applies in the present case in which “the act of infidelity creates an intention on the part of the owner of the property not to be in partnership with the person who betrayed him.”

Judge Almaliah agreed that the Petitioner had no rights in the land, since an intention of co-ownership had not been proved, but he expressed a different position regarding the Petitioner’s rights in the house itself. Judge Almaliah pointed out that the house was built as part of a combination deal, so that the Respondent had in fact financed the construction. In addition, the renovation of the house does not confer rights on the Petitioner, since the money came from the Respondent’s pockets. Moreover, the house was registered in his name alone, from which it may be inferred that there was no intention of co-ownership. Judge Almaliah added that he does not accept the comparison between the intention of co-ownership and the laws of gifts.

At the end of the judgment, Judge Nahari added that he retracts his position, and agrees with the conclusion that the Petitioner has no rights in the house. Judge Nahari reiterated his position that there is a similarity between the intention of co-ownership and the laws of gifts, and “it makes sense that there is no intention of co-ownership in respect of the person who betrayed the marital relationship.”

It was therefore decided by majority opinion that the Petitioner is not entitled to any share of the land or the house.

The petition before us turns on this. In brief, according to the Petitioner, the Great Rabbinical Court accorded weight to the claim of infidelity, and applied religious law to the matter of specific co-ownership in the residential home, thereby acting ultra vires.

 

Deliberation and Decision

 5.        I will begin by saying that I find that it would be proper to intervene in the judgment of the Great Rabbinical Court in that both the content of the judgment and the rhetoric it employs take us back to the days prior to the Bavli decision (HCJ 1000/92 Bavli v. Great Rabbinical Court [4]).  I will explain my conclusion below.

6.         The couple married in 1982, and there is no dispute that the Property Relations Law applies to their relationship. However, the case law has recognized that the provisions of sec. 5 of the Property Relations Law do not prevent the creation of partnership in a specific asset under the general law, including an asset that was acquired or received by one of the parties prior to the marriage, and that this applies in particular to an asset that serves as the residential home of the couple (see: A. v. B [2], Ben Giat [1] and the references there).

The question of whether specific co-ownership in the residential home should apply in a particular case is a mixed question of fact and law. In the case of A. v. B., I attempted to identify the markers and to understand what “additional supporting evidence” was required in order to recognize specific co-ownership in the residential home. Personally, in the present case, I would emphasize the fact that this is a first marriage with common children, the length of the marriage, harmonious relations while running a common household, at least for most of the marriage of thirty-one years, with the couple living in the residential home for twenty years, and the absence of any hint or external expression on the part of the husband, throughout all the years, that he intended to deny the application of co-ownership in the residential home. To this must be added the husband’s utterances in the course of the hearing in HCJ 4602/13, as quoted in the judgment of the Regional Rabbinical Court, as well as the renovation of the home. All these, in my opinion, give rise prima facie to specific co-ownership in their shared residential home – “the jewel in the crown of the community property presumption” – also with respect to couples who are subject to the Property Relations Law, the tendency being to “be lenient with the spouse who claims co-ownership of the residential home when this is registered in the name of only one of them” (LCA 8672/00 Abu Rumi v. Abu Rumi [5], 183).

At the same time, there is a wide range of views and approaches on the subject of specific co-ownership in a residential home. There are those who are lenient, and those who are strict as to the amount of evidence they require (see: Shahar Lifshitz, Marital Property, 172-82 (5776-2016) (Heb.) (hereinafter: Marital Property); Hanoch Dagan, Property at a Crossroad, 489 (2005) (Heb.)). The difference between the approaches can be explained by the starting point: the strict view regards the regime of co-ownership of property as based on a contractual model, whereas those who are lenient regard the co-ownership regime as based on a normative model, which for its part is based on principles and considerations of justice, fairness and equality. From this model, the path to recognition of the connective model –  a model that takes into consideration the special nature of spousal relationships – as requiring broad recognition of co-ownership between spouses, including its application to assets that were brought into the marriage, is short (Shahar Lifshitz,  On Past Assets and Future Assets and the Philosophy of Marital Property Law, 34(3) Mishpatim 627 (2004) (Heb.) (hereinafter: Lifshitz)).

7.         As stated, the Regional Rabbinical Court held that specific co-ownership of the marital home should be recognized, whereas the Great Rabbinical Court held that it should not. Normally – and although in my opinion the Regional Rabbinical Court was correct in its conclusion – I would not find grounds to intervene in the judgment of the Great Rabbinical Court. This is because this Court does not sit as a court of appeals over the rabbinical courts, and its intervention is confined to cases of ultra vires action, breach of the principles of natural justice, departure from the provisions of the law, or in exceptional cases in which an equitable remedy is required and the matter is not within the competence of any other court or tribunal (see, inter alia, HCJ 9812/17 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court [6]  and the references there; HCJ 2617/18 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court  [7] and the references there). This means that even if, in the opinion of this Court, there was some mistake or other in the application of the religious or secular law to a given set of facts, that would not be grounds for the intervention of this Court sitting as High Court of Justice.

In the present case, however, I have decided to intervene in the judgment of the Great Rabbinical Court. This is because a reading of the judgment in its entirety leads to the conclusion that it was the Petitioner’s act of infidelity that tipped the scales against her. In this, the Great Rabbinical Court presumed to apply religious law to matters of property, contrary to the case law, and in this it acted ultra vires.

8.         The Legal Advisor of the Rabbinical Court argued that a careful reading of the judgment reveals that, ultimately, the judgment is based upon secular law that relates to specific co-ownership in the residential home, applying markers specified in the A. v. B. case, and that everything that was said about the Petitioner and religious law was simply over and above what was required.

I do not share that opinion. First, Judge Nahari based his opinion explicitly on the analogy between the intention of specific co-ownership and the laws of gifts, and on section 5(c) of the Gift Law, 5728-1968, which permits the retraction of a gift due to disgraceful behavior. And what is the disgraceful behavior? The infidelity attributed to the Petitioner! Judge Nahari’s opinion, which is based entirely on the weight attached to the wife’s infidelity, is sufficient in order to shatter the basis of the judgment and to justify the intervention of this Court in the judgment of the Great Rabbinical Court (in this the present case differs from HCJ 7940/17 A. v. Netanya Regional Rabbinical Court [8], in which the halakhic discussion was “over and above what was necessary”).

I will mention that in my view, the analogy drawn by Judge Nahari between the intention of specific co-ownership and the promise to give a gift is incorrect. Indeed, in HCJ 609/92 Beham v. Great Rabbinical Court [9], the Court considered a gift given by the husband to his wife, which he wished to retract after finding out that she was unfaithful to him. The Great Rabbinical Court ruled that the gift was given by the husband to the wife on condition that she not be unfaithful to him, and when this condition was not fulfilled, the gift was revoked. The High Court of Justice denied the petition, with Justice Elon expressing his opinion that the Rabbinical Court was authorized to rule in accordance with Jewish law, in that “the law follows the judge.” However, the judgment in Beham was handed down prior to the judgment in Bavli, and it cannot serve as a precedent for our case. And the main thing is this: a distinction must be drawn between a commitment to give a gift, which may be retracted if certain conditions are met, and the application of the community property rule or specific co-ownership in an asset. The assumption is that community property, similar to co-ownership of a specific asset, crystallizes at a certain point over the course of married life (LCA 8791/00 Shalem v. Twenco Ltd. [10], 171-173; Ben Giat [1], at para. 24 of my opinion; Marital Property, at pp. 209-219), and the rationale for recognizing co-ownership is not the intention of the spouse to grant a gift to his spouse, but something else (Lifshitz, supra). However, even assuming that the co-ownership regime is based on a contractual rationale, such as a contract or a gift, the gift must be regarded as completed at a certain point in the course of marital life, and it is not possible to retract a completed gift. I do not wish to elaborate on this subject, since as I mentioned above, my intervention in the judgment of the Great Rabbinical Court does not stem only from an error in the application of the law, but also from the application of religious law to matters of property by taking the wife’s infidelity into consideration.

9.         In the written opinion of Judge Amos, too, we find that it was religious law that was determinant in the matter, with weight being given to the wife’s infidelity. Even prior to examining the matter from the halakhic aspect, Judge Amos saw fit to give weight to the Petitioner’s infidelity as negating the intention of co-ownership, and he quoted from the judgment of Judge Shohet in FA (TA) 13313-12-11 [53] that “[I]t is difficult to attribute to a spouse the intention of partnership in an external asset with the other spouse when that other spouse is not loyal to his spouse, is unfaithful to her with other women.” No distinction was made between the time at which the specific co-ownership crystallized, if at all, in the course of the marriage, and the time of the infidelity. Thus we find that the Rabbinical Court regards the act of infidelity as retroactively nullifying the partnership, on the assumption that had the husband known that the Petitioner would betray him one day, he would not have agreed initially to the partnership. In my opinion, the Rabbinical Court thus punished the wife retroactively for her infidelity.

On this point, after examining the matter from the perspective of the secular law, Judge Amos embarked on a broad review of the religious law, in the framework of which he regarded, for the purpose of the religious law, the case law on the subject of specific co-ownership in a residential home as a “custom” which had not been proved.

Since the discussion of this subject was conducted under the heading, “And now to the halakhic aspect,” it must be assumed that Judge Amos wished to emphasize that from a halakhic perspective, as long as no secular statute had been enacted that recognized specific co-ownership, the halakhah does not regard this as a custom of the land on the basis of which it is possible to take away a material asset from the person who is deemed to be its owner.  However, it should be stressed here that from the secular perspective, too, the community property presumption is not anchored in legislation; rather, it is the creature of the case-law, and has been a feature of Israeli law for decades. I would mention that in the Bavli case [4], the Great Rabbinical Court  distinguished between the Property Relations Law, which is grounded in statute, and the community property doctrine which originates in the case law. It ruled that “the case law of the courts does not in any way obligate the rabbinical court, and the rabbinical court decides only in accordance with Jewish law, in which the concept of co-ownership of property does not exist, and the only rights to which a wife is entitled are by virtue of the conditions of the ketubah and the halakhah.” The distinction made by the Great Rabbinical Court between a statutory provision and case law was rejected, and rightly so, by the Supreme Court in the Bavli case. And as stated by Professor Shifman following the judgment: “It is clear that the distinction between the word of the legislator and the word of the judge is untenable. From a secular point of view, they are regarded as one unit for the purpose of expressing the legal situation” (Pinhas Shifman, The Rabbinical Courts - Whereto?  2 Mishpat uMimshal 523, 527, at note 4 (5755-1995) (Heb.)). In short, for the purpose of the secular aspect, the judgments of the Supreme Court on matters of marital property do not fall within the rubric of custom that requires proof, but within the rubric of case law that obligates the parties and also obligates the rabbinical courts. I take this opportunity to reiterate and emphasize the distinction between the secular aspect and the halakhic aspect, and to clearly caution against regressing to what was said in the past and overturned in the Bavli case.

 

Religious Law and Secular Law in Family Law

10.       As we know, in the arena of Israeli family law we find religious law and the rabbinical judge, the secular law and the secular court dwelling together, in the sense of “And the children struggled within her” (Genesis 25:22). Division of jurisdiction between religious law and secular law, and division of jurisdiction and the “race for jurisdiction” between the religious court and the District Court is a sensitive, complex subject, to the extent that there are those who regard family law as laws of warfare, the battle being waged between the secular and the religious judicial instances (Ruth Halperin Kaddari, Towards Concluding Civil Family Law – Israel Style, 17 Mehkerei Mishpat 105, 108 (2002) (Heb.)). Family law is therefore seen as a struggle between the religious law and the secular law (Pinhas Shifman, Religious Language and Civil Language in Family Law, 10 Mishpat ve-Asakim 423, 426 (2009) (Heb.), and on this subject, there is abundant academic literature (and see, inter alia, Menashe Shawa, On “Ancillary” and “Sincerity” – Will the “Jurisdictions Race” between the District Court and the Rabbinical Court on Matters of Maintenance End?  2 Iyunei Mishpat 719 (1982) (Heb.); Pinhas Shifman, Forty Years of Family Law – The Struggle between Religious Law and Secular Law, 19 Mishpatim 847 (1990) (Heb.); Shahar Lifshitz, The Future of Secular Family Law in Israel: Classical Liberalism versus Communitarian Liberalism 17 Bar-Ilan L. Stud. 159 (2002) (Heb.); Berachyahu Lifshitz, The Garden of Delusion of “Matters of Marriage and Divorce”, 2 Mishpaha ba-Mishpat 107 (2009) (Heb.); Shlomo Dichovsky, The Rabbinical Courts and the Civil Courts – On the Friction Between Them in Family Matters, 4 Moznei Mishpat 261 (2005) (Heb.); Ruth Zafran, The Jurisdictions Race is Alive and Kicking: Rabbinical Courts Gain Power over Secular Family Courts, 43 Mishpatim 571 (2013) (Heb.)).

Religious law is at the helm in matters of marriage and divorce, but in all matters of distribution of marital property, secular law is binding. Even prior to the enactment of the Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction (Marriage and Divorce) Law, 5713-1953, the Israeli legislature enacted the Women’s Equal Rights Law, 5711-1951. Against the backdrop of this Law, the case law intervened in unequal arrangements relating to property matters between spouses that originated in the religious law (thus, for example, in light of the provision of sec. 2 of the said law, the husband’s right to the usufruct of the wife’s estate was denied – HCJ 202/57 Sidis v. President and Members of the Great Rabbinical Court [11]; and in light of this provision, the Court recognized community property – CA 253/65 Bricker v. Bricker [12], 596). Against the backdrop of the provisions of that law, the case law distinguished, over the years, between matters of marriage and divorce, and matters of marital property to which the secular law must be applied, and it gradually and consistently removed the subject of property relations between spouses from the ambit of the term “matters of marriage” (HCJ 185/72 Gur v. Jerusalem Regional Rabbinical Court [13]; CA 384/88 Zisserman v. Zisserman, 207-208, at para. 6 (hereinafter: Zisserman [14]); Lifshitz, at 678). Prof. Shifman summarized the matter: “The rights of the husband in the wife’s property have left the framework of ‘matters of marriage’ due to their essential rescission in the Women’s Equal Rights Law, 5713-1951, as interpreted by the Supreme Court” (Pinhas Shifman, Family Law in Israel vol. 1, 30-32 (1974) (Heb.)).

12.       This is the situation with respect to property in general, and to the subject of partnership in property in particular, and as stated by (then) Justice Barak in the Bavli case [4]: “The laws of partnership in property which were developed by the Supreme Court are not derived from the act of marriage, and they are not included in matters of marriage.”

The Bavli decision is a cornerstone of our law, and it continues to apply even after a quarter of a century. I would mention that in that case, the Rabbinical Court ruled that the judgments of the civil courts do not bind the rabbinical courts, which judge according to Jewish law, which does not recognize the concept of co-ownership of property. The High Court of Justice set aside the judgment, and without discussing all the reasons, the bottom line is that the community property doctrine applies in the rabbinical courts as part of the general secular law, and in matters of marital property, secular law must be applied by the rabbinical courts.

The laws of community property are the law in Israel. They are part of the law of the State. They therefore apply in every judicial tribunal in Israel. They also apply in the rabbinical courts. Make no mistake: these laws apply in the rabbinical court not because a law of the Knesset states this explicitly. These laws apply in all judicial tribunals – including religious courts – because the case law of the Supreme Court is law in Israel. In order to nullify their application in a particular judicial instance, a special legislative act that states this expressly is required. Such legislation does not exist in Israel (Bavli, at 246).

[As an aside: for our purposes, the narrow interpretation given to the ruling in Bavli and its application to the laws relating to community property is sufficient. The broad interpretation holds that a default position may be inferred from the judgment whereby the rabbinical court must apply the secular law in any matter that is not one of “personal status,” as a matter of normative coherence of a uniform, comprehensive arrangement in the various courts (for an opinion supporting a broad reading of the ruling in Bavli, see Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, Legal Pluralism in Israel: The High Court and the Rabbinical Courts Following Bavli and Lev, 20 Iyunei Mishpat 683 (1997) (Heb.) (hereinafter: Halperin-Kaddari). For criticism of the ruling in Bavli, see Berachyahu Lifshitz, Contents and Outer Shell in the Doctrine of Partnership in Property Following Bavli, 3 HaMishpat 239 (1996) (Heb.) (hereinafter: Berachyahu Lifshitz). The author also observes that the Bavli ruling can be interpreted narrowly and broadly (ibid., at 240)).

 

The Effect of Moral Fault on the Property Dispute

13.       The importance of removing the marital property dispute from matters of “marriage and divorce,” while applying the secular law, manifests itself in the subject of fault. The tendency in secular law is to sever the fault of one of the spouses from the subject of distribution of property, possibly as part of the wider trend towards no-fault divorce (on the regime of no-fault divorce when the marital bond has broken down, see: Shahar Lifshitz, I Want to Get a Divorce Now! On Civil Regulation of Divorce Law, 28 Tel Aviv U. Law Rev. 671 (2005) (Heb.); Shahar Lifshitz, Changes in Family Regulation – An Analytical and Prospective Look at the Effects of the Civil Revolution in Israeli Law, 10 L. & Business 447 (2010) (Heb.)). It seems that Amendment no. 4 to the Property Relations Law, which after many years of struggles severed the distribution of property from the termination of the marriage, only reinforces this trend. This is not so in the religious law, in which fault in general, and sexual infidelity of one of the spouses in particular, have ramifications for property matters as well. Religious law regards intimate relations outside of marriage as extremely serious, and Jewish law has invoked property rights and obligations in order to punish the one responsible for the failure of the marriage (Berachyahu Lifshitz, at 256); Yitzhak Cohen & Amal Jabarin, Relations Outside of Marriage as a Consideration in Distribution of the Family Property – A New Look at Israeli Law, 16 L. & Business 465 (2014) (Heb.) (hereinafter: Cohen & Jabarin). The authors support exacting an economic cost from the spouse guilty of extra-marital relations and in their article they review the situation in the United States on this subject; and see also Lior Mishali-Shlomai, Moral Judgment of Behavior in Laws of Marriage and Dismissal, 121-125, 211 (PhD Thesis, 2014) (Heb.)).

As stated, the trend in secular law is to sever the matter of the sexual conduct of the parties from all that concerns the property dispute between the parties, thus “saving” the parties superfluous expenses involved in hiring private investigators to prove marital infidelity. As I have had occasion to say, albeit in a different context, “naturally, the attempt to prove guilt in order to ‘gain points’ in the battle over maintenance and property matters entails invasive action that breaches the privacy of the spouses” (FA (Haifa) 740/08 A.  v. B. [54]).

Deputy President E. Rivlin discussed this in HCJ 8928/06 [3], cited in the opinion of Judge Amos:

A person should not be punished for his part in the breakdown of the relations through economic sanctions in the framework of the distribution of property between the spouses. Dissolution of the family unit is an extremely difficult, painful event. In certain cases, one of the spouses can be regarded as having greater responsibility for the breakdown of the relationship than the other spouse. However, the difficulty of the dissolution, and the fault of either of the parties, should not be addressed by way of economic sanction in the framework of distribution of the marital property. Furthermore, it is often difficult to speak in terms of “fault” in this context. Dissolution of the marriage is the result of complex circumstances, and unfaithfulness per se does not place the entire fault on one spouse alone.

14.       Let us be clear: I am not saying that the question of infidelity can never have ramifications for the property dispute between spouses, but that the matter must be examined from the perspective of the secular law for the purpose of determining whether there are grounds for applying the community property presumption or specific co-ownership in the asset. Thus, I do not rule out the possibility of cases in which long-standing infidelity will attest to the absence of a partnership between the spouses (see HCJ 3995/00 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court  [15]. That was a case involving an extra-marital affair that had lasted for 12 of the 17 years of the marriage, and the Rabbinical Court denied the claim of the wife to specific co-ownership in the apartment that had belonged to the husband prior to the marriage; and also compare the abovementioned HCJ 7940/17 [8], in which the Rabbinical Court emphasized the “short window of time in the course of which the partnership could have been created […] At the time there were already difficulties in the marital relations”). However, in the present case, it was the husband who wrote in the divorce claim, after 31 years of marriage, that “in recent months” the Petitioner has another partner. The parties also agreed that the time of the break-up for the purposes of the actuarial calculation would be the year 2013, and not prior to that.

In a long line of judgments, it was held that infidelity is liable to put an end to partnership, “but one is not punished for it retroactively by having rights in the marital property taken away” (CA 264/77 Dror v. Dror [16]. And see, similarly, Bavli [4]¸ at 255; Zisserman [14]; CA 819/94 Levi v. Levi [17], 304; HCJ 1135/02 Wasgael v. Jerusalem Great Rabbinical Court [18], 24; and also LFA 7272/10 A. v. B. [19], at para. 24 per Justice Barak-Erez, at para. 3 per Justice Hendel, and at para. 5 per Justice Melcer, which dealt with fault in the form of violent behavior on the part of the spouse, as distinct from fault in the form of an extra-marital sexual liaison). This Court reiterated this principle in the above-mentioned HCJ 8928/06, when it intervened in the judgment of the Great Rabbinical Court, which attributed weight to the infidelity of one of the spouses during the time of the marriage in order to justify departure from the rule of equal distribution of marital property as specified in the Property Relations Law.

Judge Amos mentioned the judgment in HCJ 8928/06 [3] in his opinion, citing the rule whereby “one is not punished for infidelity retroactively by having rights in the marital property taken away,” but in his view there is a difference between penalization relating to “rights which one of the parties had already acquired,” and taking into consideration the question of infidelity for the purpose of depriving rights in an asset by virtue of the intention of co-ownership. As stated, in support of his position Judge Amos referred to the judgment in LFA (TA) 13313-12-11 [53], but a careful reading of that judgment reveals that as opposed to the present case, in which the claim of infidelity relates to the last few months preceding the outbreak of the dispute, in that case the court emphasized, alongside other reasons indicating the absence of intention of co-ownership on the economic plane, that:

…there is no dispute that the respondent had not been faithful to the appellant for years. He was unfaithful to her with other women, he was registered on dating sites, and he had relationships with other women at different periods of their life together, including during the period of the renovation of the apartment. The appellant was aware of this. She held back, came to terms and forgave. The respondent promised that he would change his ways, but he relapsed.

In these circumstances, Judge Shohet found that:

…it is difficult to attribute to a spouse an intention of co-ownership with the other spouse in an “external asset”, when that other spouse does not remain faithful to his spouse, betrays her with other women and attempts to hide from her not only external assets but also joint assets, and he breaks his promise each time anew to change his ways, despite the willingness of his wife to forgive him and accept him.

Make no mistake: we have discussed the fact that general co-ownership, as well as specific co-ownership in an asset, crystallizes at a certain point in the course of marital life. Even those who hold that weight should be attributed to the guilt of a spouse in matters of property will agree that the infidelity of the spouse takes effect from that point onward, as a point in time that attests to a crisis in the spousal relations, and therefore a distinction must be drawn between property that accumulated prior to the act of betrayal and property that accumulated from the time of the betrayal and until the actual dissolution of the marriage. A severe crisis in the relationship will put an end to the partnership from that time onward and apply only to property that exists at that time” (Cohen & Jabarin, at 481, emphasis added – I.A.).

15.       Thus, contrary to the judgment in HCJ 8928/06, the Great Rabbinical Court decided to invoke religious law and to explain why, in its view, the infidelity of the Petitioner affects the present issue. This would appear to illustrate that even though the Rabbinical Court paid lip service to the secular law, the deciding factor was the wife’s infidelity, and after 30 years of marriage, it retroactively denied her the right to specific co-ownership in the residential home. In doing so, the Rabbinical Court introduced the element of fault into property matters through the front door, or at least, through the window, while actually rejecting, in practice, the doctrine of specific co-ownership in the residential home.

16.       A comment prior to concluding

As a rule, the ideal situation is one of harmony between the courts, in order to minimize, insofar as possible, what may be regarded as a brawl between the secular court and the religious court. It is this very aspiration for harmony that ought to lead to uniformity in decision-making with respect to property matters, to prevent a situation in which the substantive law in property matters is determined by the identity of the judge. This has undesirable consequences, such as dishonest incorporation of the subject of property in the divorce suit, and providing an incentive for the undesirable phenomenon of forum shopping.

The intervention of this Court in the judgments of the Great Rabbinical Court is no trivial matter. As we noted, such intervention is reserved for exceptional cases. This derives, inter alia, from the principle of comity between the courts. This Court is careful not to trespass on the domain of the rabbinical courts in halakhic matters. The rabbinical courts, too, ought not trespass on the domain of the secular law in matters of property.

17.       Finally, if my opinion is accepted, we will reverse the judgment of the Great Rabbinical Court, which would mean that the judgment of the Regional Rabbinical Court would again stand, and the Petitioner would be entitled to half the rights in the residential home. I would again emphasize that the question facing us is not whether specific co-ownership should be applied to the residential home, since opinions may differ on this matter of fact and law (see and compare LFA 2948/07 A. v. B. [20], at para. 6). The relevant question here is whether the Great Rabbinical Court applied the religious law by attributing weight to the wife’s infidelity on what was purely a question of property. In my view, the answer to this is yes, and the judgment of the Great Rabbinical Court displays a clear retreat to the situation that pertained prior to the Bavli case. Therefore, our intervention is justified.

Finally, I would point out that I am not unaware of the claim of laches in submitting the petition. In the circumstances of the case, I do not think that there is sufficient reason for dismissing the petition in limine, but I would suggest that the Petitioner not be awarded costs.

And another concluding remark: at the request of the husband and for the purpose of current execution proceedings between the parties, it is hereby clarified that for the purpose of the payment of NIS 2000 per month, as provided in an agreement between the parties in HCJ 4602/13, the date of the judgment of the Regional Rabbinical Court on Feb. 29, 2016, is the date that constitutes “the end of the proceedings in the property dispute”.

18.       After having read the opinions of my colleagues Justices D. Mintz and A. Stein, I would add some brief comments:

            a.         In response to the opening comment of my colleague Justice Stein, I would explain that my judgment does not represent any erosion of the law pertaining to the scope of the intervention of this Court in the judgments of the rabbinical courts. The law remains as it was, and my judgment is merely its application to the circumstances of this particular case.

            b.         I completely agree with my colleague Justice Stein that the Bavli case did not introduce anything new with respect to the application of the community property presumption, and that its innovation lay in the fact that following that ruling, it became clear that the rabbinical courts must decide according to the secular law on property matters. I will again refer the reader to para. 12 of my opinion, where I quoted from the Bavli case and referred to articles addressing the question of whether the judgment should be given a narrow or a broad interpretation.

            c.         In para. 8 of my opinion, I mentioned the judgment in the Beham case. The quotation brought by my colleague from the Bavli case (para. 12, near the end of his opinion) only explains how then Deputy President Barak decided to deal with this case by distinguishing it, through the determination that underlying the judgment in Beham was the agreement of the parties,  which may also be interpreted as agreement to the application of Jewish law (and see Halperin-Kaddari, at 685, note 4).

            d.         As I emphasized in para. 7 of my opinion, in normal circumstances, even if I thought that the Great Rabbinical Court was mistaken in its application of the law applying to specific co-ownership in the residential home, I would not tend to intervene in its judgment. However, in the present case, according to the approach of the husband, too, the alleged infidelity of the Petitioner occurred in the last months of the 31 years of their marriage. Therefore, it is hard to understand how this infidelity can be included in the basket of indicators and facts that the court examines in deciding whether specific co-ownership in the residential home had been created over the years. The weight given by the Great Rabbinical Court to the wife’s infidelity in the present case (in the category of “shameful conduct”, in the words of Judge Nahari), is therefore incompatible with the ruling of this Court, whereby rights cannot be nullified retroactively. But this is what the Rabbinical Court did in the present case, ignoring the ruling that it is secular law that is binding in the matter of the distribution of property. In this, the Rabbinical Court acted contrary to the ruling in Bavli, and thus overstepped its authority.

e.  There are those who hold that specific co-ownership in the residential home that was brought into the marriage is not based solely on the intention of the spouse, and I refer to the connective model mentioned in para. 6 of my opinion and Lifshitz’s article mentioned there.

f.   In all events, even if we analyze the doctrine of specific co-ownership from the perspective of the intention of co-ownership, I would clarify that I too am prepared to assume that in certain cases, infidelity on the part of one of the spouses could be one of the relevant facts when the court is assessing whether specific co-ownership has been created in the residential home that was brought into the marriage (see para. 14 of my opinion). Therefore, I cannot be accused of ignoring the wish of the spouse who brought the asset into the marriage that his spouse not be a partner in the asset in the event of infidelity.

Like my colleague, I too am of the opinion that as a rule, where it has been proved that the “betrayed” spouse did not intend from the outset to share his property with the “betraying” spouse (whether in general, or in the case of infidelity), this intention must be respected. On the other hand, it is not possible to carry out a “retooling” and to say that once the spouse committed an adulterous act, we must assume that the “betrayed” spouse did not intend, from the outset, to share his property with her. Such a determination is flawed in that it begs the question.

In the present case, there is no indication that the husband wished not to share his property with the Petitioner in the case of infidelity (I would mention that the Regional Rabbinical Court reached a completely different conclusion with respect to the husband’s intention, as reflected in his own statements).    The practical ruling of the Great Rabbinical Court is that in any case of infidelity, it may be determined that there was no intention of partnership. My colleague Justice Stein wishes to maintain neutrality in the attitude of the Court on this subject, however, the practical significance of his opinion is that whenever a rabbinical court deals with the issue of specific co-ownership in an asset, it will be possible to introduce the element of infidelity as proof of the lack of intention of partnership. From here, it is only a short step to the phenomenon – which even my colleague rejects – of bringing evidence about acts of infidelity and adultery of one of the spouses in the framework of a dispute concerning property, and where would this land us?!

           

Justice D. Mintz

Although I accept fairly substantial parts of the opinion of my colleague Justice I. Amit, I cannot concur in the result, and in my opinion the petition must be denied.

1.         A study of the judgment of the Great Rabbinical Court – with its three opinions of the members of the panel – reveals that it was based on factual determinations whereby co-ownership of the asset that was the object of the petition (hereinafter: the asset) was not proved. The Great Rabbinical Court reached this conclusion due to the absence of “additional supporting evidence” to prove the partnership (per Judge Amos); or due to the absence of an “assessment of an intention for co-ownership or giving” (per Judge Nahari); or due to the absence of “any intention of co-ownership” (per Judge Almaliah). Indeed, the matter of the alleged infidelity of the Petitioner was manifest in the opinions of Judges Amos and Nahari, and Judge Nahari even ruled expressly that “the act of infidelity creates an intention of non-partnership of the owner of the asset vis-à-vis the person who was unfaithful to him, and from this a conclusion may be derived in respect of our matter.” However, this is not sufficient in order to justify the intervention of this Court in the judgment. I will explain.

2.         There is no dispute that in this case, the property relations regime that applies to the couple is that of the Spouses (Property Relations) Law, 5733-1973 (hereinafter: the Property Relations Law or the Law). According to this regime, during the course of the marriage, there is separation between the assets of the spouses, whereas upon the termination of the marriage, the couple becomes subject to an obligation to balance the value of the assets between them, or in other words – to carry out a “balancing of resources” (CA 1915/91 Yaacobi v. Yaacobi [21], 550 (hereinafter: Yaacobi); LCA 8672/00 Abu Rumi v. Abu Rumi [5], 179 (hereinafter: Abu Rumi)).

3.         Section 5(a) of the Property Relations Law provides that upon the dissolution of the marriage (including its termination due to the death of one of the spouses), each spouse is entitled to half the value of the total assets of the couple. Under sec. 8 of the Law, the court may set a different date for executing the balancing (a date which is sometimes called “the date of the breach”; and see: HCJ 2642/08 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court Jerusalem [22]; LFA 2045/15 A. v. B. [23]). However, one of the assets that is excepted from the balancing of resources under sec. 5(a)(1) of the Law is an asset that one of the spouses owned on the eve of the marriage, or that he received as a gift or as an inheritance during the marriage. Section 5(a) of the Law must be read together with sec. 4, which provides that contracting the marriage or its existence per se does not affect the property of the spouses by conferring upon one of them rights in the property of the other, or by imposing upon him liability for the obligations of the other (LFA 1398/11 A. v. B. ) (hereinafter: LFA 1398/11 [2])).

4.         In Yaacobi [21], there was disagreement in this Court on the question of whether the community property presumption applied to a couple who married after the entry into force of the Property Relations Law. The prevailing view was that just as spouses who married prior to the effective date of the Law (Jan.1, 1974) are subject to the single, special property relations regime of “the community property presumption” (which means that when a couple leads a normal life-style that reflects joint effort, the property that has accumulated in the course of the marriage will be owned jointly. This partnership is inferred from the circumstances of their life together and from the intentions attributed to the couple. The presumption relies on a contractual construction relating to an implied agreement between the parties, whereby they are equal partners in rights. And see: CA 300/64 Berger v. Director of Estate Tax [24]; CA 253/65 Bricker v. Bricker [12]; CA 135/68 Barelli v. Director of Estate Tax Jerusalem [25]; CA 595/69 Efta v. Efta [26]). Couples who married after the effective date, are governed only by the resource balancing arrangement, and the community property presumption does not apply to their affairs (HCJ 1727/07 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court, para. 6 (hereinafter: HCJ 1727/07 [27])).  Accordingly, as a rule, a spouse who is subject to the resource balancing arrangement may not claim ownership in any of the property of the other spouse, or in a particular asset, on the contention that the community property applies to the property or to the particular asset.

5.         Notwithstanding the above, it has been ruled that the spouses are not barred from claiming ownership of assets by virtue of the general law, i.e. regular property law and contract law. For this purpose, and for the purpose of recognition of co-ownership of a particular asset, including the residential home that was brought into the marriage by one of the partners, one must bring evidence of factual circumstances additional to the very existence of extended marital life together (Abu Rumi [5], at 183). The question of whether the intention of specific co-ownership was proved, as stated, is a factual question which must be proved by the person claiming it, and it depends on the circumstances (LFA 4545/09 A.  v. B. [28], para. 6; LFA 2948/07 A. v. B. [20]; LFA 10734/06 A. v. B. [29]; CA 8128/06 Levinson v. Arnon [30], para. 23; LFA 2991/13 A. v. B. [31]; LFA 7181/12 A. v. B. [32]; LFA 5939/04 A. v. B. [33]). It will be examined in accordance with an assessment of the wishes of the parties, their express or implied agreement and their life circumstances in relation to the specific asset. In this framework it was ruled that one of the considerations must be whether the asset is registered in the name of one of the spouses, and that in view of the maxim that “the burden of proof is on the claimant,” the burden falls upon the other spouse to prove that he is entitled to rights in that asset. The existence of a long marriage per se is insufficient, and in this context one must take into account, inter alia, the conduct of the parties and the nature of the monetary investments of the unregistered spouse in the asset (LFA 1477/13 A. v. B. [34]).

6.         The residential home is said to be the “jewel in the crown of the community property presumption” (CA 806/93 Hadari v. Hadari [35], 690), and the nature of the asset itself affects the evidentiary base that is required to ground the community property presumption (CA 3002/93 Ben-Zvi v. Siton [36], 13). This is true today as well, after the “community property presumption” regime has almost disappeared and we are now almost entirely under a regime of “resource balancing” under the Law. Accordingly, it has been ruled that a lesser amount of proof is required to prove co-ownership of family assets in general, and of the residential home in particular, which is the main asset of the family (CA 741/82 Fichtenbaum v. Fichtenbaum [37], 26; for an extended discussion, see: CA 4306/12 A. v. Bank Leumi Israel Ltd.  [38]).

7.         And now to the matter at hand. My colleague Justice Amit is also of the view that extended infidelity of either of the spouses may well attest to the lack of partnership between the two, including in their joint residential home (para. 14 of his opinion). Infidelity can constitute a circumstance that undermines the community property presumption between spouses (and see: CA 264/77 Dror v. Dror (hereinafter: Dror [16]), which is very logical. However, as my colleague pointed out, just as the crystallization of the partnership is assessed along the timeline of married life, so too, the circumstances that indicate the absence of partnership are examined along the timeline of married life, and “one is not punished for them retroactively” (see Dror, ibid., at 832 and see: HCJ 9734/03 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court [39]). In other words, the infidelity of one of the spouses is not sufficient to nullify the partnership that crystallized in the assets, if it crystallized prior to the infidelity.

8.         Prima facie, in the present case the spouses lived in harmony for many years, and under the law there is no justification for allowing the alleged, later infidelity of the Petitioner to nullify the partnership in assets that had crystallized previously. In this case, however, I cannot agree with the position of my colleague Justice Amit that the three Judges of the Great Rabbinical Court included infidelity among the aggregate considerations for denying co-ownership of the asset, and that it was, in fact, this consideration that tipped the scales against the Petitioner. In my view, from the words of Judges Amos and Almaliah and their reasons, we learn that this conclusion was reached independent of the infidelity. Thus, although Judge Amos discussed Jewish law, he concluded that co-ownership of the asset had not crystallized even before he discussed the Petitioner’s infidelity. In his written opinion he even stressed that reference to the infidelity was in addition to and beyond what was required, and the discussion of the “halakhic aspect”, as he defined it, was incidental. Judge Almaliah, too, ruled in accordance with the secular law, and in his opinion he makes no mention at all of the Petitioner’s infidelity among his considerations for denying co-ownership of the asset. Therefore, although Judge Nahari ruled that the act of infidelity creates “an intention of non-partnership of the owner of the asset vis-à-vis the one who was unfaithful to him” (reasoning a fortiori), it cannot be said that the conclusion of the majority in the Rabbinical Court is tainted by the consideration of circumstances that are not relevant to the matter, or that the Rabbinical Court applied religious law to existing financial relations between the couple. Therefore, the Rabbinical Court did not act ultra vires in its judgment.

9.         Since the Rabbinical Court did not act ultra vires, and given the limited scope of the intervention of this Court, when sitting as the High Court of Justice, in the decisions of the rabbinical courts (see: sections 15(c) and 15(d)(4) of Basic Law: The Judiciary; HCJ 9812/17 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court [6]; HCJ 2617/18 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court [7]; HCJ 1996/16 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court [40]; HCJ 3689/15 A. v. Tel Aviv Regional Rabbinical Court [41]; HCJ 3394/18 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court Jerusalem [42]; HCJ 3042/18 A. v. Regional Rabbinical Court [43]; HCJ 4091/18 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court [44]), even if I assume that the Rabbinical Court erred in its application of the law, this case does not fall within the scope of those cases that justify the intervention of this Court.

10.       Parenthetically, though not necessarily of marginal importance: When Judge Amos turned to a discussion of the halakhic aspect, he ruled that the validity of the interpretation of the Rabbinical Court in relation to co-ownership of property under the Property Relations Law and the existing case law of the Court, is of equal value to that of any other judicial instance. No one, I believe, would dispute this. However, Judge Amos went on, perhaps beyond what was necessary, and ruled that the Rabbinical Court must provide substance for its interpretation according to Jewish law and not according to the general law. He would appear to be mistaken in this (see: HCJ 1000/92 Bavli v. Great Rabbinical Court [4]). Nevertheless, I will briefly address the position of Jewish law as discussed in the opinion of Judge Amos.

11.       Under Jewish law, the financial obligation resulting from one spouse being a partner in the property of the other spouse must be based on a “known custom” by which the spouse undertook the obligation. In support of this, Judge Amos cited Maimonides (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Marital Relations 16:7-9), and also quoted from Responsa of R. Eliahu Mizrahi 16 (Constantinople, 1450-1526, also famous for his commentary on Rashi’s commentary on the Bible). Due to their importance, the full text quoted by Judge Amos from the said responsum appears below:

For it is not within the power of custom to bind someone in a monetary matter if he objects in principle to that custom. We will not compel someone to surrender money that is in his possession on the basis of a contested custom. This is in contrast to matters of ritual law, in relation to which no one can object to a valid custom, and they will be bound by that custom, regardless of their wishes on the matter …. This, as we examine whether that local custom is clear and unambiguous to all the residents, and then we find that the transaction was made on the condition that it would comport with local custom, and it is as if he had expressly stipulated to that effect, and he must carry out that condition, and not by reason of it being the custom observed by others. Hence, even if one of the parties now strenuously objects and says “I never had any such intention and never agreed to that”,  we nevertheless rule that the transaction was made in accordance with the custom, … However, if the custom in question was not clear and unambiguous to all the townspeople, then we say that he may never have heard of the custom, or had heard of it but never agreed to abide by it. Therefore we are concerned with a doubt, and we do not remove money from a person’s possession on the basis of a doubt.

What this means is that if there is a custom that is well-known to all the inhabitants of the town, this custom may not be refuted, and there is a type of conclusive presumption that everyone acts in accordance with custom, and a person may be required to pay out money if the custom so demands in those circumstances. As opposed to this, in the case of a custom that is not familiar to all the people of the town, the assumption is that the person might not have heard about it, or alternatively, that he heard about it but did not act according to it. It is a matter of doubt, and we do not take away a person’s money on the basis of a doubt.

12.       In view of the above, Judge Amos ruled that even if we decide that money is to be taken away by virtue of “state custom,” there must be a clear intention of partnership, and the burden of proof falls on the other spouse by virtue of the maxim, “the burden of proof is on the claimant.” This is because state custom only raises a doubt, and where there is a doubt, the asset should be deemed to be owned by the person in possession of it. In our case, therefore, according to Judge Amos’s approach, there was no justification, under Jewish law, to determine that the asset was co-owned, and to deprive Respondent 3 – the Petitioner’s ex-husband – of his half of the property for her benefit.

13.       First, allow me to say that from the above it may be inferred that it was not the infidelity that underlay the main thrust of the decision of Judge Amos according to Jewish law, but rather the power of “state custom” – in the form of the financial regime under the Law or under the “community property presumption” – to determine the question of ownership of the asset. Secondly, the present case is not similar to the proof that was adduced, inasmuch as the decision in the present case is not based on “state custom,” as expressed in the community property presumption, against which Judge Amos spoke out, but rather it is a decision based on the general law and an examination of the evidence on the merits.

14.       As stated above, the applicable property relations regime between the Petitioner and Respondent no. 3 in the present case is that of resource balancing under the Property Relations Law. As such, co-ownership in the asset does not derive from the community property presumption, but from the general law (and see the different view of my colleague Justice Amit in CA 7750/10 Ben Giat v. Hachsharat Hayishuv Insurance Ltd. [45]. This, as stated above, involves determining the intention of specific co-ownership of the spouse in the asset, with the Petitioner bearing the burden of showing the existence of the partnership. In other words, according to both the general law and Jewish law, it is the Petitioner who bears the burden of proving the existence of an intention of co-ownership of the asset, and in the case of a doubt, the entire asset should be assigned to Respondent no. 3. It would be different, indeed, if the Petitioner’s rights in the asset derived from the community property presumption, for then the paths of the two legal systems might diverge (on the force of civil legislation according to Jewish law, see: R. Mordekhai Eliahu, The Attitude of Halakhah to the Law of the State, 3 Tehumin 242 (5742-1982) (Heb.); R. Dr. Ron Kleinman, Secular Law in the State – ‘State Custom’? 32 Tehumin 261 (5772-2012) (Heb.); R. Asher Weiss, Are State Laws Valid by Virtue of Local Custom? 34 Tehumin 171 (5774-2014) (Heb.); on the adoption of laws and regulations according to the doctrine of “The King’s Law”, see: “Dina de-Malkhuta Dina” and “Community Regulations” in  Ido Rechnitz, Medina ke-Halakhah 190 (2018) (Heb)).

15.       Moreover, the above also emerges from what Maimonides writes (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Marital Relations 16:9), quoted by Judge Amos, as follows:

But if this stipulation was not included in the text of the ketubah, but they simply married, if the husband knew of this ordinance of the Geonim, the woman may collect. If he did not, or we are unsure of it, we deliberate at length concerning this matter. For an ordinance of the Geonim does not have force when it was not explicitly stated in the conditions of the ketubah… (emphasis added – D.M.).

In other words, if there is a doubt as to whether the custom has become widespread, and as to the husband’s knowledge of the custom, the rabbis “deliberate at length,” i.e., they investigate the circumstances of the case thoroughly (and see: R. Adin Even Israel Steinsaltz,  Maimonides with Commentary (2nd edition, 2017) (Heb.)). This is also the decided law in the general law, i.e., that the circumstances of the case are investigated thoroughly as to whether in fact, despite the apparent ownership of the disputed asset by one of the spouses, the other spouse also has rights in it. Indeed, in the case cited by Maimonides, too, the reference is to a custom of which the spouse may not be aware. However, when in the present case we refer to proving the existence of co-ownership in accordance with the general law and the laws of evidence, it would seems that Jewish law and general law lead to the same place, where the burden of proof falls upon the one who claims co-ownership of the asset that is the property of the other spouse.

I will comment, parenthetically, that Maimonides’ above-cited position was not adopted in practice (Shulhan Arukh, Even ha-Ezer 100:1; and see Beit Shmuel, ad loc.).

In conclusion, therefore, I do not find that the Rabbinical Court acted ultra vires, or that it concluded purely on the basis of Jewish law that the Petitioner did not prove co-ownership of the asset as claimed. Therefore, if my opinion be accepted, the petition will be denied.

 

Justice A. Stein

1.         In the disagreement between my colleagues Justices I. Amit and D. Mintz, I find myself concurring with Justice Mintz. My disagreement with the opinion of Justice Amit stems from the reasons specified below. In practice, Justice Amit is seeking to change our long-standing rule of not intervening in the judgments of the rabbinical court except in limited, defined cases, when one of the following flaws is involved: (1) ultra vires; (2) clear departure from provisions of law that are directed at the religious court, which can be seen as acting ultra vires, or as an error of law that is clear and evident on the face of the judgment, which is equivalent to acting ultra vires (see: HCJ 7/83 Bayers v. Haifa Regional Rabbinical Court [45; HCJ 187/54 Barriya v Kadi of the Moslem Sharia Court, Akko [46]; HCJ 202/57 Sidis v. President and Members of the Great Rabbinical Court [11]; and the article by the late Professor Menashe Shawa, Is the Religious Court’s Deviation from or Disregard of the Provisions of Secular Law Directed at it in Particular Equivalent to Acting “Ultra Vires”? 25 Hapraklit 299 (1972-1973) (Heb.)); (3) breach of the principles of natural justice; and (4) this Court reaches the conclusion that a Petitioner ought to be given equitable relief that is not within the authority of another court. This last norm is based on the provision of sec. 15(d)(4) of Basic Law: The Judiciary (hereinafter: the Law), which vests in us the power “to order religious courts to hear a particular matter within their jurisdiction or to refrain from hearing or continue hearing a particular matter not within their jurisdiction [….]”, and on the provisions of sec. 15(c) of the Law, which provides that the High Court of Justice “[…] shall hear matters in which it deems it necessary to grant relief for the sake of justice […].”  The supra-legislature that enacted Basic Law: The Judiciary did not grant us the power to interfere in the substance of the judgments and decisions of the religious courts, and we have reiterated this principle countless times (see, e.g., HCJ 8638/03 Amir v. Great Rabbinical Court Jerusalem [47], para. 10 and the references there; HCJ 3467/14 A. v. Haifa Regional Rabbinical Court [48]; HCJ 2443/15 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court Jerusalem [49], para. 7 and the references there; HCJ 9812/17 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court [6], para. 13 and the references there; and HCJ 2617/18 A. v. Great Rabbinical Court [7], para. 10 and the references there). This is a fundamentally important principle by which we preserve the balance sought by the legislature between the general law and the religious law on matters of marriage, divorce and their monetary ramifications. This balance should be maintained and preserved unchanged. I will already emphasize that our case turns on the two first exceptions to the rule against intervention, and therefore I will discuss them alone.

2.         In my view, applying this basic rule in the present case presents no difficulty. Clearly, Respondent no. 1 in HCJ 9780/17, the Great Rabbinical Court, did not exceed its authority in deciding on the appeal of the judgment of the Haifa Regional Rabbinical Court as it saw fit in the circumstances of the case. This power was vested in the rabbinical courts – the regional courts and the Great Rabbinical Court – after the Petitioner and Respondent no. 3 in the above case before the High Court, a wife and husband who divorced by agreement (hereinafter: the wife, the husband or the couple, as relevant), agreed to settle their financial affairs in the rabbinical court (as preserved in the agreement on which this Court issued a consent decree: see the decision of March 3, 2013 given in the framework of HCJ 4602/13). Similarly, I found no clearly evident, facial legal error in the judgment of the Great Rabbinical Court (hereinafter: the Rabbinical Court) that would require our intervention.

3.         The judgment of the Rabbinical Court dealt with the house in which the couple had lived with their children over the course of many years of marriage (hereinafter: the house). The plot of land and the funds to construct the house were brought into the marriage by the husband, as determined by the Rabbinical Court, and the ownership remained registered in his name alone. The wife claimed the existence of an equal partnership in the rights in the house. The husband argued that the house was and remained entirely his, and the Rabbinical Court agreed with the husband. Among the considerations negating the existence of an equal-rights partnership in the house, the Rabbinical Court included the fact that the wife, while still married to the husband, had an affair with another man. Justice Amit believes that such a consideration represents a departure from the provisions of the law and is ultra vires.  My opinion is different. I believe that consideration of this fact as part of the entire set of facts relevant to the question of implied partnership is not a clear, evident mistake on the face of the judgment, and it certainly does not constitute an ultra vires act. In the absence of an explicit agreement, the question of whether co-ownership of the asset exists in any particular case is a factual one (as explained in the opinion of my colleague Justice Mintz), and it is possible to view it as a mixed question of law and fact. In order to answer this question either positively or negatively, the judge  must establish factual findings concerning the existence or absence of an equal-rights partnership between the couple in the specific asset under discussion – and we do not intervene in such findings. In the present case, the Rabbinical Court ruled as a matter of law and a matter of fact that the couple had not established an equal-rights partnership in the house. I will freely admit that I am not comfortable with this ruling, as the evidence shows that the husband and wife lived in this house for many years, raised their children in it, and that their family life was, for the most part, unremarkable (though not without friction). But the point is that my opinion on this is not what matters, since the authority to determine the facts of the case and to decide whether these establish an equal-rights partnership in relation to the house is not vested in me. Such authority lies in the hands of the Regional Rabbinical Court, as the first instance, and with the Great Rabbinical Court, as the final instance. This Court only examines whether the boundaries of this authority were breached, and once it finds that that is not the case, it must end the task assigned to it in section 15(d)(4) of Basic Law: The Judiciary. All that remains for me is to concur in the opinion of my colleague Justice Mintz, confirm the judgment of the Rabbinical Court, and deny the petition.

4.         Another matter on which I do not agree with Justice Amit is the ramifications of HCJ 100/92 Bavli v. Great Rabbinical Court [4] (hereinafter: the Bavli case) for the law regulating the property relations between spouses. In my opinion, the Bavli case does not help the Petitioner. That ruling did not introduce any great innovation concerning the application of the community property presumption to specific assets that are not defined in the Spouses (Property Relations) Law, 5733-1973 (hereinafter: the Property Relations Law) as being subject to balancing, and in respect of which there is no explicit agreement between the spouses. On this subject, the Bavli case only reiterated the principles that had already been established in several judgments (see: CA 253/65 Bricker v. Bricker [12] ; CA 300/64 Berger v. Director of Estate Tax [24]; CA 135/68 Barelli v. Director of Estate Tax, Jerusalem [25]). These judgments recognized the existence of an equal-rights partnership in assets by virtue of an implied agreement between the spouses, and such an agreement – like every agreement – might relate to the entire property of the spouses, or it might relate to full or partial partnership in only one asset. The Property Relations Law established its rules for balancing in relation to the property accumulated in the course of the couple’s marriage, as part of their joint life’s enterprise (see secs. 5-10 of the Property Relations Law). In doing so, the law limited in practice the scope of application of the community property presumption: this presumption could no longer apply to property subject to balancing, the rights in which are regulated by the law. The application of the presumption was confined, therefore, to other assets, those which could not be balanced, as long as an implied partnership agreement could be proved in respect of them. The Bavli case and other judgments that followed it (see LCA 8672/00 Abu Rumi v. Abu Rumi [5]; HCJ 5416/09 A. v. B. [50], para. 13 and the references there (2010); and Prof. Shahar Lifshitz’s article, Family and Property Relations: Challenges and Tasks Subsequent to the 4th Amendment of Property Relations Law, 1 Hukim 227 (2009) (Heb.) ratified this change in the community property presumption.

5.         The great change wrought by the Bavli ruling was the repeal of the old rule whereby “the law follows the judge” (see: HCJ 323/81 Vilozny v. Great Rabbinical Court Jerusalem [51]). This rule allowed a rabbinical court to decide on property matters that were properly brought before it in accordance with religious law, disregarding the general law (see: Benzion Schereschewsky and Michael Corinaldi, Family Law vol. 1, 426-37 (New Edition, 2015) (Heb.)). The Bavli ruling turned this rule on its head in establishing that it is the judge who must follow the law. Accordingly, it was ruled that the rabbinical courts must rule on property matters in accordance with the community property presumption as defined in the general law and its contractual foundations. This ruling completed the revolution in the financial regime of the laws of marriage and divorce. Prior to the Bavli case, significant parts of this subject were governed by the laws of the person’s personal status, which dictated the financial consequences of marriage and divorce for a couple. The Bavli case transferred the entire financial aspect of the laws of marriage and divorce from a regime of status to a regime of contract that allows a couple to act as an autonomous unit and determine the financial consequences of marriage and divorce by themselves and for themselves, subject to the protections against abuse provided in the Property Relations Law and in the general laws of contract (see secs. 5A(d), 22 and 12 of the Property Relations Law; and secs. 12, 15, 17, 18, 39, and 61(b) of the Contracts (General Part) Law, 5733-1973).

6.         This transition found expression in the rules that apply in the absence of a written property agreement between couples. The first and most fundamental of these rules was laid down in sec. 4 of the Property Relations Law, according to which: “The contraction or existence of the marriage shall not by itself affect any ownership rights of the spouses, confer on one of them rights in property of the other or impose on one of them liability for debts of the other.” Accordingly, sec. 5(a)(1) of the law provides that “property which they had immediately before the marriage or received by way of gift or inheritance during the marriage” will be excepted from the resource balancing that applies to property accumulated during the time of the marriage. I will call this rule the “preservation of rights in past assets.” The second rule states that a spouse may waive the preservation of his past rights and make his spouse a partner in those assets. This rule requires the court to identify and enforce the unwritten and unarticulated agreements concerning partnership in assets that the couple formulated between themselves and on which they acted in the course of their life together. In applying this rule, the courts usually decide according to the principle that where a positive plea is met by an uncertain one, the positive plea prevails”” (see: TB Bava Kama  118a): in the absence of evidence that clearly shows that the spouse in possession of the past asset agreed to include his spouse as an equal-rights partner in that asset, the asset will remain entirely in the hands of its original owner. This rule has been applied, in most cases, in relation to real property (a house or an apartment) in which the couple lived and maintained a common household until their relationship broke down, as happened in the present case. In such cases, as determined elsewhere by my colleague Justice Amit, long years of marital life in the residential home registered on the name of one of the spouses is not sufficient: the spouse who claims co-ownership of property that is not his must present evidence of the intention of partnership that constitutes “additional supporting evidence” (see: LFA 1398/11 A. v. B.[2]; and LFA 1477/13 A. v. B. [34]).

7.         The transition from a regime of status to one of contract established an important principle that did not receive sufficient emphasis in the opinion of my colleague Justice Amit. I am referring to the autonomy of the spousal relationship (a value that is of prime importance, and that sometimes clashes unavoidably with social equality: see James S. Fishkin, Justice, Equal Opportunity and the Family 30-43, 64-65 (1984)). Spousal relationships are an individual matter, not only on the emotional and intimate plane, but also regarding property. Every spousal relationship exists by virtue of the practices and agreements that the spouses establish between themselves on the basis of their beliefs in regard to their desired way of life. Agreements between spouses concerning their individual personal property, and the extent to which the other spouse may share in that property are not, therefore, uniform. Agreements on property matters established in a relationship between one particular couple are not similar – and need not be similar – to the agreements that are formed in another couple’s relationship. Couples are permitted to live their lives together in a religious, secular, patriarchal, or feminist format, or some other format that incorporates values and world views of all types. Similarly, they may adopt whatever model of conjugal relations they may desire, which may or may not include sexual freedom. All these are private matters that are not our concern. Autonomy of the relationship between couples requires us to adopt a neutral, equal attitude to all lifestyles between couples, and all property arrangements, as long as no unlawful exploitation is involved.

8.         As such, the question whether the registered, sole owner of a particular asset, who brought that asset into the marriage, waived the rule concerning preservation of past assets and made his spouse an equal-rights partner in the asset, is an individual question, the answer to which (in the absence of explicit acquisition) is found in the lifestyle and the beliefs of the couple. This is, therefore, a question regarding which which it is not possible – nor desirable – to lay down  comprehensive rules that are oblivious to the beliefs, values and circumstances of the intimate relations of the couple. Every couple may act in accordance with its beliefs, and it is in accordance with those beliefs that it will distribute – or not distribute – the personal property of each of the spouses. We will not replace a spouse’s beliefs with our own. When considering the question of partnership, secular and rabbinical courts are therefore obliged to infer the existence or absence of an equal-rights partnership in a disputed asset from the patterns of the couple’s lives and their mutual expectations. These expectations may certainly include the condition of sexual fidelity between the couple as a sine qua non for the agreement of one spouse to share his property equally with the other. Such a condition, insofar as it exists, must be respected and enforced by the secular and religious courts.

9.         Justice Amit now suggests that we lay down a comprehensive rule according to which acts of “infidelity” cannot serve as a consideration in decisions concerning the partnership of one spouse in the property of the other. He is of the opinion that the fact that one spouse was not faithful to the marital bond and was found to engage in “infidelity” is not relevant to the question of co-ownership. Justice Amit explains that acts of “infidelity” may be taken into account only in extreme cases, when their frequency attests to the destruction of the spousal unit, which could – in other circumstances – have served as a basis for implied co-ownership of the disputed property. In his opinion, this rule is necessary so that considerations of moral guilt will not feature in decisions that are intended to settle property disputes between couples, including decisions regarding the question of co-ownership such as that which we now confront. The reason for this is simple: the “unfaithful” or “adulterous” spouse should not be punished by deprivation of his property.

10.       I agree with Justice Amit that our law does not permit depriving property from a spouse who has been “unfaithful” to the other spouse. There is no dispute about this principle. For this reason, I would not permit evidence to be brought about acts of “unfaithfulness,” “adultery” and so forth, in the framework of a discussion of a monetary dispute that turns on property that is recognized as being subject to balancing under the Property Relations Law. Property and rights belonging to either of the couple – the husband and the wife, in the present case – are his, whether he remained faithful to his spouse or whether he committed an act of “betrayal.” His property cannot be taken away from him in any case, and his property includes conclusive, unconditional partnership in an asset that formerly belonged in full to his spouse. But the problem is that this is not the question that faced this Court in the present case. The question facing us turned on giving and not on taking. The question that was decided, as it was decided by the Rabbinical Court, is only this: can one infer from the conduct of this couple in the course of their marital life that the husband agreed to make his wife a partner, unconditionally, in the rights in the house, where the plot on which it was built and the funds for its construction were brought by him into the marriage, and which remains registered in his name as owner? This is therefore a matter of examining the existence of a grant of a right that the wife did not acquire for herself due to her marriage to the husband per se (see, again, secs. 4 and 5(a)(1) of the Property Relations Law), and not with taking away the wife’s property due to an act of “betrayal” or “adultery.” Whether such a right has or has not been granted is a matter of empirical fact, and not of guilt, punishment, justice or other consideration in the realm of norms, as distinct from facts. On this matter, the intention of the spouse who owns the asset is of the utmost importance (see CA 595/69 Efta v. Efta [26]; and CA 630/79 Lieberman v. Lieberman [52]). This intention might indicate a lack of desire to make the “betraying” spouse a partner in the asset, and we are obliged respect and enforce these intentions, too. As stated, this obligation exists by virtue of the transition to a contractual regime and the principle of autonomy of the relationship between couples, which may, as we have said, be religious, secular, patriarchal, feminist, puritan or liberal according to the couple’s choice.

11.       And note: a court (or rabbinical tribunal) that reaches the conclusion that the intention of partnership was nullified due to an act of “betrayal” or “adultery” of the other spouse is not punishing that other spouse. In these cases, the court decides that the intention of partnership was nullified as a matter of fact and not as a matter of guilt and punishment. In so deciding, the court is maintaining neutrality in its attitude to the different patterns of marital life and relationships as required by the principle of autonomy. The principle that Justice Amit proposes that we adopt does not maintain neutrality, for it negates the wishes of the owner of the property not to share his property with his spouse in any case of infidelity. Such a rule would accord priority to one model of faithfulness and property relations between couples over other models, and I cannot concur in this.

12.       I would like to add that an implied agreement, which as we have said, is derived from the way of life chosen by the couple, may also provide that a grant of an equal-rights partnership in the property of one spouse will be void in the event of “betrayal.” This transpires from the words of (then) Deputy President A. Barak in the Bavli case [4] (at 250-51) concerning the significance of another important judgment, handed down in HCJ 609/92 Beham v. Great Rabbinical Court of Appeals [9]. In that case, the husband sought to cancel half the ownership rights in the apartment that his parents had given his wife, after they bought the apartment with their money in order that the couple should live in it, and registered the other half of the rights in his name. The reason for this was the sexual relations that the wife had with another man while still married to the husband. The apartment itself was sold, and the couple used the consideration in order to purchase another apartment, which was also registered in the names of the husband and the wife in equal shares. The Great Rabbinical Court, to which the parties turned by virtue of a jurisdiction agreement, ruled in favor of the husband. The wife petitioned the High Court of Justice, and her petition was denied. This Court ruled that on the basis of an assessment of the wishes of the parties, the wife received from the husband’s parents a conditional gift, and the condition was that she should be faithful to her husband (see ibid. at 293-94). (Then) Deputy President Barak justified this outcome, saying as follows:

It appears to me that underlying the Beham case lies the fact that the parties turned to the Rabbinical Court by agreement.  […] Such agreement may possibly be interpreted as agreement to the application of Jewish law to the gift. Moreover, Justice Elon treated the entire dispute as a dispute over the interpretation of a contract, noting that under the secular law, too, the assessment of the intentions of the parties may well be interpreted as indicating a conditional gift.

13.       It is time to move from the general to the specific. As my colleague Justice Mintz explained in paras. 1 and 8 of his opinion, two of the three judges of the Rabbinical Court decided against the wife on the question of co-ownership of the house, after examining the whole set of relations between the couple from the aspect of an implied agreement. This set included the act of “infidelity” of the wife as a consideration acting to negate or nullify the intention of the husband to include her as an equal-rights partner in the house, which as we have said, was built on a plot owned by the husband prior to the marriage and from funds that he brought into the marriage. For the reasons I have elaborated above, and by virtue of the rule “where a positive plea is met by an uncertain one, the positive plea prevails”, the Rabbinical Court was authorized to include this matter among its considerations. I fear that the Rabbinical Court gave the matter too much weight, but this fear has no bearing, as judicial review of the judgments of the religious courts by the High Court of Justice is confined in principle to the question of competence and to correcting fundamental errors in the process. The Rabbinical Court ruled as it saw fit, within the boundaries of its authority. Its decision does not display any facial error in law, let alone a clear, evident error that would be the equivalent of acting ultra vires

14.       Therefore, like by colleague Justice Mintz, I am of the opinion that this petition should be denied.

 

Decided in accordance with the opinions of Justices D. Mintz and A. Stein, Justice I. Amit dissenting.

Given this day, 10 Kislev 5779 (Nov. 18, 2018).

 

 

 

 

[1]             See para. 6 of the opinion of Justice Amit, and paras. 3-5 of the opinion of Justice Mintz for an explanation of “specific co-ownership” (trans.).

[2]             A presumption of Jewish law that, under the circumstances, it is objectively clear that the person would not have undertaken the obligation had he known the truth, see, e.g., Avishalom Westreich, Umdena as a Ground for Marriage Annulment: Between Mistaken Transaction (Kidushey Ta’ut) and Terminative Condition, (ed.).


Funk Schlesinger v. Minister of Interior

Case/docket number: 
HCJ 143/62
Date Decided: 
Friday, February 22, 1963
Decision Type: 
Original
Abstract: 

The Petitioner, a Christian woman and Belgian national, married Mr. Israel Schlesinger, a Jewish citizen of Israel, in Nicosia, Cyprus, in a civil ceremony in December 1961, as shown by a copy of the marriage register, confirmed by the Cyprus Minister of Interior. The Belgian Consul General in Limassol entered the Petitioner’s marriage in her Belgian passport. The registration in the personal status register of the Belgian Embassy testifies to her marriage in Nicosia in reliance upon the marriage certificate issued to her by the district officer there and on the said entry in her passport. Several days after the said marriage ceremony, the Petitioner arrived in Israel as a tourist. Her request to be granted a visa for permanent residency was denied. After submitting a request to the Inhabitants Registry for a certificate of identity, she was told she could not be granted a certificate of identity showing her as married, an accordingly, the name “Schlesinger” would not appear. An order nisi was issued against the Minister of Interior. In his response, the Respondent granted the Petitioner’s request for permanent residency, but maintained his refusal to register her as married, arguing that the Petitioner and Mr. Schlesinger are not a married couple in accordance with the applicable personal status laws.

 

The Supreme Court, by a majority, made the order nisi absolute, holding:

 

  1. The complex issue of the validity of the Petitioner’s marriage under the applicable law should not have been raised in the context of her registration in the Inhabitants Registry.

 

  1. (1)        The role of the registration officer under the Registration of Inhabitants Ordinance, 5709-1949,[1] is merely that of a collector of statistics for the purposes of administering the Register of Inhabitants, and he holds no judicial authority.

 

(2)        The above officer’s considerations are strictly administrative and he is not charged with implementing religious instructions.

 

c.         (1)        According to the instructions given to registration officer by the Minister of Interior, a citizen who appears before an administrative authority is presumed to be speaking the truth.

 

(2) Having been presented with prima facie evidence, the officer must suffice with this evidence, because – being an administrative authority – he must not intrude into an area that is not his own in order to determine a legal dispute. Should he not wish to become the arbiter, he must register the details as presented by the requesting party, even if it is not convinced of their correctness.

 

  1. The above Ordinance does not confer upon registration in the Register of Inhabitants the force of evidence or proof of anything. The information in it may or may not be true, and no one vouches for its correctness.

 

  1. For the purposes of registering the family status of the Petitioner in the Register of Inhabitants, the marriage ceremony is conclusive, and prima facie evidence is sufficient to prove it. Examination of the marriage’s validity is not a matter for the registration officer. It is presumed that the Legislature did not task a public agency with a duty it is unable to fulfill.

 

f.          (1)        The instructions that order the registration officer to pass on a matter of interfaith marriage to the “determination of the department” are unfounded as there is nothing for the department to determine.

 

(2).       The validity or invalidity of an interfaith marriage is an extremely weighty matter, and when a couple askes to register under the above Ordinance, it cannot be said how the issue may ultimately be determined. The registration officer cannot speculate as to which court may address the matter, how the President of the Supreme Court may exercise his authority under art. 55 of the Palestine Order-in-Council 1922, and cannot predict whether the validity of the marriage will be recognized.

 

(3)       As long as the Petitioner’s marriage has not been invalidated in a judicial proceeding, she is deemed a married woman for the purposes of the Inhabitants Registry.

 

[1] 2 L.S.I. 103.

Voting Justices: 
Primary Author
majority opinion
Author
concurrence
Author
concurrence
Author
concurrence
Author
dissent
Full text of the opinion: 

 

 

 

HCJ 143/62

 

           

 

The Petitioner:            Henriette Anna Katerina Funk Schlesinger

 

                                    v.

 

The Respondent:         Minister of Interior              

 

Attorney for the Petitioner - Y. Ben Menashe

Attorneys for the Respondent – State Attorney Z. Bar Niv, Deputy State Attorneys Z. Terlo and Dr. M. Cheshin

 

 

Abstract

 

The Petitioner, a Christian woman and Belgian national, married Mr. Israel Schlesinger, a Jewish citizen of Israel, in Nicosia, Cyprus, in a civil ceremony in December 1961, as shown by a copy of the marriage register, confirmed by the Cyprus Minister of Interior. The Belgian Consul General in Limassol entered the Petitioner’s marriage in her Belgian passport. The registration in the personal status register of the Belgian Embassy testifies to her marriage in Nicosia in reliance upon the marriage certificate issued to her by the district officer there and on the said entry in her passport. Several days after the said marriage ceremony, the Petitioner arrived in Israel as a tourist. Her request to be granted a visa for permanent residency was denied. After submitting a request to the Inhabitants Registry for a certificate of identity, she was told she could not be granted a certificate of identity showing her as married, an accordingly, the name “Schlesinger” would not appear. An order nisi was issued against the Minister of Interior. In his response, the Respondent granted the Petitioner’s request for permanent residency, but maintained his refusal to register her as married, arguing that the Petitioner and Mr. Schlesinger are not a married couple in accordance with the applicable personal status laws.

 

The Supreme Court, by a majority, made the order nisi absolute, holding:

 

  1. The complex issue of the validity of the Petitioner’s marriage under the applicable law should not have been raised in the context of her registration in the Inhabitants Registry.

 

  1. (1)        The role of the registration officer under the Registration of Inhabitants Ordinance, 5709-1949,[1] is merely that of a collector of statistics for the purposes of administering the Register of Inhabitants, and he holds no judicial authority.

 

(2)        The above officer’s considerations are strictly administrative and he is not charged with implementing religious instructions.

 

c.         (1)        According to the instructions given to registration officer by the Minister of Interior, a citizen who appears before an administrative authority is presumed to be speaking the truth.

 

(2) Having been presented with prima facie evidence, the officer must suffice with this evidence, because – being an administrative authority – he must not intrude into an area that is not his own in order to determine a legal dispute. Should he not wish to become the arbiter, he must register the details as presented by the requesting party, even if it is not convinced of their correctness.

 

  1. The above Ordinance does not confer upon registration in the Register of Inhabitants the force of evidence or proof of anything. The information in it may or may not be true, and no one vouches for its correctness.

 

  1. For the purposes of registering the family status of the Petitioner in the Register of Inhabitants, the marriage ceremony is conclusive, and prima facie evidence is sufficient to prove it. Examination of the marriage’s validity is not a matter for the registration officer. It is presumed that the Legislature did not task a public agency with a duty it is unable to fulfill.

 

f.          (1)        The instructions that order the registration officer to pass on a matter of interfaith marriage to the “determination of the department” are unfounded as there is nothing for the department to determine.

 

(2).       The validity or invalidity of an interfaith marriage is an extremely weighty matter, and when a couple askes to register under the above Ordinance, it cannot be said how the issue may ultimately be determined. The registration officer cannot speculate as to which court may address the matter, how the President of the Supreme Court may exercise his authority under art. 55 of the Palestine Order-in-Council 1922, and cannot predict whether the validity of the marriage will be recognized.

 

(3)       As long as the Petitioner’s marriage has not been invalidated in a judicial proceeding, she is deemed a married woman for the purposes of the Inhabitants Registry.

 

Israeli cases cited:

[1]        MApp 39/57 S. v. S, IsrSC 11, 921, 922 (1957)

[2]        CA 26/51 Shimon Kotik v. Tzila (Tzipa) Wolfson, IsrSC  5, 1341 (1951)

[3]        CA 191/51 Leib Skornik v. Miriam Skornik, IsrSC 8, 141 (1954)

[4]        HCJ 237/61 Peer Hadar Co. Ltd. v. Head of the Land Registration and Arrangement Dept. et al., IsrSC 16, 1422 (1962)

[5]        CA 85/62 Calling-Up Officer under the Defence Service Law v. Avraham Nahari, IsrSC 16, 2813 (1962)

[6]        HCJ 145/51 Sabri Hassan Abu-Ras et al. v. Military Governor of the Galilee et al., IsrSC 5, 1476 (1951)

[7]        HCJ 155/53 Salem Ahmad Kiwan v. Minister of Defence et al., IsrSC 8, 301 (1954)

[8]        CA 238/53 Aharon Cohen and Bella Buslik v. AG, IsrSC 8, 4, 36 (1954)

 

 

Palestinian cases cited:

[9]        C.A. 186/37 Rivka Cashman v. Lindsay Gordon Cashman,  P.L.R. 4, 304 (1937) S.C.J. 2, 422; (1937)  Ct.L.R. 2, 132

[10]     C.A. 119/39 Pessia Nuchim Leibovna Shwalboim v. Hirsch Zvi Shwalboim, (1940)  P.L.R. 7, 20; (1940) S.C.J. 1, 38; (1940) Ct. L.R. 7, 55

[11]      C.A. 9/40 Eliyahu Bichovsky v. Nitsa Lambi-Bichovsky, (1940), P.L.R. 7, 228; (1940) S.C.J. 1, 184; (1940) Ct. L.R. 7, 173

[12]      C.A. 11/41 Eliyahu Bichovsky v. Nitsa Lambi-Bichovsky, (1941) P.L.R. 8, 241; (1941 S.C.J. 1, 230; (1941) Ct. L.R. 11, 238

[13]      C.A. 158/37 Leib Neussihin and ors. v. Miriam Neissihin, (1937) P.L.R. 7, 373; (1937) S.C.J. 1, 391; (1937) Ct. L.R. 2, 210

[14]      Misc. App. 20/43 Dr. Asher Apte v. Jehudit Gross (Apte) and an., (1943) P.L.R. 10, 124; (1943) A.L.R. 1, 12

 

English cases cited:

[15]      Mette v. Mette, [1859] 164 E.R. 792; 1 Sw. & Tr. 416; 28 L.J.P.&M. 117; 33 L.T.O.S. 139 sub nom. In the Goods of Mette; 7 W.R. 543

[16]      Brook v. Brook, (1861) 1 1 E.R . 703, 704, 711; ( 1861 )  9 H.L . Cos. 193; 4 L.T. 93, 99, 101 , 98 ; 25 J.P. 259; 7 Jur. N.S. 422; 9 W.R. 461, H.L.

[17]      Ogden v. Ogden (otherwise Philip), (1908) P. 46, 52, 61, 66, 67, 75; 77 L.J.P. 34; 97 L.T. 827; 24 L.T.R. 94, C.A.

[18]      In re Paine, (1940) Ch. 46, 49, 50; 108 L.J. Ch. 427; 161 L.T. 266; 55 T.L.R. 1043; 83 Sol. Jo. 701

[19]      Pugh v. Pugh, (1951) P. 482, 494; (1951) 2 L.T.R. 806; 95 Sol. Jo. 468; (1941) All E.R. 680

[20]      Sottomayer v. De Barros, (1879) 5 P.D. 94; 49 L.J.P. 1; 41 L.T. 281, 282; 27 W.R. 917

[21]      Lepre v. Lepre, (1962), see: The Law Times, vol. 233, December 6, 1962

[22]      Gray (otherwise Formosa) v. Formosa, (1962) 3 All E.R. 419, 423; (1962) 3 W.L.R. 1246

[23]      Spivak v. Spivak, (1930) 142 L.T. 492; (1930) L.J.P. 52; 94 J.P. 91; 46 T.L.R. 243; 74 Sol. Jo. 155; 28 L.G.R. 188; 29 Cox, C.C. 91

[24]      Dalrymple v. Dalrymple, (1811) 161 E.R. 665, 669; 2 Hag. Con. 54

[25]      In re Peete, Peete v. Crompton, (1952) 2 All E.R. 599; (1952) 2 T.L.R. 383; 96 Sol. Jo. 561

[26]      Middleton v. Janverin, (1806) 161 E.R. 797; 2 Hag. Con. 437

[27]      Simonin v. Mallac, (1860) 2 L.T. 327, 330; (1860) 2 Sw. & Tr. 67; 29 L.J.P.M. & A. 97; 6 Jur. N.S. 561; 164 E.R. 917

[28]      Hay v. Northcote, (1900) 82 L.T. 656; (1900) 2 Ch. 262; 69 L.J. Ch. 586; 48 W.R. 615; 16 T.L.R. 418

[29]      Baindail (otherwise Lawson) v. Baindail, (1946) 174 L.T. 320; (1946) P. 122; (1946) 1 All E.R. 342; 115 L.J.P. 65; 62 T.L.R. 263; 90 Sol. Jo. 151, C.A.

[30]      Chetti v. Chetti, (1909) P. 67; sub nom. Venugopal Chetti v. Venugopal Chetti, 78 L.J.P. 23; 99 L.T. 885; 25 T.L.R. 146; 53 Sol. Jo. 163

[31]      Brook v. Brook, (1858) 65 E.R. 747

[32]      Cheni (otherwise Rodriguez) v. Cheni, (1962) 3 All E.R. 873; (1962) 12 C.L. 112

 

American cases cited:

[33]      Ruth Loughran v. John Loughran, (1934) 78 L. Ed. 1219

[34]      Hastings et al. v. Douglas, (1918) F. 378

[35]      Alecia McDonald v. James McDonald, (1936) 58 P. (2d) 163; 104 A.L.R. 1290

 

English Statutes cited:

Age of Marriage Act, 1929 (9 & 20) Geo. 5, c. 36)

Matrimonial Causes Act, 1857 (20 & 21 Vict. C. 85) s. 22

Supreme Court of Judicature (Consolidation) Act, 1925 (15 & 16 Geo. 5, c. 49), s. 32

Marriage Act, 1949 (12 & 13 Geo. 6, c. 76)

 

Jewish Law sources cited:

Kiddushin 15b; 68b

Rashi, Kiddusin  68b, s.v. “Lo

Leviticus 18

 

Catholic Canon Law cited:

Codex Juris Canonici, 1917, ss. 1014, 1070(2), 1070, 1071, 1133-1141, 87, 1099(2)

 

 

 

 

 

The Supreme Court sitting as a High Court of Justice

 

Before: Justices Silberg, Sussman, Berenson, Witkon and Manny

 

 

An objection to an order nisi dated 24 Iyar 5722 (May 28, 1962) ordering the Respondent to show cause why he continues to refuse to recognize the Petitioner as a married woman, whose name is Schlesinger, and register her accordingly in the Register of Inhabitants, and why he continues to refuse to issue a certificate of identity in accordance with the requested registration, as well as a permit for permanent residency. The order nisi was made absolute by a majority opinion, against the dissenting opinion of Justice Silberg.

 

 

Order

 

Justice Silberg:

1.         This is an objection to an order nisi granted by this Court, which concerns recognizing the Petitioner as a married woman, whose surname is Schlesinger, and so registering her in the Register of Inhabitants on the basis of a civil marriage between her and Mr. Israel Schlesinger in Cyprus, on December 21, 1961. The Petitioner is a Christian woman of Belgian nationality, and Mr. Israel Schlesinger is an Israeli Jew, and a permanent resident of the State of Israel. The Respondent’s refusal stems from the fact that he does not recognize the validity of the above marriage.

 

2.         Two questions stand before us in this matter. The Petitioner’s attorney attempted to intertwine them, “joined together” in his hands [Ezekiel 37:17]. We shall not follow his lead, but rather separate them and discuss them individually. Were we not to do so, we would lose our conceptual train of thought in the zigzag, and find ourselves unable to resolve the problem or problems.

 

The questions before us are:

  1. Whether a marriage performed between a Jewish man and non-Jewish woman is valid according to the laws of the state?
  2. If we find that it is not legally valid – can the registration officer , indeed must the officer, register the Petitioner as married based on the civil marriage ceremony performed between the couple in Cyprus.

 

I emphasized above, according to the laws of the state, because according to Jewish law, there is no doubt whatsoever that such a marriage is not legally valid.

 

And any woman who cannot contract kiddushin with that particular person or with others, the issue follows her status. This is the case with the issue of a bondmaid or a gentile woman” (TB Kiddushin 66b).

…. How do we know it in regard to a gentile woman? Scripture says, “You shall not intermarry with them” (TB Kiddushin 68b).

You shall not intermarry with them: The law of marriage will not apply to them” (Rashi, Kiddushin, ad loc., s.v. lo).

 

“The law of marriage will not apply to them” – no marital relationship can exist between a Jewish man and a gentile woman. Therefore – it is indisputable, except by the Petitioner’s attorney in one of his arguments – the marriage of a Jewish man and a non-Jewish woman is invalid under Jewish law, whether it was conducted in a Jewish marriage ceremony or in a civil ceremony.

 

3.         The question is, therefore, whether such a marriage is valid under the laws of the state. It is interesting and quite curious that no Israeli tribunal can dissolve this marriage. The rabbinical court cannot, because it has no jurisdiction over a marriage in which one spouse is not Jewish, MApp 39/57, IsrSC 11, 921, 922 [1]. The District Court also cannot, because the woman is a foreign national, and under art. 64 of the Palestine Order-in-Council, the District Court is not authorized to issue a decision dissolving the marriage of a foreign national (see and note: art. 2(f) of the Palestine Order-in-Council (Amendment) 1935, together with CA 186/37 [9]). And I think it greatly doubtful that – for reasons that need not be elaborated here – the Respondent can make recourse to art. 55.

 

But the fact that no tribunal has jurisdiction to dissolve the marriage does not mean that the marriage stands. The law precedes the judge, and it has its own reality. But the fact is that we are not concerned here with dissolution or validation of a marriage – as we lack jurisdiction for either – but with an incidental decision on its invalidity or validity for the purpose of deciding upon the mandamus petition before us. We, like any court, are competent to make incidental decisions under the provisions of sec. 35 of the Courts Law, 5717-1957.

 

4.         And so we return to the question at the beginning of the previous section: Is the marriage entered into by the Petitioner and Mr. Schlesinger in Cyprus valid under the laws of the State of Israel?

 

The primary argument of the Petitioner’s attorney is that whatever the validity of this marriage may be in regard to the man, Mr. Schlesinger, from the perspective of the woman – the Petitioner before us – and for the woman, it is nevertheless valid. This is because under art. 64(ii) of the Palestine Order-in-Council, the validity of a marriage of a foreign national is determined in accordance with the national law that applies to her, and under Belgian law there is no flaw or defect in the marriage of a Christian woman and a Jewish man. In other words, Mr. Schlesinger is not married to the Petitioner, and he is a bachelor, whereas the Petitioner is a married woman, who is married to Mr. Schlesinger.

 

This is a serious argument, but it would seem that it must ultimately be rejected. I am not at all overwhelmed by the absurdity of this idea – a married woman who is married to a bachelor! – because in the vast, factious field of private international law that is so full of contradictions and inconsistencies, such wonders do exist. Consider, for example, a country that permits its citizen to marry a woman who is not eligible for marriage under her national law, and it (the state) also maintains the married woman in her pre-marriage citizenship. When that couple arrives in Israel, they may find themselves in such a paradoxical situation. This is not because Israeli law looks favorably upon such a half-married and half-single couple – indeed, as we shall see below, Israeli law objects to such divisions – but because the explicit provision of art. 64 of the Palestine Order-in-Council requires that the court view the spouses through different prisms: the husband (in the example above)  is viewed through the prism of his national law, which deems them both married, while the woman is viewed through the prism of her national law, which deems them both single.

 

5.         My response to that argument will be presented in the next two sections. First, I will examine the relevant legal situation in English Common Law, which is imported into our law through art. 46. I will then examine the view of Belgian law, which may lead us to art. 64.

 

6.         As for the Common Law: an important rule of British private international law jurisprudence states that a marriage has no legal effect unless it is valid under the personal law of each of the spouses. This is termed the “cumulative system,” as opposed to the “distributive system” that addresses such an issue by “allocation”, that is, it determines the validity of the marriage of each spouse separately, in accordance with the law of his domicile alone.

 

The cumulative system, according to which the invalidity of the marriage in regard to one spouse renders the marriage invalid for the other spouse as well, has been the common thread in English case law for a hundred years or more – some of which expresses it explicitly, while in some it becomes absolutely clear through careful analysis. Below are the prominent cases that addressed this issue directly or indirectly. I shall present them in chronological order:

 

(a) Mette v. Mette, (1859) 164 E.R. 792 [15]:

In this earliest case, a marriage was invalidated for both parties because of the lack of capacity of one spouse, the husband, under the law of his domicile. The husband, a resident of England, married his sister-in-law (the sister of his late wife), who was a resident of Germany prior to the marriage, in Frankfurt. Under English law at the time, the marriage of a brother-and-law and sister-in-law was void, while under German law it was valid. The Court voided the marriage, stating:

 

There could be no valid contract unless each was competent to contract with the other ([15] at 795-96).

 

(b) Brook v. Brook, (1861) 11 E.R. 703 [16]:

This case, decided two years later, also concerned the marriage of a brother-in-law and sister-in-law solemnized in a foreign country that permitted such marriage (Denmark). The House of Lords voided the marriage for violating English law. Halsbury (Simonds) vol. 7, p. 91, comment (r), presents this decision as evidence of the rule that a marriage is void unless it is valid under the antenuptial domicile law of both spouses. But that is mistaken, inasmuch as an examination of the Brook case shows (at p. 704, in the middle of the page), that the antenuptial domicile of both the husband and the wife was England, and in any event this does not show that the marriage would have been voided under the cumulative system, even if – as in the Mette case – only the domicile law of one party would have voided the marriage. But this decision indeed provides additional proof that in the matters of capacity to marry, English law follows the domicile and not the place of solemnization, and it (the above decision) of course does not contradict the said cumulative system.

 

As a living illustration of a modern Gretna Green in nearby Cyprus, it is apt and interesting to take note of a quote from the Brook case, in which Lord Campbell states:

 

It is quite obvious that no civilised state can allow its domiciled subjects or citizens, by making a temporary visit to a foreign country to enter into a contract, to be performed in the place of domicile, if the contract is forbidden by the law of the place of domicile as contrary to religion, or morality, or to any of its fundamental institutions (p. 711).

 

(c) Odgen v. Ogden (otherwise Philip), (1908) [17], p. 46:

A 19-year-old French domicile named Philip married an English domiciled woman. Under French law at the time, a man under the age of 25 could not lawfully marry without parental consent – which Mr. Philip did not have. Under the laws of England, a 19-year-old does not require parental consent. When the English woman heard that her husband, who had left her, had been granted an annulment in France, she went ahead and married her second husband, in England, whose name was Ogden. After a while, conflicts arose between the lady and her second husband, and Mr. Ogden filed suit against his wife for a decree of nullity of marriage, on the grounds of bigamy, because – despite the French decision – his wife was still married to the above Mr. Philip. The question was whether the first marriage of Mrs. Philip-Ogden was valid or void, and the issue was which law should be applied to the first marriage – the English law of the wife, which deemed the marriage valid, or the French law of the husband, which deemed the marriage void, and which actually annulled it by judicial order due to the absence of parental consent.

 

The English court, applying the laws of England to the first marriage, deemed it valid, and therefore annulled the second marriage as bigamous.

 

This decision seemingly contradicts the cumulative system as, in validating the first marriage, it sufficed with its validity under the wife’s law of domicile. But when we reviewed this precedent in depth, read the pleadings by the attorneys, the comments of judges, the text of the decision and the views of English legal scholars on the matter (see: Ogden, [17] pp. 52, 61, 66, 67, 75; Wolff, Private International Law, 2nd ed., pp. 328-29; Cheshire, Private International Law, 3rd ed., p. 288; Dicey’s Conflict of Laws, 7th ed., p. 235) we learned that the ratio decidendi of the Ogden decision was that parental consent for their son’s marriage was a requirement of “form” rather than of “substance” – inasmuch as the two young spouses are not ineligible to be married to one another – and as we know, any matter of form is decided under the law of the place where the marriage was solemnized (les loci celebrationis), which was in the Ogden case – coincidentally – also the law of the wife’s domicile. In effect, the only value of the Ogden decision is in the fact that the classification or distinction between the terms “form” and “substance” was made according to the lex fori, the law of the location of the court, and under  English law, parental consent is a matter of form, as the “Gretna Green” cases confirm! “Gretna Green” marriages have been performed for centuries. Very young English couples who required the consent of their parents to marry would cross the border to a nearby Scottish village, stay there for several hours, and marry there before the blacksmith and his assistant at the customs office. And why were these youthful elopements useful? Because Scotland did not require parental consent, and thus the marriage was valid under the law where the marriage was solemnized, and thus also valid upon return to England.

 

As we can see, the reasoning in Ogden is not only consistent with the cumulative system, it even supports it. This is because were the marriage of Mrs. Ogden to her first husband invalid under his law of domicile – not for a flaw of form but for a flaw of substance – the English court would have found it void for the other partner, that is the English wife, as well. In the case before us, it is unnecessary to elaborate on this, because the flaw in the marriage of a Jewish man and a non-Jewish woman – were Jewish law to apply, which we will discuss below – is a flaw of substance, of actual competence, because there can never be a lawful marriage between a Jewish man and a non-Jewish woman under Jewish law, as we have seen above.

 

(d) In re Paine ; (1940), Ch. 46 [18], provides clear, explicit authority for the above cumulative perspective. The discussion there concerned the provisions of a particular will. Incidentally, a question arose as to whether the parents of the children mentioned in the will were legally married. The marriage was solemnized in Germany. The wife was the husband’s sister-in-law (the sister of his late wife.) His domicile was in Germany, her domicile was in England, and the court held that the marriage was void due to a flaw under the wife’s law of domicile, because – said the judge – “the marriage must be a good and legal marriage according to the law of the domicil of both contracting parties at the time of the marriage” (pp. 49-50).

 

(e) Pugh v. Pugh, (1951),  P. 482 [19]:

A resident of England married a Hungarian-born 15-year-old girl in Austria – which was permitted under the laws of Austria and Hungary, but prohibited and void under the English Age of Marriage Act, 1929. The court voided the marriage, stating:

 

In view of those authorities it is clear that the marriage under consideration here was not valid, since, by the law of the husband’s (emphasis added) domicil it was a marriage into which he could not lawfully enter (p. 494).

 

The court did not bother to enquire into the question of the wife’s domicile because – so it would appear – it deemed it irrelevant, since even a flaw regarding one of the parties voids the marriage entirely under the above cumulative system.

 

(f) Sottomayor v. De Barros, (1879) 5 P.D. 94:

This case is, as far as I am aware, the only exception to the cumulative system. However, it, too, would be of no importance but for the special coincidence with the case before us. A Portuguese man, resident in England, and a woman who was a Portuguese national and resident, married in England. The two were first cousins, and under the laws of Portugal, such relatives cannot marry without a dispensation from the Pope. The English court declared the marriage valid, despite the substantive flaw under the wife’s law of domicile. This decision is surely inconsistent with the cumulative system. However:

 

(a).       It is insignificant in view of the many decisions handed down in the past hundred years in favor of the cumulative system, and it should be deemed overturned by the later decisions in Ogden, Paine, and Pugh as mentioned above.

 

(b).       In Sottomayer, the validating law was the lex fori, the law of the state where the presiding court convened, and the invalidating law was the foreign law, and the court rejected the foreign law in favor of the local law. The case before us is the reverse: the local law, which is identical to the common law, invalidates the marriage at hand – were we to apply Jewish law – whereas the law that validates it is the foreign (Belgian) law. There is no precedent for validating such a case, even in the above Sottomayer case.

 

7.         Here, one might argue: You have applied the Anglo-Israeli Common Law – but not the Belgian law! Were it to become clear that Belgian law actually follows the distributive system, we would be compelled – in terms of the wife – to reject art. 46 in favor of art. 64, and to validate the marriage in her regard.

 

My response is as follows: Based on Arminjon (Precis de Droit International Prive, pp. 45-46), which was cited before us by the Respondents’ attorney, it seems that Belgian law, too, follows the cumulative rather than the distributive system. But even were we not consider the words of this author as clear evidence of the Belgian law, we would arrive at the very same outcome. This is because when a party argues for the application of a foreign law but does not prove it, the “doctrine of processual presumption” immediately applies and the court assumes that the foreign law is identical to the law of the forum. Or – as the most recent editors of Dicey state – the court in this instance simply applies the law of the forum (Dicey’s Conflict of Laws, 7th ed., p. 1116).

 

And since the law of the forum in this case is, under art. 46,  English Common Law, we again return to the cumulative system, which requires marriage eligibility under the personal law of both spouses.

 

As a result – assuming that Jewish law is the personal law of Mr. Schlesinger – his marriage to the Petitioner lacks legal validity both for the husband and for the wife, because one of the spouses, the husband, lacked the capacity to marry the Petitioner.

 

8.         We thus reach the additional question: Is Jewish law indeed the “personal law” under which the civil court must adjudicate the matter of Mr. Schlesinger’s personal status, in accordance with the aforementioned provision at the end of art. 47 of the Palestine Order-in-Council?

 

The answer to this is yes, certainly, and without a shadow of  doubt. The Mandatory Supreme Court so ruled in CA 119/39 [10], and in CA 11/41 Bichovsky v. Lambi-Bichovsky, (1941) P.L.R. 8, 241 [12], and the Israeli Supreme Court so ruled in CA 26/51 Kotik v. Wolfson, IsrSC  5, 1341 [2], and CA 191/51 Skornik v. Skornik, IsrSC 8, 141 [3], and so rule the Israeli courts each and every day without any misgivings, in hundreds and thousands of judicial decisions.

 

9.         The Petitioner’s attorney made a last-minute argument on this point immediately after we informed him of an English decision handed down several weeks ago in Lepre v. Lepre, (1962) [21], which was reported in The Law Times on December 6, 1962. This decision essentially relies upon an earlier decision handed down by the English Court of Appeal in the matter of Gray (otherwise Formosa) v. Formosa, (1962) 3 All E.R. 419 [22]. In summary, both decisions hold that English courts will not recognize a foreign court’s annulment of a marriage due to the different faiths of the husband and wife, because such nullification is inconsistent with English principles of natural justice. The Petitioner’s attorney argues that we, too – as a civil, secular court – must ignore Jewish law to the extent that it prohibits the marriage of Jewish man and a non-Jewish woman, because that flaw offends the sense of natural justice of Israeli public, as well.

 

This claim is incorrect. A court in state A can say that the laws of state B infringe its sense of justice, and completely ignore them. But a judge presiding in state B itself cannot say that the laws of the state infringe his sense of justice and that he is, therefore, unwilling to uphold them. The laws of every state, and all the more so a democratic state with a parliamentary legislature, befit – or is deemed to befit – the accepted principles of natural justice of that state, otherwise the laws would not have been enacted, and if enacted – would have been repealed under public pressure. Lord Denning could say in the Formosa case ([22] p. 423) that were a person off the street in England asked whether a marriage between a Catholic man and an Anglican woman was valid or not, that person would have answered: Valid! But it certainly cannot be said that any person in Israel, off the street or from the garret, would have responded in the affirmative to the question whether the marriage of a Jewish man and a non-Jewish woman should be recognized as valid. I believe that the vast majority of our public would answer in the negative. That is, not only are we, the presiding judges, not permitted to ignore existing laws so long as they are in force, but in reality, and in truth, our religious personal laws do not contradict the view of the Israeli general public.

 

10.       My conclusion is, therefore, that the marriage of the Petitioner to Mr. Schlesinger is null and void for both spouses, because the personal law of Mr. Schlesinger is Jewish law, which binds this Court under art. 47 of the Palestine Order-in-Council, as aforesaid.

 

11.       This brings us to the second question of whether, despite the marriage’s invalidity, the registration officer was required to register the Petitioner as married. The Petitioner’s attorney argued that the registration officer only records what the registering party reports, and must not further enquire into the citizen’s legal personal status.

 

I am willing to agree that if, for example, the registration officer believes that the citizen applying to him is married, he may register the citizen as such, and is not required to seek expert advice in order to root out any doubt he may have about the matter. But when he is convinced that the person is not married, he may not register anything that he believes to be a complete lie. Since the registration questionnaire inquires as to the legal family statues of the registering person, rather than the bare fact of whether that person had a marriage ceremony or not – as argued before us by the Petitioner’s attorney – I wonder whether I can order the Respondents to register the Petitioner as married, after I have stated my opinion, in this very decision, that she is not married.

 

I therefore reject the second argument, as well, and recommend that we rescind the order nisi and deny the Petition.

 

12.       This concludes my opinion, but I wish to direct a few words to the legislature, and draw its attention to the fact that the case before us is but a sad part of a much broader problem, which urgently requires a clear statutory arrangement. I testify before heaven and earth that I was but a hair’s breadth from a converse ruling. For were only one detail of the many details in the present case different, I would have been obligated, as a judge of a civil court, to find in favor of the validity of this marriage.

 

I shall clarify. In the present case – which we shall call hereinafter the Schlesinger case – no evidence was presented as to the whether Belgian law adopts the cumulative or distributive approach to the spouses’ personal law. We imputed the cumulative system to Belgian law on the basis of the “presumption of identity”, after showing the position on this matter of the Common Law, and of Israeli law pursuant thereto. But there are various legal scholars who argue in favor of the distributive system. The opponents of the cumulative system point to its absurd outcome that the marriage is sometimes voided because of the wife’s pre-marital domicile, whereas were the marriage not compromised,  the saw would exalt itself against him who saws with it [Isaiah 10:15], and the marriage itself would void the domicile that voids it. This is because, as we know, the domicile of the married woman follows the domicile of the husband. However, if clear, explicit evidence demonstrated in the Schlesinger case that the Belgian legislature follows the distributive approach, then we would have been required to recognize the validity of the marriage in regard to the Belgian subject,  and to order the Respondents to register her as married.

 

Or change a different detail, which also would have reversed the result of the judgment. English judges are divided on the question of what is this “law of domicile” that determines the validity of the marriage? Is it the law of the antenuptial domicile of each of the spouses, or is it the law of the domicile of both spouses following the marriage that prevails, or – in other words, and perhaps by a different intention – “the intended matrimonial domicile”. This question should not be determined as a matter of course, as there are arguments and authority for both alternatives, although most of the case law seemingly tends toward the former.

 

In the Schlesinger case, we did not address this question at all, as it was not material. The State of Israel was both the antenuptial domicile of the husband, as well as the intended matrimonial domicile, as appears from the all the circumstances, and thus the marriage is in any case invalid.

 

But let us imagine a different “Schlesinger case”, which is slightly different in terms of this detail. The man, a Jewish resident of Israel, travels to Cyprus for a short period of time, where he marries a non-Jewish woman in a civil ceremony, and returns with her to Israel in order to prepare papers and documents for the purpose of immigrating to England – a country that, as we have seen under the Lepre matter [21], does not prohibit marriage because of differences in the partners’ faith, regardless of the position of the laws of state of domicile on the matter. Were this the case, we would have been required to first get into the thick of the aforementioned dispute in the case law. Then, were we to determine in favor of the intended matrimonial domicile – we would have to find that the marriage was valid under our civil law, both for the non-Jewish wife and for the Jewish husband.

 

Moreover, in our country, as we know, there is no general territorial law on matters of personal status (aside for some morsels such as the distribution of an estate and guardianship of children under the Woman’s Equal Rights Law, 1951) and at times – as I have written elsewhere – the law is a “function” of the adjudicator.

 

For example: a Jewish man, resident of the United States, enters a civil marriage there with a divorced Jewish woman who married her previous husband in a Jewish ceremony and divorced him by a civil divorce. The spouses immigrate to Israel and enquire as to their personal status and whether they are married or single. Were the issue brought directly before the Rabbinical Court under sec. 1 of the Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction (Marriage and Divorce) Law, 1953, the decision of the court would be that they are not married, as according to Jewish law, she would still be married to her previous husband, and a marriage to a married woman is invalid. On the other hand, should the woman apply to the District Court prior to the Rabbinical Court’s decision, in a suit for maintenance from the man under sec. 4 of the above statue, the court would incidentally find (under sec. 35 of the Courts Law, 1957), that the plaintiff is lawfully married to her husband by virtue of the Common Law rules that establish the validity of the marriage under the law of the couple’s domicile at the time of the solemnization of the marriage, and would order the defendant to pay maintenance. The question then arises: what should the registration officer properly do when asked to register the above couple’s personal status?

 

Another example: Jewish spouses, who reside permanently in France, marry there in a Jewish ceremony in accordance with Jewish religious law and then move to Israel. The Rabbinical Court would recognize the validity of the marriage retroactively from the day of its performance, as it is valid under the Jewish law (compare CA 158/37 Nosse Chen v. Nosse Chen) [13]. The civil court – were it not to accept the dissenting opinion of my honorable colleague Justice Agranat in the Skornik appeal, CA 191/51, IsrSC  8, 141 [3], 175-78 – would void that marriage (while considering it incidentally), relying on another ruled of English private international law which states that the form of the ceremony is considered, for better or for worse, according to the location where it is celebrated, and the laws of France – if my memory serves me right – do not recognize the validity of a religious marriage ceremony. This case is the inverse of the previous case: there the marriage is invalid in the eyes of the religious court and valid in the eyes of the civil court; here it is valid in the eyes of the religious court and invalid in the eyes of the civil court. Is this not a case of the law becoming a “function” of the judge?! And again the question arises, how must the registration officer proceed in registering the personal status of the above couple?

 

I, therefore, offer the following simple suggestion that would effectively remove the painful sting form the vast majority of difficult cases. When the marriage was solemnized abroad, the registration officer should be permitted and even obligated to add the words “in a civil ceremony” or “in a religious ceremony” after the word “married”, as the case may be. This innovation requires an explicit statutory provision, because as the law presently stands, the registration officer must register the legal family status of the person registering, which presents him with a complex web of legal questions from which he may not always be able to extricate himself. Clearly, what is recorded in the certificate of identity will not obligate or bind the religious or the civil court if they later adjudicate – directly or incidentally – the issue of the marriage’s validity. But it shall provide some small but important satisfaction to spouses whose marital status is in doubt, and would spare them shame and considerable discomfort whenever they must present their certificate of identity. Let us not further strain the already tense relations between the religious and the “free” sectors of the population, nor pour oil on the fire that might erupt around this issue in Israeli society.

 

Therefore, I found it necessary to make the above comments, in hope that the Israeli legislature consider them when it addresses this painful question.

 

My opinion, as presented at the end of the previous paragraph, is that the order nisi should be rescinded and the petition denied.

 

Justice Sussman:

 

The Petitioner, a Christian subject of Belgium, married Mr. Israeli Schlesinger, a Jewish citizen of Israel, on December 21, 1961. The marriage was solemnized in a civil ceremony in Nicosia, Cyprus, and was evidenced by a copy of the marriage register confirmed by the Cypriot Minister of Interior. After marrying Mr. Schlesinger, the Petitioner went to the Belgian Consul General in Limassol, who registered her marriage in her Belgian passport. He further registered that due to her above marriage, her name was changed to Schlesinger, her husband’s name. The Petitioner did not suffice with this registration. On July 26, 1962, she presented herself at the Belgian embassy and made a declaration that was registered in the Embassy’s personal status register (Registre matricule). The registration details the Petitioner’s personal details and attests to her marriage in Nicosia, in reliance on the marriage certificate issued to her by the district officer in Nicosia, and in reliance on the registration in her passport by the Belgian Consul, as noted.

 

2.         On December 12, 1961, the Petitioner arrived in Israel as a tourist. She initially sought a permit for permanent residency, however her request was denied, and she was permitted to remain in Israel only until March 17, 1962. Two days after that, on March 19, 1962, she applied to the Tel Aviv registration office for a certificate of identity. To this end, she submitted all the information required under the Registration of Inhabitants Ordinance, 1949. The outcome of the application was that the Petitioner was summoned to the said office for “clarification”. The purpose of the “clarification” was to inform the Petitioner that she could not be issued a certificate of identity that would state that she was married, and accordingly, the name “Schlesinger” could not be entered. This notice was given to the Petitioner orally, and her request that she be given written notification went unanswered. An additional request for a certificate of identity, submitted by the Petitioner’s attorney to the Ministry of Interior in Jerusalem on April 30, 1962, received no response. The Petitioner therefore brought her matter before this Court, which granted an order nisi instructing the Respondent – the Minister of Interior – to show cause why he maintains his refusal to recognize the Petitioner as a married woman whose name is Schlesinger, and why he maintains his refusal to issue her a certificate of identity as requested, as well as a permit for permanent residency.

 

Only in its response to the order nisi did the Respondent grant the Petitioner’s request for a permanent residency permit, so that one issue has now become moot. Still, the Respondent maintains his refusal to register the Petitioner as a married woman, arguing that according to the laws of personal status that apply to the Petitioner and her husband, they are not a married couple. In this context, it should be noted that the Petitioner’s husband was registered in the Register of Inhabitants as married, on the basis of that same marriage ceremony celebrated between him and her in Cyprus, but the Respondent’s investigation into the Tel Aviv registration office revealed that this registration was made in error, and that the officer who registered the husband’s marriage was not familiar with the web of contradictory instructions given over the years by his superiors.

 

3.         It would not be superfluous to emphasize already at this stage – at the outset of our remarks – that we are not concerned here with the validity or voidance of the marriage. The issue before us is the question that arises from the what was stated in the order nisi, that is: whether there is justification for the refusal of the registration officer to register the Petitioner as a married woman who, as a result of her marriage, bears the name of her husband.

 

4.         In order to respond to the above question, we shall turn to the Registration of Inhabitants Ordinance, 1949. According to sec. 2 of the above Ordinance, a Register of Inhabitants was established in the territory of the state, and the roles of the registration offices are defined in sec. 3 of the Ordinance. These duties are:

  1. To keep a Register of Inhabitants containing the particulars of registration enumerated in section 4;
  2. To issue, renew and enter changes in certificates of identity;

 

As an “inhabitant”, according to its meaning in sec. 1 of the above Ordinance, the Petitioner must, under sec. 5(a), provide the registration office with the details listed in sec. 4 of the Ordinance. These details include, inter alia, her name (sec. 4(a)), and her family status (sec. 4(d)), and there is no doubt that she is required to provide correct details, as providing incorrect details is punishable under sec. 12(a)(2) of the Ordinance. These are the details which the registration officer must register, and issue the inhabitant a certificate of  identity according to them, as stated in sec. 7 of the Ordinance.

 

5.         In the course of the hearing, my honorable colleague Justice Berenson raised the question: what is the registration officer to do when a person comes before him and provides, for the purpose of registration, details that are not acceptable to the registration officer, such as when a person wishes to register his son as five years old, and the registration officer sees the boy and believes that he may be twenty years old?

 

Section 6 of the Ordinance speaks of the “procedure of notification”, and instructs that anyone providing details of registration must, at the request of the registration officer, “produce any relevant document” as well as “affirm, either orally or in writing, the correctness of the particulars furnished or produced by him”.

 

The learned State Attorney, who argued on behalf of the Respondent, did not touch on this question, except for a single incidental comment. He said that a public officer is not under a duty to enter incorrect information in a register that he maintains, and in any event, this Court will not order him to do so, as we held in HCJ 237/61 [4]. I accept this argument, but it concerns an incorrect registration that is manifest and not subject to reasonable doubt. I do not question that a public officer must not exercise his authority in order to be a party to an act of deception. When a person who is undoubtedly an adult presents himself and wishes to register as a five year old child, what doubt is there here that the registration is false and this person’s act is fraudulent? In such a case, the registration officer is correct to refuse to register the details, and this Court certainly will not exercise its power, under sec. 7 of the Courts Law, 5717-1957, to require the registration officer to “falsify” the Register of Inhabitants.

 

But consider a different case, in which the officer indeed has suspicions as to the age of a person, but the matter is uncertain. Recently,  a matter came before this Court concerning a person of Yemenite origin who, according to his certificate of identity, was already 18 years old, and thus, in accordance with his registered age, he was subject to military conscription. He reported for a medical examination in accordance with the Defence Service Law, 5719-1959, and the medical committee that examined him found that he was only 14 or 15 years old. The boy’s father, too, supported the finding of the medical committee, but nevertheless did not object to his son be conscripted immediately, apparently in the belief that it would be best that when the son is 18, he would already be exempt from the obligation for regular service and could assist him in his work or business. In light of the finding of the medical committee, the calling-up officer petitioned the District Court, in accordance with sec. 4 in the Appendix to the said law, for a declaration as to the age of the person reporting for military service. The District Court collected testimony and declared the registration in the certificate of identity was correct and the boy was 18 years old. The  calling-up officer appealed to this Court, and we held that the registration was incorrect and that the boy was still 14 years old (CA 85/62 [5]).

 

6.         The same question that worried the calling-up officer may arise before the registration officer when registering a resident under the above Ordinance. When that same person I discussed in sec.. 5 above presents himself and asks to register his son as 15, and the officer believes, according to what he sees, that the boy is already 17 years old, what is he to do? Needless to say, such cases are possible, whether because of a false registration was made in order to allow a person to avoid military service, or for any other purpose. When the registration officer wishes to determine the age of a person when the issue may cut both ways, the question arises: who authorized you? The matter in dispute may be difficult and complex, as the difference of opinions between the two courts in the above matter demonstrates. Have registration officers been granted judicial authorities? Has the Ordinance authorized them to decide upon matters of registration? It is clear beyond doubt that the task of the registration officer, under the above Ordinance, is but that of a collector of statistical information for the purposes of keeping the Register of Inhabitants, and he holds no judicial authority. What, then, is a registration officer to do in such a case? Should the registration officer register despite doubts as to the correctness of the registration – whether in terms of age or in terms of a different matter, such as one’s family status – or should he refrain?

 

It would appear that the registration officer was given “instructions” in this regard by the Ministry of Interior, but those instructions were changed from time to time. The instructions that were in effect until March 1958, were replaced at that time by other instructions given by the Deputy Director General for Immigration and Population in the Ministry of Interior, with the approval of the Minister of Interior (exhibit M2). These instructions also include provisions in regard to the registration of family status. On January 1, 1960, things changed again, and the Minister of Interior personally ordered the cancellation of previous instructions for registering mixed marriages. On May 2, 1962, the above Deputy Director General in the Ministry of Interior ordered, pursuant to this order of the Minister of Interior to the district commissioners, that “since the registration of mixed marriages…requires examination on a case by case basis”, registration officers must accept the notifications of requesting parties, but they must refrain from registering this in their certificate of identity and personal documentation and “transfer the personal file of the couple to the department for determination.”

 

7.         The determination of the department in regard to the Petitioner’s marriage was made on March 15, 1962, and it was passed on to the Immigration and Inhabitants Registration Office in Tel Aviv, as follows:

 

(2)… It should be clear that the civil marriage performed between him and Miss Funk is not valid for him. The personal law that applies to him is the Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction Law, and this statute does not permit mixed marriages.

 

(3) Since the marriage is not valid, Miss Funk must not be considered his wife and she must not be registered as married. The parties – should they wish to do so – may apply to the District Court for a determination on the matter by way of a motion for granting an order. The background for the decision should be explained to Dr. Schlesinger.

 

This determination of the Registration of Inhabitants Department in the Ministry of Interior is flawed in at least two ways. First, I wonder what source the Respondent or his subordinates found specifically in the Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction (Marriage and Divorce) Law,  5713-1953,[2] – it and none other – that “does not permit mixed marriages.” Section 2 of the above Law states:

 

Marriages and divorces of Jews shall be performed in Israel in accordance with Jewish religious law.

 

The law addresses the marriage of Jews, and only a marriage conducted in Israel. The Petitioner is not Jewish, and her marriage was conducted outside of Israel. Second, if a judicial decision is required, why should the Petitioner specifically turn to the District Court? Could she not submit the matter for decision by a competent religious court?

 

I think it appropriate to note, at this point, that the authority of the Minister of Interior to instruct the registration officers as to when to perform a registration and when not to was not disputed before us. There is no mention of such authority in the above Ordinance itself, and the Respondent did not argue that he relied upon regulations he made by virtue of sec. 10 of the Ordinance. However, in light of the position taken by the Petitioner’s attorney, I will assume that the Respondent was empowered to issue such “instructions”.

 

What was said in the instructions?

 

Exhibit M2 that is, the instructions given by the Respondent on March 10, 1958, in accordance with the opinion of the Attorney General – states, inter alia, as follows:

 

            1. Defining the Role of the Registration Officer:

The registration officer is solely an administrative authority and he must, therefore, register the personal details of a person required to provide them for registration according to the above statutes, both for himself and for his minor children.

The registration officer is not the judicial authority that determines the personal status of the person, and it is not for him to determine legal or religious questions.

If every determination of a legal question is beyond the scope of the role and competence of the authority tasked with implementing the laws – then that is certainly so for a determination of a religious nature. Whether one converted according to Jewish law, or married a wife according to Jewish law, or whether one was divorced by her husband according to Jewish law, or whether one may be considered Jewish under Jewish law – these are all religious questions, and their determination is within the purview of the religious authorities.

 

The considerations of the registration officer are solely administrative, and he is not charged with the implementation of religious law.

 

                        The civil administrative authorities are not ordered, are not able, and thus are not even permitted to carry out religious law or determine what is permitted or forbidden under religious law.

 

2.         What is the Registration Officer to Register?

The registration officer only registers what the citizen who is required to register tells him to register.

 

3.         The Duty of Investigation and Examination of the Registration Officer

The registration officer must not be charged with a duty to investigate and inquire that he cannot and should not meet before registering the details provided to him by the resident who must register.

It is true that the registration officer must exercise caution in fulfilling his duties. But “it (that is, this caution) is not but that same caution required of any public servant when fulfilling his administrative role.

 

4.         The Duty of Warning by the Registration Officer

The Registration officer shall warn the person required to register that he registers only what he is told, and that the registration does not serve as legal evidence of the truthfulness of the registered details, but only evidence of meeting the obligation to register. It must be explained to the declaring person that any court or tribunal, and even any administrative authority, may reject the details as a finding, and even disregard them.

In particular, he must be warned that, according to the standing rules of the Chief Rabbinate and the Ministry of Religion of 1950, rabbis who serve as registrars of marriages are obligated not to rely only on the information registered in the certificate of identity, but to investigate themselves those who come before them to marry, or to demand that they submit a certificate that they are unmarried from an authorized rabbi or religious court. In practice, rabbis follow these instructions all the time.

 

5.         The Registration Officer’s Duty to Register the Details

After the registration officer has given the above warning, he must register the details provided to him:

  1. If he sees no prima facie reason to doubt the details provided to him.
  2. If, after any doubt arose as to a particular detail, he requested evidence and the details were prima facie proven to him.

 

                                          The registration officer must always bear in mind that he is not a judge and that he is not an arbiter, but that he is solely a registration officer, and he registers only what the citizen required to register tells him to register. The law authorizes the registration officer to refuse to register what seems to him as false or misleading. For this purpose, he is granted the authority to demand from the person required to register documents and other evidence to prove what he claims ought to be registered. But when the registration officer sees no prima facie reason to doubt the details provided to him by the person required to register, or – after such doubt has arisen and he has demanded such evidence – should he be satisfied that these details were prima facie proven to him, then the registration officer must register them. The fact that the certificate he issues as to the registration will be deemed valid, and that it may serve to prove its content, is of no consequence to him at all.

 

6.         The Citizen’s Declaration – Presumption of Truth

The registration officer must presume the citizen’s declaration to be true, and particularly if he has warned the citizen. The registration officer may not raise unsubstantiated suspicions. Doubt must be based on a reasonable foundation.

 

This is a rule: the registration officer is required to respect the citizen, but he is not required to suspect him.

 

7.         What is a Reasonable Foundation for Suspicion?

A reasonable foundation may be based upon the conduct of the declaring citizen, inconsistencies in his declarations, apparent flaws in his documents, knowledge the officer has in regard to the citizen or the documents – and so forth.

 

8.         Anyone Seeking Amendment bears the Burden of Proof

When a person seeks to amend the registration – he must prove that there is indeed a mistake that requires correction and should be corrected. Here, the registration officer is not generally permitted to forego the evidence.

 

9.         An Official Document Presumed to be Valid

In the absence of special reasons (see below) to rebut the presumption of validity, the registration officer must not second guess an official document, but must act to register in accordance with it.

What constitutes an official document –

Any document created by a public servant (government, legal or administrative, civil or religious, in Israel or abroad) in the course of his duties, and in this regard, anything recorded in the  Register of Inhabitants and the certificate of identity itself, is presumed true.

                        Therefore, the authorities competent to execute the laws may and must presume the validity of any official document, whether from Israel or from abroad, that is presented to them as proof of a certain fact, and it is immaterial whether the document is a birth certificate or a passport or a marriage certificate or a divorce decree or a death certificate or probate order. Such documents prove prima facie not only the underlying fact for which they were issued (such as a marriage certificate or a divorce decree), but also all the other details written in them. The agency issuing the document is presumed not to have issued a document in which it recorded something that is incorrect.

 

10.       Rebutting the above Presumption

However, this presumption is rebuttable. It is only prima facie evidence. For example, should the registration officer sense a forgery of a document (uncertified additions or amendments or redactions), the officer may demand additional evidence.

 

11.       The Value of Decisions by the Registration Officer

The decisions of the registration officer are valid and binding only for the purpose of implementing the Registration of Inhabitants Ordinance (or one of the other above statutes). They have no binding legal force for the implementation of other statutes.

Even in those cases where the registration officer demanded evidence to prove a certain detail, the satisfaction of the registration officer does not bar a court or any other administrative authority from rejecting that very same evidence and to not be persuaded thereby.

 

……

 

16.       The Marriage of Spouses, One of whom is not Jewish, before a Consul

A consul has no authority to perform a civil marriage ceremony for a couple where both partners are Jewish, but the said consul retains authority to perform a civil marriage ceremony for a couple when one partner is not Jewish, provided that the consul is so authorized by the laws of his state to perform the marriage ceremony.

Any certificate issued by a foreign consul in Israel in regard to any person who is a citizen of the country that the consul represents, and which concerns the personal status of that person (such as marriage, birth and so forth, but not divorce), must be accepted as a basis for registering that detail that the certificate addresses.

 

9.         I agree with what is been presented above from exhibit M2, which also includes

the answer to the question how the registration officer is to proceed when he harbors doubt as to the accuracy of the details that the declaring citizen provided to him. Section 3 of the above regulations aptly states that the registration officer must act with caution, and I have already called attention to sec. 6 of the Ordinance, which establishes that he may investigate and inquire. But once the officer is presented with prima facie evidence, he must suffice with it, because being an administrative authority, he would exceed his authority should he seek to determine a legal dispute. And should he not seek to be an arbiter, then he must register the details as presented by the requesting citizen, even if he is not persuaded of their accuracy. Should a citizen seeking registration, as in the example in sec. 6 above, insist that his son is 15 years old, the registration officer shall register him as declared by the requesting citizen.

 

As said in the instructions above, a citizen coming before an administrative authority is presumed to speak the truth, and the registration officer must not forget that should he seek to exercise judicial authority and make a determination in a matter that he believes requires determination, he has not been granted the tools to do so. And since the above Ordinance requires the citizen to submit details for registration, and requires that the officer register them and issue a certificate of identity, the matter cannot end in a draw. There is no choice but to say that the registration officer must register what the citizen tells him.

 

The above Ordinance did not attribute to the registration in the Register of Inhabitants the force of evidence or proof of anything. The purpose of the Ordinance is, as was said in HCJ 145/51 [6], to collect statistical information. This material may be correct or incorrect, and no one guarantees its accuracy. In order to establish one’s age for the purposes of conscription into the military, the registration in the Register of Inhabitants serves as prima facie evidence, not by force of the above Ordinance, but by force of the Appendix to the Defence Service Law, 5719-1959. A certificate of identity is issued to a resident, according to sec. 7 of the Ordinance, as a “means of identifying.” But no one is obligated to act according to it, and no one is obligated to identify the holder of a certificate of identity by means of that document. Holding a certificate of identity grants its holder no right whatsoever (HCJ 155/53 [7]).

 

Just as registering an age in the certificate of identity does not serve as proof of age except to the extent established by a statute, the same holds true for the registration of family status, inasmuch as which law – like the Defence Service Law, 5719-1959, for the purposes of proving an age – permits a person to use his certificate of identity to prove whether or not he is married? Section 4 of the M2 directives says that according to the standing rules of the Chief Rabbinate and the Ministry of Religion, a marriage registrar does not rely on the registration for purposes of fulfilling his duties, and may act accordingly. Who, then, must rely on the registration?

 

10.       Consider the case of some Jewish man who married some Catholic woman in a civil service in some country, and who presents a marriage certificate to the registration officer. A civil court would establish the sufficiency of the ceremony under the law of the country of solemnization. However, that would not be the case in a religious court, which would not recognize a civil ceremony. How must the registration officer form his opinion, according to the district court or according to the religious court? I dare say that for the purposes of the validity of such a mixed marriage, no one in Israel can predict in advance whether or not it is valid.

 

Let us even assume that the man is an Israeli citizen, and the woman (like the Petitioner) is not. The District Court is not authorized to invalidate this marriage, in light of the restriction in art. 64 of the Palestine Order-in-Council, while MApp20/43 [14] held that this restriction denies the court the authority to declare this marriage void ab initio by reason of the spouses being ineligible to marry each other. But not only can the matter come before the District Court in a different action that would require it to rule on the question of the marriage’s validity, but there are two religious courts in the country that, while not competent to invalidate the marriage, can declare its existence and validity. Their authority would be contingent upon the consent of the parties to be judged by a religious court, and the President of the Supreme Court would then exercise his authority under art. 55 of the Palestine Order-in-Council to determine which court would be authorized to hear the matter. In light of art. 65 of the Palestine Order-in-Council, there is no bar to a foreign citizen consenting to the jurisdiction of a religious court (MApp 39/57 [1]. In this case, the validity of the marriage will depend upon how the President of the Supreme Court exercises his discretion, because once the authority of the religious court has been established, so has the substantive law that applies to the matter, as the law follows the judge (CA 238/53 IsrSC 8, 4, 36 [8]).  Were the President of the Supreme Court to authorize the Rabbinical Court to rule on the matter, it would invalidate the marriage, since Jewish religious law does not recognize civil marriage, and certainly not a mixed marriage between a Jewish man and a Christian woman. But the President of the Supreme Court might authorize the Catholic Court to adjudicate the matter, and were he to do so, the validity of the marriage would be determined according to the Catholic religious law. And what would the Catholic Court rule? The law of the Catholic Church is established by the Codex Juris Canonici of 1917. According to sec. 1014 and sec. 1070(2) of the above Codex, the Catholic Church, like a civil court, also follows the rule of semper praesumitur pro matrimonio (see Spivack v. Spivack (1930), 142 L.T. 492 [23]; and CA 191/51, IsrSC 8, 141, 149 [3]), and presumes every marriage to be valid as long and the opposite has been demonstrated. It is true that the law of the Catholic Church also requires, though not with the same severity of Jewish law, solemnizing a marriage in a religious ceremony. Additionally, according to sec. 1070 of the above Codex, the Church bars a mixed marriage between Catholic and Jewish partners, by reason of disparitas cultus, but this is not an absolute prohibition. According to sec. 1070 of the above Codex, it is possible to secure a dispensation from the prohibition on mixed marriages, and the questions and answers collected in the Canon Law Digest, vol. 3, p. 420ff. reveal that such dispensation is not such a rare occurrence. Moreover, even were the mixed marriage solemnized without obtaining a dispensation, the marriage would not inherently be void, but only flawed for violating the prohibition of disparatis cutus, and the priest is authorized to cure the flaw and “heal it in the root” (sanatio in radice) by retrospectively forgiving the sinner, according to secs 1138 to 1141 of the above Codex. And once he has done so, the marriage is given validity in retrospect, see Eichmann-Morsdorff, Lehrbuch des Kirchenrects, 5th ed., sec. 161 (2) (b) at p. 286. And as for form, even the duty to hold a religious ceremony does not originate from the scriptures, but is “rabbinic”,[3] because before the decrees of the Council of Trent in the 16th century, the Catholic Church, too, recognized not only the validity of a marriage ceremony be expressing consent to marry per verba de praesenti without religious format, but also the sanctity of a marriage conducted in this manner (sacramentum), see Dalrymple v Dalrymple (1811), 161 E.R. 665, 669 [24].

 

But even now, although the Church establishes the principle of a religious ceremony for solemnizing a marriage, it does not completely rule out a marriage for not meeting the religious requirements. Once the flaw is made known to a religious authority, it has the primary responsibility not to bring about the invalidation of the marriage, but rather, to the extent possible, to seek its validation, see Eichmann-Morsdorff, ibid., sec. 159, at p. 281. And even this flaw may be corrected in retrospect by means of “healing in the root”, ibid., sec. 161, p. 287.

 

11.       Let us now slightly change the facts of the above example, and assume that the woman was a Protestant at the time that she married the man, but that she converted after her marriage and joined the Catholic Church. We can disregard the provision of sec. 4(2) of the Religious Community (Conversion) Ordinance, whether by assuming that the woman converted prior to arriving in Israel, or whether due to the fact that the Protestant church does not seek its own jurisdiction, but leaves jurisdiction to the state and has not established its own courts. For the purpose of jurisdiction, the situation at the time of initiating the action is determinative, and thus the President of the Supreme Court may authorize the Catholic Court to adjudicate the matter of this couple as well. Because of its “catholicism”, that is, its universality, the Catholic Church accepts into its fold anyone baptized into Christianity (sec. 87 of the Codex), but it is lenient with a Christian who is not a Catholic, and exempts him, under sec. 1099(2) of the Codex, from the obligation to solemnize a marriage ceremony in accordance with its law, and suffices with the civil ceremony that was held, see Eichmann-Morsdorff, ibid.,, sec. 132, p. 146. But not only is the religious form not required, but such a mixed marriage is not at all flawed, and there is no need for forgiveness or sanation by way of “healing in the root”. Preventing the marriage, for reasons of disparitas cultus, according to sec. 1070 above, was established only for a case where one of the spouses was a Catholic. If he was not, but was a Christian of another faith and married a Jew, the marriage would be completely valid, ibid., sec. 141, at p. 186.

 

12.       I have expanded on the different possibilities for addressing mixed marriages as valid or invalid in order to show that the question of their validity or their invalidity is extremely weighty, and once a couple approaches the registration officer in order to be registered according to the Registration of Inhabitants Ordinance, 5709-1949, it is impossible to know how the matter would be decided. The registration officer cannot anticipate which court would decide the matter, or how the President of the Supreme Court may exercise his authority under art. 55 of the Palestine Order-in-Council, and he cannot predict whether the marriage’s validity would be recognized or not.

 

Furthermore, my honorable colleague Justice Silberg conducted in-depth research into the validity of the marriage, and reached the conclusion that it is invalid. However, in sec. 12 of his opinion, he testifies before heaven and earth that only a but a hair’s breadth stood between him and a converse ruling. When this is the declaration of a Supreme Court justice, is it conceivable that an administrative clerk, such as the registration officer, would even consider such a problem? Were you to say yes, then the conclusion must be that only one who is an expert in the rules of conflicts of law – which are among the most complex of jurisprudence – may be appointed as a registration officer under the above Ordinance. Had the legislature intended this, I wonder why it honored the holder of such duties merely with the modest title of “registration officer”.[4]

 

I tend to the opinion that when registering the family status of a resident, it is not the duty of the registration officer to consider the validity of the marriage. The legislature is presumed not to have charged a public agency with a duty it is not capable of fulfilling. It suffices that, for the purposes of fulfilling his duties and registering the family status,  the registration officer was presented with evidence that the citizen held a marriage ceremony. The question of the validity of that ceremony may, at times, cut both ways, and determining its validity exceeds the scope of the Inhabitants Registry.

 

We should explain that the marriage register maintained by the Rabbinate only testifies that a Jewish marriage ceremony was held between a man and a woman. The document testifies to the conducting of the ceremony (compare In re Peete (1952) [25]).  It is possible that a properly performed ceremony was void ab initio, and possible that it was valid. The registration demonstrates neither one nor the other. The presumption of the legitimacy of the marriage, which I discussed in a different context, that is, the presumption of the validity of the marriage, results from the conducting of the ceremony rather than from the registration that the ceremony was conducted, or from a document attesting that fact, and it is rebuttable. If this is the case for the marriage register maintained by the Rabbinate, it is all the more so the case for the Register of Inhabitants of the Inhabitants Registry. And there is no need to say that if the duty of the registration officer for purposes of registering the family status is limited to checking whether a marriage ceremony was held, there should be no concern whatsoever that the Register of Inhabitants may comprise inaccurate information and attest to a valid marriage where it was void ab initio due to a substantive defect or flaw. As we see, the definition of the purpose of the Register of Inhabitants, and preserving the boundaries of the role of the registration officer are sufficient to prevent mishaps. The result is that under no circumstances must the requesting resident supply the registration officer with more than prima facie evidence. The Petitioner presented the registration office with the marriage certificate. She secured the confirmation of the Belgian Embassy, which registered her marriage in the embassy’s personal status record, as well as in her passport. What more could she have done in order to satisfy the burden of proof? As long as the marriage has not been found void in a judicial process, the Petitioner must be considered a married woman for the purpose of the Register of Inhabitants.

 

I shall here allow myself the liberty to say that not only is there no statutory source for investigating and inquiring to uncover a flaw in the marriage, but it is also improper form an administrative perspective that a citizen coming to provide details for statistical purposes, and whose only sin is that his marriage is invalid, must stand before a suspicious officer who will delve into the depths of his past. There are marriages that are voidable and yet the spouses live together in peace until the end of their days. What interest does the administration have in raising problems as to its validity? Needless to say, the instructions from May 2, 1962, which instruct the registration officer to pass the matter of mixed marriages on to the “determination of the department”, are unfounded inasmuch as the department has nothing to determine.

 

13.       The conclusion I have reached absolves me from the need to address the question whether the marriage was indeed invalid on the grounds of the spouses’ ineligibility to marry one another, and I will only make as few comments on this issue:

 

(a)        The State Attorney did not argue before us that the marriage was invalid because it was performed in a civil ceremony. There was no place for this argument since this Court has already ruled that we follow the law of the place of the ceremony in regard to the form of the marriage (CA 191/51[3]), and in the absence of evidence to the contrary, a ceremony conducted in a foreign country is presumed to have been conducted lawfully.

 

(b)        Were the question of the marriage’s validity to be raised because of questions as to incapacity to marry, it would first be necessary to decide upon the proper law in the matter. For such purposes we cannot make recourse to the provision of art. 64(ii) of the Palestine Order-in-Council, which refers us to the “the law of the nationality of the foreigner concerned”, because the parties have no single national law. The law that would apply in such a case would be determined by the rules of conflicts of laws.

 

(c)        The State Attorney argued for the English rule that follows the parties’ domicile for purposes of their capacity to marry, but honestly noted that American law establishes one law for the form and the substantive validity of the act, and the law of the location where the marriage was solemnized applies for both of them, see Restatement, Conflict of Laws, sec. 121; Loughran v. Loughran (1934) [33[; Hastings v. Douglas [34].

 

(d)       Not only is the American rule easier to apply and more practical, because it prevents the need to split the discussion when the spouses did not have a single domicile (a split that might lead us to the strange outcome, as my honorable colleague Justice Silberg noted, where the husband would be married to his wife, whereas she would not married be to him), but the American rule is actually the English Common Law rule, which remained in its original form in the United States, whereas it transformed in England itself. Indeed, it is the rule that was followed by the Ecclesiastical Courts that held jurisdiction over matters of marriage until the enactment of the Matrimonial Causes Act, 1857. In England itself, different rules applied as to the form and in regard the capacity of the parties, see: Dalrymple v. Dalrymple (1811), 161 E.R. 665 [24]; Middleton v. Janverin (1802) [26]; Simonin v. Mallac (1860) [27].

 

(e)        The change in the English rule can already be discerned, in effect, in the decision of the Court of Appeal on the matter of Sottomayer v. De Barros (1879) 41 L.T. 281, 282 [20], where Justice Cotton said as follows:

                        The law of a country where a marriage was solemnized must alone decide all questions relating to the validity of the ceremony by which the marriage is alleged to have been constituted, but as in other contracts, so in that of marriage, personal capacity must depend on the law of domicil.

 

(f)        This rule was, as Professor Beale put it in his article The Law of Capacity in International Marriages, 15 H.L.R. 382, 286 – “an ignorant error.”

 

I have cited these words in the name of their author, but in defense of Justice Cotton, it can be said that hints in support of his view are found in the opinions of Lord Campbell and Lord Cranworth in the matter of Brook v. Brook (1981) 4 L.T. 93 [16]. However, the remaining justices in the matter of Brook joined the conclusion of their colleagues for other reasons (see p. 99, 101, [16] ibid.). For more on the Sottomayer rule, see Sottomayer v. De Barros (No. 2.) 1879, 41 L.T. 283, 285 [20]; Ogden v. Ogden (1907) [17]; Hay v. Northcote (1900) [28]. In all three, the courts refrained from ruling according to Justice Cotton, though they employed more temperate language than Professor Beale.

 

(g)        The said change in the rule is inconsistent with the provision of sec. 22 of the Matrimonial Causes Act, 1857, which has since been replaced by sec. 32 of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act, 1925, because according to it, the court was required to continue to decide upon matters of marriage as the Ecclesiastical Courts would have ruled when they still held jurisdiction. And as was already made clear, the Ecclesiastical Courts decided marriages under one law for the form and for the capacity of the parties.

 

(h)        When the Israeli Court sets out to determine the Israeli rule, we are not required to adopt the English rule specifically. And for my part, I do not see myself as obligated to correct the English rule which – even if the result of a mistake – is now accepted in England, though it has yet to be tested in the House of Lords. If the English rule suits our needs, we can accept it as the rule in Israel. However, it is possible that the American rule is more suitable. The English judges who considered the issue relevant to our matter cited the words of American commentators and judges at length, see Brook v. Brook (1861) [16], and Ogden v. Ogden (1907) [17], and many others as well. If English courts do so, why would we not do the same, and draw inspiration also from common law sources outside of England?

 

(i)         It would not be superfluous to note that the incapacity of a Jewish man to marry a Christian woman, even if it is a lack of capacity, is not an actual “status”. Schlesinger’s status is that of an adult man, and he is competent for any legal act, including marriage. Only the religious law that applies to him invalidates his action if he marries a Christian woman, and such marriage would be a nullity. In this regard, Professor Martin Wolff states in his book  Private International Law, 2nd ed., sec. 259, at p. 278:

To be married is a status; to be married to Mr. X is not.

 

He terms such inability to marry a particular woman  “relative incapacity”. In the meantime, the idea of the uniformity of one’s status for all purposes has been done away with in England. It was already decided in the matter of Baindail v. Baindail (1946) [29] that a person may be married for the purposes of barring a second marriage, and at the same time may not be married for the purposes of granting a divorce decree. Such relative incapacity was addressed by the court in the matter of Chetti v. Chetti (1909) [30], from which it arises that there are times when the law does not consider it. Should  the Petitioner, for example, seek maintenance from her husband in the District Court, I am not at all certain that such relative incapacity would lead the court to absolve the husband from the obligation to support his wife.

 

(j)         When a man lacks legal capacity in his domicile, he will also be barred from performing any legal act in any other location, according to the statement of Justice Cotton in Sottomayer, which is not limited to capacity for marriage. As a result, if a 23 year-old person, who has yet to reach the age of majority in his domicile, were to arrive in Israel and make some transaction, the transaction would be invalid. However, in that regard, sec. 77 of the Capacity and Guardianship Law, 5722-1962, provides that while the validity of such a transaction would indeed be subject to the law of the minor’s domicile, a person in Israel who was unaware of the minor’s incapacity may be entitled to the defense under sec. 77(1), and the transaction may remain in effect despite the person’s minority.

 

From the above law’s provision we learn that the Israeli legislature intends to follow the law of the domicile, but subject to exceptions, rather than in every case.

 

14.       In the matter of Brook v. Brook (1861) [16], and in the matter of Mette v. Mette (1859) [15], the marriage of a widower who married the sister of his late wife abroad was ruled invalid. Such a marriage was then prohibited in England under an explicit statute that purported to reflect Divine law, deeming the marriage as incestuous in violation of Leviticus 18 (as was mistakenly interpreted by way of expansion in the Christian tradition).

 

There was no general incapacity to marry here, as was already clarified in sec. 13(h) above, but in light of the English statute, the marriage was in violation of English moral sensibility, and recognizing it was in violation of public order. The fact that in the matter of Brook, the court relied upon the opinion of Judge Creswell in that same matter in the trial court proves this (Brook v. Brook  (1858) 65 E.R. 747 [31]). In addressing the question of the capacity to marry, the same judge said in the matter of Simonin v. Mallac, (1860) 2 L.T. 327, 330 [27] as follows:

           It is very remarkable that neither in the writings of jurists nor in the arguments of counsel, nor in the judgments delivered in the courts of justice, is any case quoted or suggestions offered to establish the proposition that the tribunals of the country where a marriage has been solemnized in conformity with the laws of that country should hold it void because the parties to the contract were the domiciled subjects of another country where such a marriage would not be allowed.

 

Every legal system refuses to recognize the validity of a legal act if it may harm the public order in that country, and even the United States, despite its liberal attitude to the validity of a marriage, is no exception to this rule. In sec. 132(b), the Restatement denies the validity of a marriage that was valid in the location where the marriage was solemnized, in this case:

 

… incestuous marriage between persons so closely related that their marriage is contrary to a strong public policy of the domicil.

 

This is none other than the English rule that derives from the judgments in Brook [16], Mette [15], and others.

 

15.       Does Israeli public order demand the denial of the validity of mixed marriages? This is a question that the courts may be be required to consider when the time comes, but I would argue that we not jump to a hasty conclusion as a result of the English Brook [16] precedent. There are several rationales for this.

 

Any country that wishes to live among the family of nations must, to that end, forgo the implementation of some of its legal rules when a foreign element arises and intervenes in a legal act. For example, we do not believe that a surety must be found invalid because it was given orally, and the prevailing law regarding Jews in Israel does not require the determination of a court in order to dissolve a marriage, but rather the granting of a get [a Jewish bill of divorce – ed.] and its acceptance suffice. In other countries the law is different, but this difference does not infringe public order in Israel, and just as we ask other nations to recognize Israeli law, we do not invalidate a transaction that is subject to foreign law that is different from our law. When the rules of conflict of laws refer us to foreign law, Israeli law yields. But there are cases – exceptional cases – where giving effect to a foreign law and to its outcome would significantly infringe the public order by which we live, and only when a foreign law stands in contrast to the sensibilities of justice and morality of the Israeli public would we be required to invalidate it. This is the well-known distinction of the learned Savigny in System des Roemischen Rechts, vol. 8, p. 35, that led to the distinction between ordre public interne that yields before the rules of conflict of laws, and ordre public externe (international,) which yields to nothing.

 

The fact that Jewish religious Jewish invalidates mixed marriage does not necessarily compel the conclusion that when we come to consider a person’s matter according to foreign law, we will invalidate the marriage because it is a mixed marriage. The marriage would be found invalid if its invalidation is required for reasons of external (international) public order, as we explained above, that is, when an Israeli judge, giving expression to the sentiments of the Israeli public, would be compelled to say that the validity of such a marriage does not comport with our way of life, wherever the ceremony was solemnized. When in doubt – the validity of the act must benefit from such doubt.

 

The invalidity of the marriage according to religious law would be a very weighty consideration, but it must not be the sole consideration. The Israeli public is currently divided into two camps. One camp, which observes the religious precepts – or most of them – stands opposed to a different camp which stresses the difference between a state under the rule of law and a state under Jewish religious law. The views of the two camps are in direct opposition to one another. Public order in Israel does not mean that the judge would compel the view of one camp upon the other. Life requires an attitude of tolerance for the other, and consideration for his different views, and thus the judge must be guided by balancing all of society’s prevailing views.

 

In the matter of Brook [16], the court emphasized (ibid., p. 98) that the unlawfulness of an incestuous marriage does not stem from God’s law but from what Parliament has explicitly pronounced, mistakenly or not, as God’s law. A similar question recently stood before the English court. Another man, a Jew, married his brother’s daughter. Such a marriage is still prohibited in England, on the grounds of consanguinity, according to the Marriage Act, 1949. And it was proven to the court that this is not the Christian approach alone, but that a similar approach has been adopted by Islam and in India. But the marriage was lawful in Egypt, where the spouses were married, and the prohibition against such marriage within England – so held the court – does not necessarily establish the demands of public order for purposes of addressing a ceremony conducted outside of it (Cheni v. Cheni (1963) [32]).

 

16.       Section 2 of the Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction (Marriage and Divorce) Law, 1953, is the law of the land, but it only provides for the marriage of Jews in Israel. This is the internal public order, that is the public order that prevails within the country. But what is the public order when the marriage was not solemnized in the country?

 

Since this Court held, in CA 191/51 [3], in regard to the form of the ceremony, that the law of the location where the ceremony was performed is determinative, there are hundreds – perhaps thousands – of couples in Israel who did not enter into a Jewish marriage but rather married in a civil ceremony. The state recognizes this, but the religion does not. I fear that from the perspective of an observant Jew, this is an offense that is no less serious than that of a mixed marriage. Recognizing the validity of such a marriage is inconsistent with his world view and is an egregious offense to his sensibilities. But this is a compromise required from such a Jew in exchange for the compromise required from the other camp for the sake of a common life as one nation. The stream of immigration continues to bring to Israel couples from all the countries of the world, among them some who did not marry in accordance with Jewish law in their countries of origin. Should the public order of such a country of immigrants interfere with the welfare of such families and declare all of these cases as simply concubinage? This is a weighty question that requires consideration, but the answer is not required for the matter before us.

 

I will only say this: neither English law nor American law invalidates a marriage on the grounds that the couple went abroad to solemnize a marriage that they could not celebrate in their own country. See Simonin v. Mallac (1860) ibid., [27], McDonald v. McDonald (1936) [35].

 

In the present case, it is clear that the Petitioner’s husband traveled to Cyprus and married her there because he could not marry her here, but we do not invalidate a marriage for that reason alone.

 

In conclusion:

  1. For the purpose of registering the family status of the Petitioner in the Register of Inhabitants, the marriage ceremony that was performed is determinative, and investigation into the validity of the marriage is not the concern of the registration officer.
  2. Prima facie evidence of the ceremony is sufficient in order to require the registration officer to register a marriage ceremony that was performed.
  3. In addition, it cannot be determined with certainty that when the question of the validity of the marriage comes before a civil or a religious court – a mixed marriage would be found to be invalid.

 

I would, therefore, make the order nisi absolute.

 

Justice Berenson:

I agree that the order nisi must be made absolute for the reasons given by my honorable colleague Justice Sussman in the first part of his opinion, addressing the question of the status, duties and authorities of the registration officer. I, too, am of the view that the instructions assembled in document M2, presented in their entirety in the opinion of my honorable colleague, provide a correct response to this issue. The registration officers would, therefore, do well to continue to keep these instructions in mind, and follow them, even though they apparently do not yet constitute official directives of the Minister of Interior.

 

Justice Witkon:

I, too, concur in  the opinion of my honorable colleague Justice Sussman that for the purposes of registering the Petitioner in the Register of Inhabitants, there was no reason to raise the complex question as to whether her marriage is valid or invalid in terms of the law to which she is subject. With this, I, like my honorable colleague Justice Berenson, leave the answer to this question for future consideration.

 

Justice Manny:

I concur in the opinion of my honorable colleague Justice Sussman that is neither the function, nor within the capability of the registration officer to decide as to the validity of a marriage proven to be legitimate by prima facie evidence presented to him by the party seeking its registration. For this reason, I, too, am of the view that the order nisi should be made absolute.

 

Decided by a majority to make the order nisi absolute.

 

The Respondent will pay the Petitioner a sum of IL 250 as costs for the petition and attorney’s fees (in total).

 

Given this day, 28 Shevat 5723 (February 22, 1963).

 

 

[1] 2 L.S.I. 103.

[2] 7 L.S.I. 139.

[3] Ed: Justice Sussman employs the terminological distinction in Jewish law between “scriptural” and “rabbinic” law.

[4] Ed: Note that the original Hebrew term pakid, translated in the authorized L.S.I. translation as “officer”, is more commonly translated as “clerk”.

Lev v. Tel-Aviv-Jaffa Rabbinical Court

Case/docket number: 
HCJ 3914/92
Date Decided: 
Thursday, February 10, 1994
Decision Type: 
Original
Abstract: 

[This abstract is not part of the Court's opinion and is provided for the reader's convenience. It has been translated from a Hebrew version prepared by Nevo Press Ltd. and is used with its kind permission.]

 

Petitioner 1 and Respondent 3 were in divorce proceedings. In the context of a suit for marital reconciliation filed by Respondent 3, he requested that Respondent 1 prevent Petitioner 1 from leaving the country. His request was granted. Petitioner 1 requested that the order be vacated because her trip was intended as a vacation with her eldest daughter as well as for conducting business enquiries. Respondent 1 denied the request, holding that the planned trip would result in a final rupture between the spouses. Respondent 2 denied the request of Petitioner 1 to appeal the decision of Respondent 1. That denial led to this petition to the High Court of Justice. The Petitioners argued that the decisions of Respondents 1 and 2 deviated from the case law of the civil courts and were repugnant to the provisions of Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty.

 

The High Court of Justice held:

 

1. (a) The Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction (Marriage and Divorce) Law, 5713-1953, establishes the normative framework of the rabbinical courts' jurisdiction. The law establishes the jurisdiction of the rabbinical courts over matters concerning the personal status of Jews. The substantive law under to which the rabbinical courts rule on personal status matters is Jewish Law.

 

    (b) The Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction Law does not establish any rules of procedure for the rabbinical courts in matters that are in their jurisdiction. The law according to which the rabbinical courts rule in matters of personal status does not empower any authority to establish procedures for the rabbinical courts.

 

    (c) The argument that authority to establish procedures derives from the substantive law cannot be accepted. The authority to establish procedures derives from the nature of the body’s status as a judicial instance and not from the substantive law by which that judicial instance rules.

 

2. (a) In the absence of statutory authorization in this matter, the power to establish procedures lies with the rabbinical courts themselves. The origin of such authorization is the inherent jurisdiction of each judicial instance to decide its own procedures.

 

    (b) A judicial instance's inherent power to prescribe procedures is of signal importance. Without it, proper judicial activity would be impossible. This power is broad. It encompasses any matter that occurs in or out of the courtroom that is related to the trial. Particularly due to the broad scope of this power, it should be exercised with great caution.

 

    (c) This ancillary power is not unlimited. By its nature, it operates within the boundaries of procedural law and relates to the matter of the proper management of the judicial proceeding and its proper control.

 

    (d) Inherent jurisdiction – as well as express jurisdiction in procedural matters – is, in essence, governmental authority. Therefore, it must be exercised reasonably, and the judge, like any person exercising governmental authority, must act reasonably.

 

3.  (a) Reasonable exercise of judicial authority means its exercise in a manner that strikes a proper balance among the values, principles and interests that must be considered. These values, principles and interests are not essentially different from those that apply when exercising statutory procedural jurisdiction.

 

    (b) These values, principles and interests, which determine the "environment" of the (statutory or inherent) procedural jurisdiction, change from case to case in accordance with the specific procedural issue at hand. However, a number of typical considerations can be identified as a common thread through the procedural process in general and the exercise of inherent jurisdiction in particular.

 

    (c) Procedural justice is a central consideration. This consideration means, inter alia, perceiving the procedural process as intending to realize substantive law, based upon exposing the truth. Procedural justice requires observing the rules of natural justice, which treat of granting each party an opportunity to voice its arguments, prohibiting bias, and the obligation to state reasons. Rules regarding a fair hearing are also derived from procedural justice. In this context we might note knowledge that a hearing is being held, being granted a proper opportunity to present arguments, fair exercise of procedural powers, as well as open  and accessible courts. The efficiency, simplicity and finality of proceedings can also be included in this framework. The aspiration for confidence, stability and certainty in procedural arrangements should also be included.

 

    (d) A typical set of values that must be considered in every procedure is that of human rights. Among these it is necessary, inter alia, to consider a person's dignity and personal liberty. A person's right to privacy and confidentiality must also be considered. Any procedural arrangement must treat the litigating parties equally. It must guarantee freedom of expression, occupation and property. It must ensure the freedom of movement that is guaranteed to every person, and in that framework, the right of every person to leave the country.

 

    (e) When there is an internal conflict among the general considerations in which the procedural authority must be exercised, there is no choice other than to strike a proper balance among the conflicting considerations. In the framework of such a balance, significant weight must be given to considerations pertaining to human rights.

 

4. (a) Like any judicial instance, the rabbinical court is also granted inherent powers to arrange procedures. When exercising these inherent powers, the rabbinical court is subject to all of the limitations that are imposed upon any judicial instance that exercises inherent powers.

 

    (b) In exercising that authority, the rabbinical court must respect human rights, and like every other judicial forum, it must properly balance all of the conflicting values, principles and interests in each and every issue.

 

    (c) This balance is imposed upon the inherent jurisdiction “from without”, by virtue of the entire complex of values of the Israeli legal system. It reflects the substance and principles of the Israeli legal system of which the rabbinical courts are a part. 

 

5.  (a) A citizen’s freedom of movement to leave the country derives from being a free person, from the democratic character of the state, and from being part of the international community in which freedom of movement is recognized as a customary human right.

 

    (b) As against the constitutional right of every person to leave the country stands the interest of a litigant to realize the substantive law. Maintaining proper legal proceedings to ensure substantive rights is a legitimate interest deserving protection by all parties. There is also a public interest that legal proceedings be effective, that suits not be frustrated, and that judgments be executed.

 

    (c) In a situation in which these values conflict, the required balance must reflect the relative social importance of the conflicting interests. The balance should properly be an expression of principle that reflects a decisional framework which comprises “a guideline of value”.

 

6. (a) The proper constitutional standard is as follows: a litigant may be prevented from leaving the country if there is a sincere and well-founded suspicion that the litigant’s leaving the country would frustrate or thwart the judicial proceeding or prevent the execution of the judgment.

 

    (b) This standard is of a constitutional character. By establishing a causal connection between preventing leaving the country as a constitutional right and the negative effect of the absence upon the judicial proceedings, it expresses a constitutional view of the status of the fundamental principles of our legal system.

 

    (c) The causal connection between the danger and its prevention required by this standard is “a sincere and well-founded suspicion”. Not any possible harm, whether severe or insignificant,  can serve to prevent a litigant from leaving the country. The harm must be of a special type, of particular severity, i.e., frustrating the lawsuit in advance through the litigants’s fleeing abroad.

 

    (d) Meeting the said standard is a necessary condition for exercising the authority of preventing a litigant form leaving the country, but it is not a sufficient condition. Procedural rules may impose additional demands. Before exercising its discretion, the court must consider whether there are less drastic means for ensuring the interest deserving protection while not infringing freedom of movement.

 

   (e) The court should exercise this procedural authority with great care. Granting the order must not be routine, and it should properly be granted only when justified by the circumstances. The application of the said standard changes in accordance with the substantive right that the judicial proceeding itself is intended to realize.

 

   (f) The said standard is formulated to take account of the fact that we are concerned with interlocutory relief in the course of a pending proceeding. In such a situation, the standard that should be adopted should be one that tends, as far as possible, to protect the rights of the person who will suffer a certain infringement of rights. In so doing, we express the serious weight of an individual’s right to leave the country.

 

7. (a) In the framework of their inherent power, the rabbinical courts are free to establish procedural rules consistent with their worldview. However, that procedural freedom is not unrestricted. It is subject to the limits – to which all judicial forums are subjected – that derive from the proper balance of values, principles and interests that reflect the values of the state.

 

    (b) Under the circumstances, the decision by Respondent 1 does not maintain the proper balance between the freedom of movement of Petitioner 1 and ensuring the realization of the substantive rights of Respondent 3 by means of the judicial process.

 

    (c) Under the circumstances, the evidentiary groundwork presented before Respondent 1 did not substantiate a “sincere and well-founded suspicion”. It did not meet the requirement that the Petitioner’s absence from the country would frustrate or thwart the judicial proceeding of Respondent 3 for reconciliation.

 

    (d) The suit for marital reconciliation  raises serious problems, particularly in the area of interlocutory relief. To the extent that interlocutory orders are granted in the context of marital reconciliation that do not meet the requirements of proper balancing of the values, principles and interests that must be addressed, the rabbinical court is not authorized to issue a writ ne exeat republica merely because the matter interferes with marital reconciliation.

 

    (e) The Rabbinical Court was not authorized to issue a temporary order prohibiting Petitioner 1 from leaving the country. However, it is authorized to make inferences in regard to the substantive law in the matter of reconciliation from the fact that Petitioner 1 left the country, and from her conduct in the country and abroad.

Voting Justices: 
Primary Author
majority opinion
Non-writer
majority opinion
Non-writer
majority opinion
Full text of the opinion: 

 

 

HCJ 3914/92

 

Petitioners: 1. Leah Lev

                  2. Liron Lev, Minor

                  3. Ido Lev, Minor

                  4. Roi Lev, Minor

                                                                        v.

 

  1. Tel-Aviv-Jaffa Rabbinical Court
  2. Supreme Rabbinical Court of Appeals
  3. Ran Lev

 

In the Supreme Court sitting as the High Court of Justice

[February 10, 1994]

Before Deputy President A. Barak and Justices S. Levin and D. Levin

 

 

 

 

[1]   CA 26/51 Kotik v. Wolfson, IsrSC 8, 1341

[2]   CA 99/63 Peleg et al. v. Attorney General, IsrSC 17, 1122

[3]   HCJ 136/54 Pollack v. Herzog et al., IsrSC 9, 155

[4]  HCJ 150/59 Committee of the Sephardic Community of Jerusalem v. Jerusalem Rabbinical Court  et al., IsrSC 15, 106

[5]   HCJ 364/85 Fakhr Aldin v. Druze Court of Appeals et al., IsrSC 40(3) 699

[6]   HCJ 305/89 Nir v. Haifa Magistrates (Traffic) Court et al., IsrSC 48(3) 203

[7]   ST 1/60 Winter v. Beeri, IsrSC 15, 1457

[8]   CrimA 230/56, 4/57 Shorer v. Attorney General, IsrSC 11, 750

[9]   FH 22/73 Ben Shahar v. Mahlev, IsrSC 28(2) 89

[10] HCJ 547/84 Of Ha’emek, Registered Agricultural Cooperative Association v. Ramat Yishai Local Council et al., IsrSC 40(1) 113

[11] MApp 613/82 State of Israel v. Awad, IsrSC 36(3) 612

[12] HCJ 991/91 David Pasternak Ltd. et al. v. Minister of Construction and Housing et al., IsrSC 48(5) 50

[13] HCJ 355, 370, 373, 391/79 Katalan et al. v. Prisons Service et al. IsrSC 34(3) 294 [http://versa.cardozo.yu.edu/opinions/katlan-v-prison-service]

[14] HCJ 14/51 Attorney General v. Editor of “Davar” et al., IsrSC 8, 1017

[15] BAA 663, 691, 5145/90 A. v. Israel Bar Association District Committee of Tel Aviv – Jaffa, IsrSC 47(3) 397

[16] MApp 678/82 Tayar v. State of Israel, IsrSC 36(3) 386

[17] CA 703/70 Somech v. Ozer et al., IsrSC 24(2) 799

[18] CA 230/69 Kaneti v. United Shvili Film et al., IsrSC 23(1) 505

[19] LA 451/85 Adin Marketing Company Ltd. v. Flatto Sharon, IsrSC 39(3) 303

[20] CA 548/78 A. et al. v. B., IsrSC 38(1) 736

[21] LCA 26/89 Mashraki et al. v. "Rotem" Insurance Company Ltd., IsrSC 42(4) 348

[22] LCA 18/89 Pichman v. Bank Leumi Leyisrael Ltd., IsrSC 42(4) 513

[23] HCJ 243/62 Israel Film Studios Ltd. v. Levi Geri et al., IsrSC 16, 2407; IsrSJ 4, 208 [English]

[24] CrimApp 6654/93 Binkin v. State of Israel, IsrSC 48(1) 290

[25] HCJ 323/81 (Mot 533/81) Vilozny v. Supreme Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem, IsrSC 36(2) 733

[26] HCJ 158, 2130/66 Segev et al. v. Rabbinical Court et al., IsrSC 21(2) 505

[27] HCJ 10/59 Levi v. Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court et al., IsrSC 13 1182

[28] HCJ 155/65 Gurovitz v. Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court et al., IsrSC 19(4) 16

[29] HCJ 95/63 A. v. Tel Aviv – Jaffa Rabbinical Court et al., IsrSC 17, 2222

[30] HCJ 161/64 Mussman v. Haifa Rabbinical Court et al., IsrSC 18(3) 502

[31] HCJ 816/80 Gotthelf v. Tel Aviv – Jaffa Rabbinical Court et al., IsrSC 38(3) 561

[32] HCJ 187/54 Barriya v. Qadi of the Acre Sharia Moslem Court, IsrSC 9, 1193

[33] HCJ 7/83 Biaris v. Haifa Rabbinical Court et al., IsrSC 38(1) 673

[34] HCJ 349/65 Pero v. Qadi Madhab, Druze Religious Court, IsrSC 20(2) 342

[35] HCJ 1923/91 Rosenzweig v. Haifa Rabbinical Court, IsrSC 46(2) 1

[36] HCJ 1689/90 Aasi v. Central District Sharia Court, IsrSC 48(5) 148)

[37] HCJ 1000/92 Bavli v. Great Rabbinical Court, IsrSC 48(2) 221

[38] HCJ 80/93 Gurfinkel v. Minister of the Interior, IsrSC 17, 2048

[39] CA 303/57 Reich v. Hammer,  IsrSC 11, 1362

[40] HCJ 111/53 Kaufman v. Minister of the Interior, IsrSC 7, 534

[41] HCJ 190/57 Assaig v. Minister of Defence, IsrSC 12(1) 52

[42] HCJ 505, 496, 488/83 Baransi v. Director of the Visa and Nationality Dept; Dasuki v. Minister of the Interior et al., IsrSC 37(3) 722

[43] HCJ 448/85, HCJApp 32, 5/86 320, 284/85 Dahar et al. v. Minister of the Interior,  IsrSC 40(2) 701

[44] MApp 1064/86 Archbishop Ajamian v. State of Israel, IsrSC 41(1) 83

[45] FH 9/77 Israel Electric Corporation. v. “Ha’aretz” Newspaper Ltd., IsrSC 32(3) 33; IsrSJ 9, 295

[46] LA 558/85 Ilin et al. v. Rotenburg et al., IsrSC 40(1) 553

[47] HCJ 869, 852/86 Aloni et al. v. Minister of Justice et al., HJCApp 521, 523, 543, 518, 515-512, 507, 502, 487, 486, 483/86 IsrSC 41(2) 1

[48] HCJ 578/82  Naim v. Jerusalem District Rabbinical Court et al., IsrSC 37(2) 701

[49] HCJ 403/71 Alkourdi v. National Labor Court et al., IsrSC 26(2) 66

[50] ST 1/50 Sidis v. Chief Execution Officer, Jerusalem et al., IsrSC 8, 1020

[51] CA 174/83 N. Soher v. P. Soher, IsrSC 38(2) 77

[52] HCJ 185/72 L. Gur v. Jerusalem Rabbinical Court et al., IsrSC 26(2) 765

[53] HCJ 428/81 unreported

 

Labor Court cases cited:

 

[54] ] LC 52/8-4; 7-41 unreported

 

United States cases cited:

 

[55] Roadway Express, Inc. v. Piper, 447 U.S. 752 (1980)

[56] Matter of Alamance County Ct. Facilities, 329 N.C. 84, 405 S.E.2nd 125 (1991)

 

 

 

 

Petition for an order nisi. The case was heard as if an order nisi were grated. The petition was granted, and the order nisi was made absolute.

 

M. Bar Shilton, Y. Bar Shilton – on behalf of the Petitioners

Y. Sidi – on behalf of Respondent 3

 

JUDGMENT

 

Deputy President A. Barak: The question before the Court in this petition is: What considerations may a Rabbinical Court take into account when considering whether or not to grant a writ ne exeat republica?

 

The Facts

 

  1. Petitioner 1 (hereinafter: the Petitioner) and Respondent 3 (hereinafter: the Respondent) are married. They have three minor children (Petitioners 2, 3 and 4). Disputes arose between the Petitioner and the Respondent. The Petitioner filed a claim for child support and custody in the District Court (on May 10, 1992). She also sued for divorce in the Rabbinical Court. In response, the Respondent filed suit for marital reconciliation with the Rabbinical Court (Respondent 2). In the framework of the suit for marital reconciliation, the Respondent requested that the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Rabbinical Court issue a writ ne exeat republica to prevent the Petitioner from leaving Israel. The request stated that "for some time, the wife has been having an affair with a foreign man who is a resident of the United States, and it is her present intention to leave Israel, to move to the United States with the children, and  to live there with this man". The Rabbinical Court, in the presence of the Respondent alone, issued an order barring the Petitioner and her children from leaving the country. The Petitioner requested that the Rabbinical Court rescind the order. The request noted that the Petitioner and her eldest daughter (Petitioner 2) wished to go abroad for two weeks. The vacation was planned long in advance and was "meant as a bat-mitzvah gift for the daughter". The two sons (Petitioners 3 and 4) would remain in Israel. The Petitioner has an active business in Israel, and there is no concern that she might not return to Israel. The Respondent objected to this request. In the meantime, the original date for the Petitioner's departure from Israel passed. She amended her request to a new date (August 14, 1992), adding that she was also combining a business trip in her trip and that preventing her from leaving would inflict severe monetary damage.

 

The Proceeding before the Rabbinical Court

 

  1. The Tel Aviv-Jaffa Rabbinical Court held a hearing in the presence of the parties (on August 2, 1992). The relationship between the parties was described in the course of the hearing. The Respondent stated that a foreign man disrupted the couple's marriage. According to the Respondent, the purpose of the Petitioner's travel abroad was to meet with the foreign man and to have intimate relations with him. The Petitioner emphasized the rift in their personal relationship. She stated that the purpose of the trip was an excursion (as a gift to the daughter) and business enquiries. At the end of the hearing (on July 30, 1992), the Rabbinical Court reached the following decision:

 

Having heard the arguments and responses of the parties and their attorneys, in light of the material presented to us, and in view of the claims of the husband who claims and who fears that the wife's travel abroad at this stage would cause a final and irreparable rift between them, this court decides – at this stage – not to grant the wife's request to rescind the writ ne exeat republica against her. The court will hold an additional hearing on the matter of the wife's request on the 24th of Elul, 5752 (September 22, 1992) at 9:00 a.m. The parties are required to negotiate an appropriate solution which will enable them to travel abroad together, or will enable the wife to travel separately under such terms as will abate the husband's concerns.

 

An application for leave to appeal this decision was filed with the Supreme Rabbinical Court. The court was asked to schedule an urgent date for a hearing in order to allow the Petitioner to leave Israel on the date she requested, so that she and her daughter would be able to return to Israel in time for the beginning of the school year. The Supreme Rabbinical Court denied the application for leave to appeal (on August 6, 1992), ruling:

 

Inasmuch as the Regional Court decided to schedule an additional session to continue the hearing, it is inappropriate to hear the appeal at this stage .

 

The petition before us was filed against these Rabbinical Court decisions.

 

 

The Parties' Arguments

 

  1. The Petitioners claim that the reason that was given by the Regional Rabbinical Court to bar their exit from the country – how the departure would affect the couple's relationship – is invalid. This reason is contrary to the Rabbinical Court's own approach and to the case law of the civil courts. It is repugnant to the provisions of Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. This Basic Law establishes the right of every person to leave Israel. Against this background, granting a writ ne exeat republica must be limited to securing a party's appearance in court and guaranteeing the monetary rights of the other party. It was further argued that the Rabbinical Court lacked authority to prevent the daughter from leaving the country.

 

  1. In his response, the Respondent argues that he seeks to achieve marital reconciliation. The court acted within this framework and did not act ultra vires. There is a concern that the Petitioner may not return to Israel for the Rabbinical Court's hearings and will thereby frustrate the claim for marital reconciliation. The Petitioner must wait until the hearing in the Regional Rabbinical Court is exhausted.

 

  1. Upon the commencement of the hearing (on August 13, 1992), (at the consent of the parties) we treated the hearing as though an order nisi had been granted. After hearing the parties' arguments, we made the order absolute and cancelled the writ ne exeat republica against the Petitioners. We instructed that the cancellation of the order be conditioned upon the Petitioners' furnishing a personal bond securing their return by September 15, 1992, and a third-party guarantee in the amount of NIS 100,000.

 

We ruled that the Respondent will bear the Petitioners' costs in the amount of NIS 10,000. We instructed that our reasons will be given separately. These are our reasons.

 

The Normative Framework

 

  1. The Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction (Marriage and Divorce) Law, 5713-1953 (hereinafter: the Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction Law) sets forth the normative framework of the rabbinical courts' jurisdiction. The law establishes the jurisdiction of the rabbinical courts over matters concerning the personal status of Jews. The substantive law under to which the rabbinical courts rule on personal status matters is Jewish Law. The Rabbinical Courts also rule in accordance with the general substantive (statutory and case-law) law that applies to matters under their jurisdiction. The Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction Law does not establish any rules of procedure for the rabbinical courts in matters that are in their jurisdiction. In the past, certain provisions in this regard were established in the Jewish Community Regulations.[1] These regulations are no longer valid, and for this reason alone they cannot serve as a source of the authority to promulgate procedural rules. What, then, is the procedural regime that applies in the rabbinical courts?

 

  1. One might argue that the authority to prescribe procedural rules derives from the substantive law. Since the substantive law followed by the rabbinical courts is primarily Jewish law, therefore Jewish law should also be the source of the rabbinical courts authority to establish rules of procedure (see: E. Shochetman, Procedures (Sifriyat Hamishpat Ha’ivri, 5748) 12 (Hebrew)). This argument  cannot be accepted. The authority to establish procedures derives from the nature of the body’s status as a judicial instance and not from the substantive law by which that judicial instance rules. Thus, for example, the civil court rules in accordance with Jewish law in many matters of personal status, however it does not apply the procedural (and evidentiary) rules of Jewish law when ruling on such matters (see, CA 26/51 Kotik v. Wolfson [1] at p. 1344; CA 99/63 Peleg. v. Attorney General [2] at p. 1128). Indeed, to paraphrase Justice Silberg’s statement that "the law here is, so to speak, a 'function' of the judge" (see: M. Silberg, Personal Status in Israel (Mif'al Hashichpul, 5718) 6 (Hebrew)), we might say in this case that the procedure is a “function” of the judge and not of the (substantive) law by which the judge rules. Therefore, the power of a rabbinical court judge to establish the court’s rules of procedure does not derive from the substantive law by which he rules. How, then, are the rabbinical courts’ rules of procedure established?

 

  1. In my opinion, in the absence of statutory authorization in this matter, the power to establish procedures lies with the rabbinical courts themselves. The origin of such authorization is the inherent jurisdiction of each judicial instance to decide its own procedures (see HCJ 136/54 Pollack v. Herzog  [3] at p. 165; also see P. Goldstein, The “Inherent Jurisdiction” of the Court, 10 Iyunei Mishpat 37, 49 (5744-45) (Hebrew); I. H. Jacob, The Inherent Jurisdiction of the Court, 23 Current Legal Problems 32 [1970]). Justice Berenson elaborated on this in reference to the rabbinical courts, stating:

 

A court for which the State did not prescribe procedures and did not delineate the manner by which they shall be established is authorized, by virtue of its inherent jurisdiction, to establish its own procedures that it will follow… When there is a hierarchic system of tribunals for which the legislature has not provided procedures, the question of who will decide them and how is generally an internal manner  (HCJ 150/59 Committee of the Sephardic Community of Jerusalem v. Jerusalem Rabbinical Court [4] at p. 114).

 

Similarly, my colleague Justice D. Levin stated:

The Druze courts, which were duly established and have been conducting their hearings for years, do not operate in a vacuum. Since no procedural regulations were promulgated by the authorized minister, the judges of the Druze courts were permitted to establish their own procedures that they followed by virtue of their inherent jurisdiction (HCJ 364/85 Fakhr Aldin v. Druze Court of Appeals [5] at p. 704).

 

Thus, the rabbinical courts have inherent jurisdiction to prescribe the procedures that they will follow. In exercising that jurisdiction, the Israeli Rabbinical Courts Procedure Regulations, 5753 (Y.P. 5753 2298) were promulgated. A review of these regulations reveals that their content reflects Jewish law (see Shochetman, ibid., at p. 11). However, in terms of the power to promulgate them, they in fact realize the rabbinical courts' inherent jurisdiction to prescribe their own procedures. Indeed, alongside the procedures that were promulgated in the past by virtue of the rabbinical courts' inherent jurisdiction, the courts continue to enjoy inherent power to regulate those procedural matters which have not been addressed in regulations (compare: HCJ 305/89 Nir v. Haifa Magistrates (Traffic) Court [6] at p. 214). This inherent jurisdiction derives from the rabbinical court (like any other judicial instance) being a judicial institution established by law, which is intended to rule upon disputes, and which is granted power that is inherent to the very performance of the duty and the need to conduct judicial proceedings.

 

Inherent Jurisdiction and its Limits

 

  1. A judicial instance's inherent power to prescribe procedures is of signal importance. "Without it proper judicial activity would be impossible" (Justice H. Cohn in ST 1/60 Winter v. Beeri [7] at p. 1474). The inherent powers "are vital in order to allow the court to perform its duties properly…" (Justice Landau in CrimA 230/56 Shorer v. Attorney General [8] at p. 753). They underlie "that minimal authority in matters of procedures, trial efficiency and justice that the court needs in order to perform its purpose: administering justice. This power is the external reflection of the internal sense of justice with which the judge is endowed and that he expresses in his daily actions" (Justice Berenson in FH 22/73 Ben Shachar v. Machlev [9] at p. 96).

 

This power is broad. It "encompasses any matter that occurs in or out of the courtroom that is related to the trial" (HCJ 305/89 [6] at p. 214). Indeed, due to the broad scope of this power, it has long been accepted that it should be exercised with great caution (see: Roadway Express v. Piper (1980) [55] at p. 763). This ancillary power is not unlimited. It is not broader than the express authority to prescribe procedures. By its nature, it operates within the boundaries of procedural law and relates to the matter of the proper management of the judicial proceeding and its proper control. Moreover: inherent jurisdiction (as well as express jurisdiction in procedural matters) is, in essence, "governmental authority". Therefore, it must be exercised reasonably. Indeed, the judge, like any person exercising governmental authority, must act reasonably. I addressed this elsewhere, stating:

 

A judge may not toss a coin. He may not consider any factor that he chooses. He must consider reasonably. We have here, as in administrative law, a margin of judicial reasonableness. There are a number of options within the margin among which a reasonable judge may choose. Two reasonable judges may reach different results (HCJ 547/84 Of Haemek v. Ramat Yishai  [10] at p. 141).

 

This duty to act reasonably also applies when a judge exercises his inherent jurisdiction (MApp 613/82 State of Israel v. Awad [11] at p. 616).

 

  1. What constitutes reasonable exercise of judicial authority? The answer is that reasonable exercise of judicial authority means its exercise in a manner that strikes a proper balance among the values, principles and interests that must be considered. I addressed this elsewhere, stating:

 

Judicial discretion, like any governmental discretion, must be exercised in the framework of the law. A judge must not be arbitrary or discriminatory. He must consider his discretion reasonably… This requirement means, inter alia, that the judge must weigh all of the relevant considerations, juxtapose them, and strike a balance among them where there is friction. The nature of the relevant considerations changes from case to case… what characterizes them all  is that they present considerations of judicial and judiciary efficiency along with considerations of justice, morality, human rights and the court's standing in modern Israeli society… (HCJ 991/91 David Pasternak Ltd. v. Minister of Construction and Housing  [12] at p.  60).

 

Thus, proper exercise of "inherent" judicial authority – like the exercise of explicit statutory procedural authority – means exercising the inherent authority in a manner that strikes a proper balance among the values, principles and interests that must be considered when exercising inherent authority.

 

  1. What are the values, principles and interests that must be considered when exercising inherent jurisdiction? It would appear that these values, principles and interests are not essentially different from those that apply when exercising statutory procedural jurisdiction. Naturally, these values, principles and interests, which determine the "environment" of the (statutory or inherent) procedural jurisdiction, change from case to case in accordance with the specific procedural issue at hand. However, a number of typical considerations can be identified as a common thread through the procedural process in general and the exercise of inherent jurisdiction in particular. Procedural justice is a central consideration. This consideration means, inter alia, perceiving the procedural process as intending to realize substantive law, based upon exposing the truth. Procedural justice requires observing the rules of natural justice, which treat of granting each party an opportunity to voice its arguments, prohibiting bias, and the obligation to state reasons. Rules regarding a fair hearing are also derived from procedural justice. In this context we might note knowledge that a hearing is being held, being granted a proper opportunity to present arguments, fair exercise of procedural powers, as well as open  and accessible courts. The efficiency, simplicity and finality of proceedings can also be included in this framework. The aspiration for confidence, stability and certainty in procedural arrangements should also be included in the framework of these typical considerations.

 

  1. A typical set of values that must be considered in every procedure is that of human rights. Among these it is necessary, inter alia, to consider a person's dignity and personal liberty (see: HCJ 355/79 Katalan v. Prisons Service [13]; HCJ 14/51 Attorney General v. Davar [14]). A person's right to privacy and confidentiality must also be considered. Any procedural arrangement must treat the litigating parties equally. It must guarantee freedom of expression, occupation and property (see BAA 663/91 A. v. Israel Bar Association [15]). It must consider the right to strike and lockout (see: MApp 678/82 Tayar v. State of Israel [16]; MApp 613/82 State of Israel v. Awad [11]; LC 52/8-4 7-41 [54]). It must ensure the freedom of movement that is guaranteed to every person, and in that framework, the right of every person to leave the country (see: CA 703/70 Somech v. Ozer [17]; CA 230/69 Kaneti v. United Shvili Film [18]; LA 451/85 Adin Marketing v. Flatto Sharon [19]). Indeed, constitutional human rights are part of constitutional law and are directed first and foremost towards the governmental authorities. However, they project (directly and indirectly) onto all the branches of law and thus create a constitutionalization of the law. Procedural law is not immune to human rights. On the contrary: procedural law must recognize them and give them expression. Indeed, in a long line of judgments, this Court has recognized procedural law's subordination to accepted human rights. Justice Elon addressed this in stating:

 

…In the absence of express law, the court does not have the power to order blood tests, even if it would not involve coercion. Indeed, the court has ancillary inherent jurisdiction to issue various decisions and orders in order to effect a just and efficient examination, however orders that by their very nature comprise an infringement of a person's basic right, even if the infringement will not be coercive, cannot not be included in this ancillary power (CA 548/78 A.. v. B. [20], at p. 756).

 

Similarly, the Supreme Court of the State of New York [sic][2] ruled, in reference to the court's inherent power, that: "Even in the name of its inherent power, the judiciary may not... violate the constitutional rights of persons brought before its tribunals" (Matter of Alamance County Ct. Facilities [56] at  p. 132). Similarly, my colleague Justice S. Levin emphasized the need to consider a person's constitutional right to leave Israel in the context of proceedings concerning the issuing of a writ ne exeat republica (see LCA 26/89 Mashraki. v. "Rotem" Insurance  [21] at p. 552).

 

My colleague, Justice S. Levin, wrote:

 

…In light of the severe restriction of the freedom of movement inherent to the use of this regulation (Regulation 376 – A.B), a freedom which is a constitutional right of the highest order, the regulation should not be employed unless all of its elements have been strictly proven…. (LCA 18/89 Pichman v. Bank Leumi [22] at p. 517).

 

  1. I have addressed the corpus of general considerations that govern the exercise of (statutory or inherent) procedural power. Sometimes these considerations all lead in one direction and sometimes they conflict internally with one another: procedural justice leads in one direction while procedural efficiency leads in another. And both of these could lead in a direction that differs from the direction of human rights. In such a state of affairs, there is no choice other than to strike a proper balance among the conflicting considerations. In the framework of such a balance, significant weight must be given to considerations pertaining to human rights. This is particularly evident now, with the enactment of the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. This Basic Law has elevated human rights – the majority of which were based on case law ("'Unwritten' Basic Rights": HCJ 243/62 Israel Film Studios. v. Levi Geri [23]) to a supra-statutory constitutional level. Although the validity of the previous law – with its procedural rules – was preserved (sec. 10 of Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty), its interpretation, internal balances and application must be influenced by the constitutional status of human rights (see: CrimApp 6654/93 Binkin v. State of Israel [24]).

 

The Rabbinical Courts' Inherent Jurisdiction and its Limits

 

  1. Does this general approach regarding the scope of inherent jurisdiction – both in terms of its breadth and in terms of its limitations – also apply to the inherent power of the rabbinical courts to prescribe their own procedures? The answer is affirmative. A rabbinical court is a judicial instance established by statute. "The rabbinical courts draw their judicial authority from the state's legal system that granted them that authority” (Justice Elon in HCJ 323/81 Vilozny v. Supreme Rabbinical Court [25] at p. 738). Like any judicial instance, it is also granted inherent powers to arrange procedures. When exercising these inherent powers, the rabbinical court is subject to all of the limitations that are imposed upon any judicial instance that exercises inherent powers. This approach was clearly expressed in a long list of judgments that held that the rabbinical courts' procedures must respect "basic principles of fairness" (HCJ 158/66 Segev v. Rabbinical Court [26] at p. 521, per President Agranat). These are the rules of natural justice that obligate any court system, including the rabbinical courts (see: HCJ 10/59 Levy v. Tel Aviv-Jaffa Rabbinical Court [27]; HCJ 155/65 Gurovitz v. Tel-Aviv Rabbinical Court [28] at p. 19; HCJ 95/63 A. v. Tel Aviv-Jaffa Rabbinical Court [29] at p. 2221; HCJ 161/64 Mussman v. Haifa Rabbinical Court [30]; HCJ 816/80 Gotthelf v. Tel Aviv-Jaffa Rabbinical Court [31]). Justice Berenson addressed this matter – in the context of the Rabbinical Court's inherent power – stating:

 

A court for which state law did not establish procedures nor delineate the manner for their establishment, is authorized, by virtue of its inherent jurisdiction, to decide for itself the procedures that it will apply. In this regard – to the extent that the state law does not limit the court – it is its own master. However, the arrangements it prescribes must not comprise anything repugnant to the relevant general laws of the State … and must realize the principles of natural justice, since they must be properly observed by every body that decides legal or quasi-legal matters … (HCJ 150/9 [4] at p. 114).

 

Observing the rules of natural justice is but one of the limitations upon inherent jurisdiction. It is not the only limitation. Justice Goitein addressed this in stating:

 

It has already been decided on innumerable occasions that this court, when sitting as the High Court of Justice, will not intervene with judgments of the religious courts unless they have acted without jurisdiction, or in exceptional cases which call for our intervention for the administration of justice (HCJ 187/54 Barriya v. Qadi of the Acre Sharia Moslem Court,  [32] at p. 1198; [IsrSJ 2, 429 at 436]).

 

Justice Bejski stated in a similar spirit:

 

That which has been stated until now justifies the intervention of this Court, despite its reticence to do so on the merits except in cases of ultra vires, of infringement of the principles of natural justice, or for the sake of tikkun olam [“repairing the world” – ed.] (HCJ 7/83 Biaris v. Haifa Rabbinical Court [33] at p. 687).

 

Thus, the "administration of justice" and the "repairing of the world" are additional limitations – beyond the limitation associated with the rules of natural justice – that apply to the exercise of (statutory or inherent) procedural authority. These also include, inter alia, the limitations deriving from the fundamental principles concerning recusal and judicial integrity, and open and accessible courts (and compare: HCJ 349/65 Pero v. Qadi Madhab, Druze Religious Court [35]; HCJ 1923/91 Rosenzweig v. Haifa Rabbinical Court [35] IsrSC 46(2) at p. 21; HCJ 1689/90 Aasi v. Central District Sharia Court [36]). Similarly, any recourse by the rabbinical court to its inherent authority must be consistent with the protection of human rights. Indeed, every litigant in the rabbinical courts appears before those courts bearing all the human rights enjoyed by every person in Israel. The Israeli legal regime guarantees human rights to every person, and every person enjoys these rights in every judicial forum. The move from a “civil” judicial forum to a “religious” one does not lead to a loss or denial of basic human rights. “It would be inconsistent with these fundamental rights that the move from a civil court to a religious court would lead to a loss or infringement of these basic rights. No ‘confiscation’ of these civil rights can be permitted in the absence of an express statutory provision consistent with the requirements established under our constitutional system” (HCJ 1000/92 Bavli v. Great Rabbinical Court [37] at p. 248). Indeed, the promise of human rights is general and applies to all relationships and before all the courts. A religious court does not operate in a vacuum. It operates within the general framework of the Israeli legal system. Professor Rosen-Zvi rightly observed:

 

The religious court indeed holds jurisdiction – sometimes exclusive – to address a certain area of Israeli law. But the court remains an Israeli judicial forum within the general framework of Israeli law. The court operates within the framework of Israeli law and the general legislative framework, and it is not exempt from the commandments of the provisions of Israeli law (A. Rosen-Zvi, Israeli Family Law: The Sacred and the Secular   (Papyrus, 1990) 86 [Hebrew]).

 

The Israeli legal system is not a confederation of separate systems. The Israeli legal system is a unity that recognizes the uniqueness of its various parts. Therefore, substantive matters of personal status are subject to Jewish law, which at times may take precedence over some arrangement of the general law. However, such precedence is limited exclusively to matters of personal status, “no more and no less” (per Landau J. in HCJ 80/63 Gurfinkel v. Minister of the Interior [38] at p. 2068). It does not apply to what does not fall within the scope of personal status (see: Rosen-Zvi, ibid., p. 76). Thus, for example, it does not apply to the civil “mass” (and the various property rights it encompasses) with which every person comes before the Rabbinical Court (see: HCJ 1000/92 [37]). It also does not apply to the exercise of the rabbinical court’s inherent authority to address the proceedings before it. In exercising that authority, the rabbinical court must respect human rights, and like every other judicial forum, it must properly balance all of the conflicting values, principles and interests in each and every issue. This balance is imposed upon the inherent jurisdiction “from without”, by virtue of the entire complex of values of the Israeli legal system. It reflects the substance and principles of the Israeli legal system of which the rabbinical courts are a part.  What is that proper balance when the rabbinical court is requested to issue a writ ne exeat republica against one of the litigants?

 

 

Ne Exeat Republica

 

15.       A stay of exit, whether as temporary or interlocutory procedural relief, can only be issued as a procedural means intended to assist a party “in realizing the relief that the substantive law grants to the party” (per Landau J. in CA 303/57 Reich v. Hammer [39] at p. 1363). The inherent authority of a judicial instance to establish procedure in regard to the granting of this procedural relief must therefore properly balance the values, interests and principles vying for dominance in the framework of procedural law.  A person’s constitutional right to leave Israel must be placed on one side of the scales. This right has been recognized as a basic right of a person in Israel. “A citizen’s freedom of movement to leave Israel is a natural right that is recognized as self-evident in every country with a  democratic regime, of which our country is one …” (per Silberg J. in HCJ 111/53 Kaufman v. Minister of the Interior [40] at p. 536; and see: HCJ 190/57 Assaig v. Minister of Defence [41] at p. 55; HCJ 488/83 Baransi v. Director of the Visa and Nationality Dept. [42]; HCJ 448/85 Dahar v. Minister of the Interior [43]; MApp 1064/86 Archbishop Ajamian v. State of Israel [44]). It derives from being a free person, from the democratic character of the state, and from being part of the international community in which freedom of movement is recognized as a customary human right. Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty adopted this approach (sec. 6(a)) and granted the right to leave Israel (“All persons are free to leave Israel”) supra-legal status (see: CrimApp 6654/93 [24]). “All governmental authorities” – including all judicial forums (as they, too, are governmental authorities) “are bound to respect” this right (sec. 11 of Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty).

 

16.       As against the constitutional right of every person to leave the country stands the interest of a litigant to realize the substantive law. A litigant’s leaving the country may influence the legal proceedings and the possibility of executing the judgment. Maintaining proper legal proceedings to ensure substantive rights is a legitimate interest deserving protection by all parties. There is also a public interest that legal proceedings be effective, that suits not be frustrated, and that judgments be executed. Leading a litigant to an “empty well” because the other side has left the country infringes both the personal interest of the victim and the public interest in maintaining proper legal proceedings. However, the plaintiff’s interest that  deserves protection is not the pressuring of the defendant to concede the suit in order to liberate himself from the restriction imposed by a stay of exit. The state is not a prison, and agreeing to a suit should not be a key for release from captivity. “… staying the defendant is not meant to serve as a means for pressuring him to ransom himself from captivity” Y. Sussman, Civil Procedure, S. Levin, ed., (6th ed., 1990) 571 (Hebrew)).

 

17.       We have addressed the values, principle and interests that must be considered in regard to granting relief in the form of a stay upon exiting the country. On one hand stands the basic value of freedom of movement, while the litigant’s interest in ensuring his substantive rights by means of a legal process stands on the other. The two values stand in opposition. Balancing the conflicting values is therefore required.  My colleague Justice S. Levin addressed the need for striking this balance in the area of procedural law, noting:

 

The fundamental question that must be addressed in interpreting the said regulation is where is the balance point between the principle that the defendant’s right to freedom of movement not be restricted unnecessarily, and the need to prevent the defendant from fleeing abroad and thus frustrating the suit filed against him (LCA 26/89 [22] at p. 552).

 

Professor S. Goldstein similarly observed:

                       

…granting any type of preliminary relief involves a delicate balance of the plaintiff’s interests in preventing the defendant from frustrating the litigation, and that of the defendant in not having his liberty or property restrained prior to the definitive adjudication of his liability (Stephen Goldstein, Preventing a Civil Defendant from Leaving the Country as a form of Preliminary Relief, 20 Is.L.R. 18, 24 (1985)).

 

                       

Indeed, the balance must reflect the relative social importance of the conflicting interests. The balance should properly be an expression of principle that reflects a “decisional framework which contains a guideline of value…” (per Shamgar J. in FH 9/77 Israel Electric Corporation. v. “Ha’aretz” [45] at p. 361 [IsrSJ 9, 295]; and see: HCJ 991/91 [12] at p. 60).  This balance serves a dual purpose: first is serves as a standard for interpretation by which a procedural rule is given meaning; second, it establishes the boundaries of the (statutory or inherent) authority of the procedural rules themselves. Procedural rules whose interpretation leads to the possibility of preventing leaving the country to an extent that exceeds the standards established by the principled balance exceed the (statutory or inherent) power of the promulgator of the rules.

 

18.       It would appear to me that the proper constitutional standard is as follows: a litigant may be prevented from leaving the country if there is a sincere and well-founded suspicion that the litigant’s leaving the country would frustrate or thwart the judicial proceeding or prevent the execution of the judgment. My colleague Justice S. Levin gave expression to this standard in noting:

 

…when there is real, direct or circumstantial evidence from which one may infer a danger that the proceedings may be thwarted by the defendant’s travel abroad, the first principle (the defendant’s freedom of movement – A.B.) will retreat before the need to prevent the complainant from facing an empty well when judgment is rendered against the defendant, inasmuch as the rule is not intended to shield the defendant from his creditors and thwart them (LCA 26/89 [22] at p. 553).

 

I would like to make a few comments in regard to this standard. First, this standard is of a constitutional character. By establishing a causal connection between preventing leaving the country (as a constitutional right) and the negative effect of the absence upon the judicial proceedings, it expresses a constitutional view of the status of the fundamental principles of our legal system. Professor Goldstein addressed this in his abovementioned article in noting (at p. 26):

 

…the requirement of a causal connection is not merely a result of the interpretation of a specific rule of civil procedure, but rather the demand of a more fundamental principle of Israeli jurisprudence. It represents the application of a constitutional norm regarding the freedom of movement in general, and the right of a person to leave the country in particular.

 

Second, the causal connection between the danger and its prevention required by this standard is “a sincere and well-founded suspicion”. This standard was adopted in the Dahar case [43] in regard to striking the balance between the right to leave the country and the public interest in state security. In my opinion, this standard is also appropriate for striking the required balance in the matter before us. Dr. Yaffa Zilbershats addressed this in noting:

 

In our opinion, the “sincere and well-founded suspicion” test is better suited to balancing the interests in this case in which we deprive a person of his basic right to leave the country in order to protect the interest of the plaintiff that the legal proceedings or the execution of a judgment not be frustrated (Y. Zilbershats, The Right to Leave a Country (Ph.D. Diss., Bar Ilan, 1991) 203).

 

 

Third, not any possible harm, whether severe or insignificant,  can serve to prevent a litigant from leaving the country. The harm must be of a special type, of particular severity, i.e., “frustrating the lawsuit in advance through the debtor’s fleeing abroad…” (LCA 26/89 [21] at p. 552, following LA 558/85 Ilin v. Rotenburg [46] at p. 556). In addressing the nature of the permissible infringement of a person’s right to leave Israel, Dr. Zilbershats writes (ibid., p. 180):

 

In our opinion, because the right to leave the country is a basic human right of great importance, it should only be possible to restrict it if it has the potential to frustrate a judicial proceeding or prevent the execution of a judgment against the person seeking to leave the country.

 

Fourth, meeting the said standard is a necessary condition for exercising the authority of preventing a litigant form leaving the country. It is not a sufficient condition. Thus, for example, procedural rules may impose additional demands, for example, that a condition for granting a writ ne exeat republica is that: “The defendant is about to leave the country permanently or for an extended period” (rule 376(a) of the Civil Procedure Rules, 5744-1984). Fifth, before exercising its discretion, the court must consider whether there are less drastic means for ensuring the interest deserving protection while not infringing freedom of movement. Thus, for example, providing an appropriate bond may often meet this requirement. Sixth, the court should exercise this procedural authority with great care. “Unquestionably, preventing a person from leaving the country infringes an individual’s liberty, and therefore requires careful consideration…” (per Ben-Porat, D.P. in LA 451/85 [19] at p.305). The court must therefore meticulously examine whether the required standard is met, and only “if all the elements have been strictly proven” can the requested order be granted (per S. Levin, J. in LCA 18/89 [22] at p. 517). Granting the order must not be routine, and it should properly be granted only when justified by the circumstances.

 

Seventh, naturally, the application of the said standard changes in accordance with the substantive right that the judicial proceeding itself is intended to realize. Proceedings for the return of a loan are not the same as divorce proceedings. In the former, the legitimate interests of the creditor can usually be ensured by an adequate bond. In the latter, at times (although not always) the sincere and well-founded suspicion that the woman may be rendered an agunah [a “chained woman” – ed.] may require granting a writ ne exeat republica. Moreover, proceedings that can lawfully be conducted without the personal presence of the parties are unlike proceedings that can only be lawfully conducted if the parties are actually present. In the former case, a party’s leaving the country will not frustrate the proceedings, while in the latter it will frustrate the very possibility of conducting proceedings.  Nevertheless, even here a less drastic means should always be preferred. Eighth, this standard is formulated to take account of the fact that we are concerned with interlocutory relief in the course of a pending proceeding. We must bear in mind that the claim has not yet been proved, and a judgment has not yet been rendered. The certain infringement of one party’s freedom of movement stands against the mere claim of the other party who argues that his substantive right has been infringed, but whose claim has not yet been accepted and no judgment has recognized it. In such a situation, the standard that should be adopted should be one that tends, as far as possible, to protect the person who will suffer the certain infringement of rights. In so doing, we express the serious weight of an individual’s right to leave the country.

 

Ne Exeat Republica in the Rabbinical Court

 

19.       As we have seen, the Rabbinical Court has the inherent power to establish rules of procedure. Procedures for preventing a litigant from leaving the country were established within that framework. Such procedures are established under rule 106 of the Rabbinical Courts Rules of Procedure, 5753 (see: HCJ 852/86 Aloni v. Minister of Justice [47] at p. 61). In the framework of its inherent power, the Rabbinical Court can, indeed, establish procedural rules in general, and procedural rules in regard to preventing a person from leaving the country in particular, in accordance with its procedural conceptions, which may differ from the procedural conceptions of the “civil” courts or of other religious courts (see: Shochetman, On Orders of Ne Exeat Regno against Judgment-Debtors and the Authority of the High Court of Justice to Review Procedural Orders of Rabbinical Courts, 14 Mishpatim 83 (1984)). However, the Rabbinical Courts inherent power to establish procedural rules in general, and procedural rules in regard to preventing leaving the country in particular is limited by the proper balance of the values, interests and principles that characterize Israeli law. Therefore, the Rabbinical Court’s authority to order that a litigant may not leave the country is limited by the appropriate standard for balancing the conflicting values, interests and principles in this context. In accordance with them, judicial authority to bar a litigant from leaving the country may be exercised only when there is a sincere, well-founded suspicion that his leaving the country will frustrate or thwart the legal proceedings or prevent the execution of the judgment. It is against this background that one must understand this Court’s  statement that “the purpose of the restriction imposed upon a person, which prevents his leaving Israel, is identical for a [civil] court or a rabbinical court” (HCJ 578/82 Naim v. Jerusalem District Rabbinical Court [48] at p. 711), and that “the areas of the authority of the various judicial forums – civil and religious – in regard to preventing leaving the country…must be similarly construed” (per Shamgar P. in HCJ 852/68 [47] at p. 61). Adopting this standard will achieve the normative harmony and legal unity to which every legal system aspires. This will ensure that the fundamental values and principles grounding our legal system will be protected and uniformly realized in the procedural rules of all Israeli judicial forums. In the framework of their inherent power, the rabbinical courts are free to establish procedural rules consistent with their worldview. “Their procedural rules are their own business” (per Berinson J. in HCJ 403/71 Alkourdi v. National Labor Court [49] at p. 70). However, that procedural freedom is not unrestricted. It is subject to the limits – to which all judicial forums are subjected – that derive from the proper balance of values, principles and interests that reflect the values of the State of Israel.

 

From the General to the Particular

 

20.       The District Rabbinical Court’s decision to prevent the Petitioner from leaving the country must be examined against the background of this normative structure. The Petitioner’s suit for divorce from the Respondent was pending before the Rabbinical Court. The Respondent’s suit for marital reconciliation was also pending. The court was requested to issue a writ ne exeat republica against the Petitioner and the children in the framework of the reconciliation suit. The Rabbinical Court granted the request on the basis of the Respondent’s claim that he “fears that the woman’s leaving the country at this stage would result in a final, irreparable rupture between them”.  The Rabbinical Court ordered a further hearing in two months, and requested that the parties negotiate “to achieve a suitable solution that would allow their joint travel abroad, or allow the wife to leave subject to conditions that would allay the husband’s fears”. The Great Rabbinical Court denied the wife’s appeal, holding that there were no grounds for hearing the appeal “inasmuch as the District Rabbinical Court had set a date for a further hearing of the matter”.

 

21.       Does the District Rabbinical Court’s decision maintain the proper balance between the freedom of movement (of the Petitioner) and ensuring the realization of the substantive rights (of the Respondent) by means of the judicial process? In my opinion, it does not, for two reasons. First, the evidentiary groundwork presented to the Rabbinical Court did not substantiate a “sincere and well-founded suspicion”. All that was before the court was the husband’s claim (unsupported by any additional evidentiary foundation) and the wife’s denial. That is insufficient to ground a sincere, well-founded suspicion. Second – and of primary importance in this context – the condition that the Petitioner’s absence from the country might frustrate or thwart the judicial proceeding in regard to reconciliation was not met. The judicial proceeding in the matter of reconciliation would not be frustrated at all by the Petitioner leaving the country. It is clear from the circumstances that the Petitioner will be travelling abroad for only a brief period. This brief absence from Israel cannot potentially influence the proceedings. In any case, the matter can be adequately addressed by requiring an appropriate guarantee. Postponing the hearing on revoking the writ ne exeat republica for two months is inconsistent with the status of the freedom to leave the country as a basic human right. Note that I am willing to assume – without deciding the matter – that the Petitioner’s leaving the country might negatively influence the couple’s relationship, and might even – as the husband argues – result in a final rupture of the relationship. It is also possible – although here, too, I cannot make a finding – that preventing the women’s leaving might serve to advance a reconciliation between her and the Respondent. But even if that were the case, the Rabbinical Court’s inherent power to establish procedures does authorize it to prevent a litigant from leaving the country when the standard that properly balances the relevant values, interests and principles is not met. Indeed, the suit for marital reconciliation (which is a matter of personal-status law, see: ST 1/50 Sidis v. Chief Execution Officer, Jerusalem [50] at p. 1031; CA 174/83 N. Soher v. P. Soher [51] at p. 82) raises serious problems, particularly in the area of interlocutory relief. Interlocutory orders that infringe basic human rights like the right to property (in regard to vacating a residence), freedom of movement (in prohibiting leaving the country, see: HCJ 185/72 L. Gur v. Jerusalem Rabbinical Court [52] at p. 770) and the autonomy of personal will (by preventing meeting another person) may be granted out of a desire to realize the substantive law (see in this regard: S. Dichovski, The Authority of the Rabbinical Courts as reflected in their Judgments, 10-11 Dinei Israel 9, 15ff. (5741-43) (Hebrew)). In this case, we are witnesses to an example of the fundamental problem deriving from the first attempt “of its kind in Jewish history to apply religious law and impose religious jurisdiction in a society in which the majority of its members define themselves as secular” (P. Maoz, The Rabbinate and the Religious Courts: Between the Hammer of the Law and the Anvil of Halakha, 16-17 Annual of the Institute for Research in Jewish Law 289, 394 (1991) (Hebrew)). In the matter at hand, this special attempt leads to a gap between the basic conceptions underlying marital reconciliation in religious law and the worldview of a largely secular society. As judges, we take the law as a given and do not  question it. However, to the extent that interlocutory orders are granted in the context of marital reconciliation that do not meet the requirements of proper balancing of the values, principles and interests that must be addressed, the Rabbinical Court is not authorized to issue a writ ne exeat republica merely because the matter interferes with marital reconciliation (as opposed to interfering with the judicial proceedings in regard to reconciliation), inasmuch as its procedural power to grant such orders is subject to the limitations required by the proper balance that we discussed. In his aforementioned book,  Prof. Rosen-Zvi correctly pointed out (pp. 117, 119):

 

The Rabbinical Court issues [orders – A.B.] comprising remedies attendant to marital reconciliation that infringe the spouse’s liberty. Some of these orders also concern prohibitions that directly affect third parties. For example, an order forbidding a spouse to meet with a particular person whose name appears in the body of the order. Such an order seriously infringes an individual’s right and is inconsistent with the fundamental values of Israeli society…

 

…Israeli law does not grant the Rabbinical Court a free hand even if it is required by the worldview of religious law and the original content of the marital reconciliation cause of action. The Rabbinical Court operates within the framework of boundaries set by Israeli law. These exigencies obligate it, and it may not deviate from or exceed their borders.

 

Indeed, to the extent that such interlocutory orders do not conform to the delicate balance of the values, principles and interests that must be considered – primary among them the human rights of the parties to the proceedings and of third parties – they deviate from the inherent authority (as currently expressed in the Rules of Procedure of the Israeli Rabbinical Courts, 5753) of the Rabbinical Court to grant interlocutory relief. It may be superfluous to note that, nevertheless, the Rabbinical Court is authorized to take the conduct of the parties into account among its considerations in accordance with Jewish law, and give it the duly required weight under the substantive law. In this regard, it is apt to recall the words of Deputy President Y. Kahan, who held:

 

Clearly, the Rabbinical Court may draw all the conclusions that derive under [Jewish – ed.] law from the fact that the Petitioner, who is married, is conducting intimate relations with another man.

 

However, we have not found any legal basis upon which to ground a restraining order as issued in this case (HCJ 428/81 [53]).

 

That is also so in the matter before us. The Rabbinical Court is not authorized to issue a temporary order prohibiting the Petitioner from leaving the country. However, it is authorized to make inferences in regard to the substantive law in the matter of reconciliation from the fact that the Petitioner left the country, and from her conduct in the country and abroad. For these reasons, we have made the order absolute (as stated in para. 5 of our opinion).

 

Justice S. Levin: I concur.

 

Justice D. Levin: I concur.

 

Decided in accordance with the opinion of Deputy President Barak.

Given this 29th day of Shevat 5754 (Feb. 10, 1994).

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Regulations promulgated on January 1, 1928 under the Palestine Religious Communities Organization Ordinance, 1926 (https://www.nevo.co.il/law_html/Law22/HAI-3-126.pdf).

[2] The Supreme Court of North Carolina – ed.

A v. B

Case/docket number: 
LFA 3151/14
Date Decided: 
Monday, May 4, 2015
Decision Type: 
Appellate
Abstract: 

An application for leave to appeal a judgment by the District Court concerning the fixing of a time limit for spousal support awarded the Applicant despite the fact that the Rabbinical Court did not rule that she is a ”recalcitrant wife.” The application was heard as an appeal.

 

The parties were married to each other for over 35 years. The Applicant was rarely employed outside the home during the marriage, and the Respondent was the sole supporter. The parties have been separated since 2011, and have conducted various legal proceedings related to the separation – divorce proceedings, proceedings concerning the woman’s right to support, and proceedings concerning the division of the family assets. Both the Family Court and the District Court believed the Applicant should be awarded support for a fixed period of time. In the course of the proceedings, the Court addressed the question of whether the Family Court could revoke a woman’s support due to her “get recalcitrance” in the absence of a decision by the Rabbinical Court ordering her to accept a get, and in the absence of a positive finding that the couple’s marriage had come to an end. What are the considerations that the Family Court must take into account when it is requested to fix a time period for support, or revoke the support of a married woman who it believes is refusing to agree to a divorce for financial reasons?

 

The Supreme Court (per D. Barak-Erez J., Z. Zylbertal concurring with the operative outcome, over the dissenting opinion of E. Rubinstein D.P.) granted the appeal:

 

In Justice Barak-Erez’s view, the principle of comity between courts required the civil court’s restraint and thus, in her opinion, as long as the couple’s divorce proceeding is pending in the Rabbinical Court, the civil court may not base its ruling on spousal support upon “get recalcitrance” in the absence of an appropriate finding by the Rabbinical Court on this issue. Justice Barak-Erez added that this conclusion stems not only from the principle of comity between courts, but also from the Jewish religious law that applies to this case, which dictates that revoking the right to spousal support in a case of a divorce obligation must be accompanied (based on many opinions) with supplemental steps that are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Rabbinical Court, and which require the active involvement of the Rabbinical Court (entrusting a get [Jewish bill of divorce] and the financial obligation required under the ketubah [Jewish marriage contract] to a third party).

 

In her opinion, the  means at the disposal of the civil court for addressing the phenomenon of “get recalcitrance” deriving from financial motivations, is through awarding “rehabilitative” support under the general principles of the civil law (on the basis of the principles of reliance and good faith.) Of course, since these are “civil” principles, they would also apply, mutatis mutandis, to a divorcing man under these very same conditions. In her opinion, it is possible to award rehabilitative support under civil law only where the partner is no longer entitled to support under the personal status law, and this at two points in time: “when before the divorce is granted, there is cause for revoking support; or after the granting of the divorce has extinguished the right to support.” The central factor that must be considered in order to determine wither one of the partners is entitled to rehabilitative support, and its amount, is the prospect for alternative sources of income. Therefore, the questions of the home-based partner’s vocational or professional training and work experience, age (including how close they are to the age of retirement), the value of the couple’s property  and whether it has already been divided, are of importance.  On the other hand, considerations of fault as to the responsibility for the separation are not relevant.

 

As applied to the matter before the Court, Justice Barak-Erez was of the view that the appeal must be granted, and that as long as there is no change in the couple’s circumstances, including the circumstances surrounding the proceedings in the Rabbinical Court, the Respondent must continue to pay the Applicant support as decided by the Family Court, without setting a termination date.

 

As opposed to this, the Deputy President, joined by Justice Zylbertal, disputed Justice Barak-Erez’s position regarding jurisdiction. In their view, under the principle of good faith, the civil courts may revoke a married woman’s spousal support when they are persuaded that the marriage has effectively ended and that the woman refuses to accept her get solely for financial reasons, even in the absence of a finding by the Rabbinical Court that the woman is required to accept the get. The Deputy President explained that often the civil court is called upon to make incidental findings that are required for the determination of the issue of spousal support and property matters that are in its primary jurisdiction (section 76 of the Courts Law.) According to the Deputy President, a civil court’s finding whereby a woman loses her spousal support for being a “recalcitrant spouse” does not lead to the end of the marriage in the Jewish halakhic sense, and does not conflict with the principle of comity between courts. The Deputy President added that he did not rule out the method proposed by Justice Barak-Erez as to the awarding of rehabilitative support in appropriate cases, however in his view, it is a tool in the Family Court’s “toolbox”, which is to be used according to the circumstances of the case in order to resolve the issue of alternative sources of income (while noting other tools, such as an unequal division of resources.)

 

According to the Deputy President, under the specific circumstances of the case at hand, and once the lower courts, including the Rabbinical Court, were persuaded that the marriage had come to an end, and that the Applicant is delaying the divorce only to improve her financial circumstances, the Family Court, and subsequently, the District Court, correctly fixed the period of support payments, and the District Court’s approach which met the Applicant more than halfway, is acceptable. Therefore, in his view, the appeal must be denied. At the end of the period set (December 2014), the possibility to extend the period of support payments would be revisited.

 

Justice Zylbertal, who, as noted, concurred with the view of the Deputy President on the matter of jurisdiction, concurred with the view of Justice Barak-Erez as to the operative result, whereby the appeal must be granted.

 

In Justice Zylbertal’s opinion, the considerations the court must take into account before revoking a woman’s support due to “get recalcitrance” are, inter alia: what is the reason for the refusal – personal vindictiveness or extortion, or a lack of sufficient financial protection for the financially weaker partner upon divorce, and the woman’s ability to continue to support herself after the divorce. In this context, the court must examine the woman’s ability to secure an income, and to this end, it should also consider her age, her share in the husband’s pension, and when she will be entitled to receive her share of those funds.

 

According to Justice Zylbertal, in the circumstances of this case, it is inappropriate to fix a timeframe for the Applicant’s support, both because her delaying of the divorce is not necessarily the result of vindictiveness or extortion, that is – not a lack of good faith that warrants fixing the period of support – and in light of the understandings that characterized the couple’s marriage, the Applicant’s age (over 50), and her prospects of integrating into the workforce during the short adjustment period left until the partners reach the age of retirement.

 

It should be noted that, in addition to the above, the members of the panel briefly discussed an issue related to the matter at hand – the possibility of awarding financial compensation in cases of get recalcitrance in the framework of a tort suit. 

Voting Justices: 
Author
majority opinion
Author
concurrence
Author
dissent
Full text of the opinion: 

 

 

LFA 3151/14

 

           

 

Applicant:                   A

 

                                    v.

 

Respondent:                B

 

                                   

                                   

                                   

           

 

Attorneys for the Applicant:   Doris Golsha-Netzer, Adv.; Roy Ashkari, Adv.

                                     

 

Attorney for the Respondent:             Maxim Lipkin, Adv.

 

 

                                   

The Supreme Court

 

Before: Deputy President E. Rubinstein, Justice Z. Zylbertal, Justice D. Barak-Erez

 

Application for Leave to Appeal the judgment of the Tel-Aviv District Court of March 23, 2014 in FA 21043-02-1311 (Deputy President I. Schneller, and Judges K. Vardi and R. Levhar-Sharon)

 

 

 

 

Abstract

 

In a majority opinion (E. Rubinstein D.P. and Z. Zylbertal J.), the Supreme Court held that the family courts may limit the period of payment of spousal support to a woman due to her refusal to accept a get [Jewish religious divorce], even in the absence of a divorce order by the Rabbinical Court. As an operative outcome, the appeal was granted, as it was held by majority (D. Barak-Erez and Z. Zylbertal J.,) that, under the circumstances, the court should not have set a time limit for the payment of the Applicant’s support.

 

*Family – Spousal Support – Recalcitrant Spouse

*Family – Spousal Support – Right to Spousal Support

*Family – Spousal Support – An Unemployed Woman

*Family – Spousal Support – Rehabilitative Support

 

An application for leave to appeal a judgment by the District Court concerning the fixing of a time limit for spousal support awarded the Applicant despite the fact that the Rabbinical Court did not rule that she is a ”recalcitrant wife”. The application was heard as an appeal.

 

Background: The parties were married to each other for over 35 years. The Applicant was rarely employed outside the home during the marriage, and the Respondent was the sole supporter. The parties have been separated since 2011, and have conducted various legal proceedings related to the separation – divorce proceedings, proceedings concerning the woman’s right to support, and proceedings concerning the division of the family assets. Both the Family Court and the District Court believed the Applicant should be awarded support for a fixed period of time. In the course of the proceedings, the Court addressed the question of whether the Family Court could revoke a woman’s support due to her “get recalcitrance” in the absence of a decision by the Rabbinical Court ordering her to accept a get, and in the absence of a positive finding that the couple’s marriage had come to an end. What are the considerations that the Family Court must take into account when it is requested to fix a time period for support, or revoke the support of a married woman who it believes is refusing to agree to a divorce for financial reasons?

 

The Supreme Court (per D. Barak-Erez J., Z. Zylbertal concurring with the operative outcome, over the dissenting opinion of E. Rubinstein D.P.) granted the appeal:

 

In Justice Barak-Erez’s view, the principle of comity between courts required the civil court’s restraint and thus, in her opinion, as long as the couple’s divorce proceeding is pending in the Rabbinical Court, the civil court may not base its ruling on spousal support upon “get recalcitrance” in the absence of an appropriate finding by the Rabbinical Court on this issue. Justice Barak-Erez added that this conclusion stems not only from the principle of comity between courts, but also from the Jewish religious law that applies to this case, which dictates that revoking the right to spousal support in a case of a divorce obligation must be accompanied (based on many opinions) with supplemental steps that are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Rabbinical Court, and which require the active involvement of the Rabbinical Court (entrusting a get [Jewish bill of divorce] and the financial obligation required under the ketubah [Jewish marriage contract] to a third party).

 

In her opinion, the  means at the disposal of the civil court for addressing the phenomenon of “get recalcitrance” deriving from financial motivations, is through awarding “rehabilitative” support under the general principles of the civil law (on the basis of the principles of reliance and good faith.) Of course, since these are “civil” principles, they would also apply, mutatis mutandis, to a divorcing man under these very same conditions. In her opinion, it is possible to award rehabilitative support under civil law only where the partner is no longer entitled to support under the personal status law, and this at two points in time: “when before the divorce is granted, there is cause for revoking support; or after the granting of the divorce has extinguished the right to support.” The central factor that must be considered in order to determine wither one of the partners is entitled to rehabilitative support, and its amount, is the prospect for alternative sources of income. Therefore, the questions of the home-based partner’s vocational or professional training and work experience, age (including how close they are to the age of retirement), the value of the couple’s property  and whether it has already been divided, are of importance.  On the other hand, considerations of fault as to the responsibility for the separation are not relevant.

 

As applied to the matter before the Court, Justice Barak-Erez was of the view that the appeal must be granted, and that as long as there is no change in the couple’s circumstances, including the circumstances surrounding the proceedings in the Rabbinical Court, the Respondent must continue to pay the Applicant support as decided by the Family Court, without setting a termination date.

 

As opposed to this, the Deputy President, joined by Justice Zylbertal, disputed Justice Barak-Erez’s position regarding jurisdiction. In their view, under the principle of good faith, the civil courts may revoke a married woman’s spousal support when they are persuaded that the marriage has effectively ended and that the woman refuses to accept her get solely for financial reasons, even in the absence of a finding by the Rabbinical Court that the woman is required to accept the get. The Deputy President explained that often the civil court is called upon to make incidental findings that are required for the determination of the issue of spousal support and property matters that are in its primary jurisdiction (section 76 of the Courts Law.) According to the Deputy President, a civil court’s finding whereby a woman loses her spousal support for being a “recalcitrant spouse” does not lead to the end of the marriage in the Jewish halakhic sense, and does not conflict with the principle of comity between courts. The Deputy President added that he did not rule out the method proposed by Justice Barak-Erez as to the awarding of rehabilitative support in appropriate cases, however in his view, it is a tool in the Family Court’s “toolbox”, which is to be used according to the circumstances of the case in order to resolve the issue of alternative sources of income (while noting other tools, such as an unequal division of resources.)

 

According to the Deputy President, under the specific circumstances of the case at hand, and once the lower courts, including the Rabbinical Court, were persuaded that the marriage had come to an end, and that the Applicant is delaying the divorce only to improve her financial circumstances, the Family Court, and subsequently, the District Court, correctly fixed the period of support payments, and the District Court’s approach which met the Applicant more than halfway, is acceptable. Therefore, in his view, the appeal must be denied. At the end of the period set (December 2014), the possibility to extend the period of support payments would be revisited.

 

Justice Zylbertal, who, as noted, concurred with the view of the Deputy President on the matter of jurisdiction, concurred with the view of Justice Barak-Erez as to the operative result, whereby the appeal must be granted.

 

In Justice Zylbertal’s opinion, the considerations the court must take into account before revoking a woman’s support due to “get recalcitrance” are, inter alia: what is the reason for the refusal – personal vindictiveness or extortion, or a lack of sufficient financial protection for the financially weaker partner upon divorce, and the woman’s ability to continue to support herself after the divorce. In this context, the court must examine the woman’s ability to secure an income, and to this end, it should also consider her age, her share in the husband’s pension, and when she will be entitled to receive her share of those funds.

 

According to Justice Zylbertal, in the circumstances of this case, it is inappropriate to fix a timeframe for the Applicant’s support, both because her delaying of the divorce is not necessarily the result of vindictiveness or extortion, that is – not a lack of good faith that warrants fixing the period of support – and in light of the understandings that characterized the couple’s marriage, the Applicant’s age (over 50), and her prospects of integrating into the workforce during the short adjustment period left until the partners reach the age of retirement.

 

It should be noted that, in addition to the above, the members of the panel briefly discussed an issue related to the matter at hand – the possibility of awarding financial compensation in cases of get recalcitrance in the framework of a tort suit.

 

 

Judgment

 

15th Iyar 5775 (May 4, 2015)

 

Justice D. Barak-Erez

 

1.A married couple are  separated and conducting various, related legal proceedings – divorce proceedings, proceedings regarding the women’s right to spousal support, and proceedings regarding the division of the family property. Under the circumstances, was the Family Court correct in granting the woman spousal support for a fixed period of time, after which the woman would no longer be entitled to support, even if the couple do not divorce? This is the central issue at bar. Its determination raises additional questions, among them: can the Family Court rule that, for the purpose of deciding spousal support, a woman may be deemed a recalcitrant spouse even if the Rabbinical Court refrained from making such a finding in the course of the divorce proceedings between the parties? To what extent may the Family Court consider the fact that the woman lacks the capacity to earn an income, and may it refrain from awarding her spousal support even if she is entitled to such support under the personal-status law, because the couple are about to divorce, or because the Court is under the impression that the woman is a recalcitrant spouse?

 

The Factual Background and the Proceedings thus far

 

2.The Applicant and the Respondent (hereinafter: “the couple” or “the partners”) married in 1976. They are parents to three children, and grandparents to eight common grandchildren. Throughout their marriage, the Respondent worked for a large public corporation, while the Applicant ran their household. The Applicant worked outside of the home for only short periods of time. The couple own a house (hereinafter: the house) to which an additional residential unit is attached, and which is still under mortgage (though its amount is currently insignificant compared to the value of the house.)

 

3.In 2011, a dispute erupted between the partners. About a year and a half before the conflict started, the couple moved into a rental apartment in Holon, and rented out the house they owned, as well as the attached residential unit (which was rented when they resided in the house as well.) In July 2011, as a result of their dispute,  the Respondent left the apartment in Holon where the two resided.

 

4.On August 15, 2011, the Applicant filed suit in the Family Court for support for herself and for the couple’s youngest son, who was a minor at the time (FC 24331-08-11). As we will explain below, this was the suit that led to the application at bar.

 

5.Pursuant to that, several additional suits were filed between the parties. On the same day, the Applicant filed a suit for orders to preserve property rights and for accounts (FC 24358-08-11). On November 16, 2011, the Respondent filed for divorce in the Rabbinical Court, and later filed suit for a division of community property in the Family Court (FC 39732-11-12.) In the course of that proceeding, the Applicant argued that, under the circumstances, the couple’s property should be divided unequally, in view of the fact that she lacks any sources of income, and this under the court’s authority under section 8(2) of the Spouses (Property Relations) Law, 5733-1973 (hereinafter: the Property Relations Law). On February 24, 2013, the Family Court ruled that if the Applicant wishes to request a remedy of unequal property division, she must file the proper suit. Accordingly, on March 18, 2013, the Applicant filed a suit for resource balancing (FC 33489-03-13,) in which she requested that the balancing of resources deviate in her favor from the principle of equal division (so that she will receive 80% of the community property,) and that it additionally be held that a second apartment that the Respondent inherited from his father is a property subject to resource balancing.

 

6.On September 27, 2011, the Applicant moved out of the Holon apartment and back into the house. On January 4, 2012, the Applicant filed a suit for reconciliation with the Rabbinical Court, and was granted an order for specific residence in the house.[1] 

 

7.On December 12, 2012, the Family Court delivered its decision in the suit for support (FC 24331-08-11, Judge J. Shaked). The Family Court held that, in this case, the traditional grounds recognized in Jewish law for ruling that the wife lost her entitlement to support were not proven. However, the Family Court added that it would seem that the partners lead separate lives, they both view their marriage as having reached a crisis, and that the marital relationship between them had “died”. The Family Court further held that in this regard that when a “dead” relationship is concerned, there is no justification for preserving it by awarding the woman support. The court also noted that awarding support is subject to the good-faith requirement (referencing LFA 3148/07 A v. B (June 13, 2007) (hereinafter: LFA 3148/07)). Therefore, the court held that for the purpose of the proceedings in regard to support, the court should take notice of the Applicant’s refusal to divorce the Respondent “artificially, in order to gain advantages in the legal proceedings between them,” as well as the fact that the Applicant was deliberately delaying the division of common property in regard to the house (which is valued at about two million shekels), as well as the resource balancing between the couple, by moving into the house and even obtaining an order of specific residence (that was still in effect at the time). The Family Court found that, under the circumstances, obstructing the sale of the house by the Applicant was inconsistent with the good-faith requirement.

 

8.In ruling on spousal support, the Family Court took into account the Applicant’s behavior, on one hand, while also noting her age (over fifty), the fact that she had not worked in more than three decades during the marriage, as well as the family’s lifestyle, on the other hand. Against that background, the court ruled that spousal support in this case should be awarded only for a fixed period of time. The Family Court explained that awarding spousal support for a fixed period would ensure legal certainty to both parties so that they might plan their next steps and will be more emotionally and financially free to negotiate and reach an agreement that would end their relationship.

 

9.After examining the Applicant’s expenses, the Family Court ordered spousal support in the amount of NIS 5,650 per month (assuming that she was paying the mortgage on the house), or in the amount of NIS 3,500 (if she was not paying the mortgage), for a fixed period of 24 months from the day the suit was filed, that is until July 15, 2013. Additionally, the Family Court dismissed the Applicant’s suit for support of their son, who was a minor at the time the suit was filed, because the claim was not adequately proven, and considering that at the present time he was already serving in the IDF and did not exclusively reside in the Applicant’s home.

 

10.The Applicant appealed the Family Court’s ruling on spousal support to the District Court  (FA 21043-02-13, Deputy President I. Schneller, and Judges K. Vardi and R. Levhar-Sharon.) On March 23, 2014, the District Court granted the Applicant’s appeal, but only in regard to the date set for the period of support. The District Court held that it was appropriate to fix the period of the Applicant’s support, subject to setting a later date for ending the period during which the Respondent must pay it, as detailed below.

 

11.The District Court ruled against intervening in the amount of the support set by the Family Court, as it was based on factual findings, and limited the discussion before it to the general issue of the possibility of limiting the period of support payment and its resolution in the specific case.

 

12.The District Court noted that the premise for discussion must be that a woman’s support is based on personal status law. At the same time, the District Court reviewed the case-law developments in regard to taking account of the woman’s income prospects in deciding the amount of support, as well as the circumstances of the case (including the length of the marriage and the circumstances of the separation), and the approach that the awarding of support must be subject to the principle of good faith and public policy. As a result, the court noted that where there is “get recalcitrance” by the woman, this would affect her support, while examining whether this should be reflected in the amount or in denying right to support altogether. The District Court commented that denying a woman support on grounds other than religious law ought to serve as a legal tool for overcoming get recalcitrance, and as an incentive for the parties’ divorce, similar to the developments that had taken place in regard to tort claims for get recalcitrance.

 

13.The District Court went on to specify the factors that must be taken into account in considering a woman’s right to spousal support when she is a “recalcitrant spouse.” In doing so, the District Court considered the following factors, without exhausting the list: the primary reason for refusal – is it a result of a desire to continue to receive support, or a result of other proper reasons; the length of the marriage and its quality; the party at fault for delaying the divorce, and the Rabbinical Court’s findings in this context; the lifestyle prior to the separation, including the issue of the woman’s employment and her ability to secure an income compared to that of the husband; and the issue of whether the property matters between the couple had already been resolved. The District Court emphasized that denying the woman support is not a “penalty” and thus, the court must ensure that she has financial resources even when she is refusing the divorce. Additionally, the District Court emphasized that denying the right to support, or reducing it, is based on the principle of good faith – which is not a “one way street” – and thus the husband’s behavior is also important and should be examined from a broad perspective.

 

14.The District Court addressed the Family Court’s finding that, in this case, the woman refuses to arrange the divorce, although the Rabbinical Court did not make such a finding, and decided to intervene in that finding. The District Court addressed that fact that the couple had been married for over 35 years, and the Respondent is the one who elected to leave the family home. Therefore, this is not a case of get recalcitrance, particularly when the Family Court refrained from addressing the circumstances around the husband’s leaving. Additionally, the District Court noted that the Applicant was permitted to demand that the property matters be settled before the divorce, and that in light of the fact that there are financial resources of which the Applicant is entitled to part, a situation in which the Respondent enjoys these resources whereas the Applicant must wait for her share is unacceptable. Additionally, it was held, that even were it appropriate to set a limit to the period of support payments, it would have been appropriate to allow the Applicant a longer period in order to get “organized” for the future. This is because the result of the decision by the Family Court could have been that the Applicant would be compelled to agree to any demand presented to her in regard of the financial and property matters.

 

15.The District Court addressed the fact that the Respondent is expected to retire from his job in several years, and that at that time, the Applicant will be entitled to her share of his pension. On the other hand, the District Court considered the fact that the Respondent’s own entitlement to his pension had not yet materialized. The District Court held that it, indeed, would appear that the couple’s marriage had come to an end, but this finding alone, and the fact that the Applicant was granted an order for specific residence, are insufficient for denying her support considering the other circumstances. Ultimately, the District Court ruled that the date for the  expiration of support would be delayed for a period of three years from the date the Family Court handed down its decision, that is until December 31, 2015, or until the date when the Applicant would start receiving her share in the Respondent’s pension rights, according to the earlier of the two.

 

16.To complete the picture, it should be noted that the order for specific residence awarded by the Rabbinical Court was revoked in its decision of October 14, 2013. The Rabbinical Court noted the civil court’s impression that the marital relationship between the partners had expired, and that the Applicant was not interested in reconciliation. The Rabbinical Court recommended that the couple negotiate in order to end the marriage.

 

17.It should further be noted that on March 12, 2015, decisions were handed down in the two suits filed by the Applicant – for preserving property rights and for resource balancing (FC 24358-08-11 and FC 33489-03-13.) As mentioned, in the course of her suit for resource balancing, the Applicant requested that the property be divided unevenly so that 80% of the property would be handed over to her and only 20% would be awarded the Respondent, under section 8(2) of the Property Relations Law. Additionally, she requested the rights to the apartment that the Respondent inherited from his father. The Family Court was presented with an accountant’s report which pointed to two options for balancing the resources between the parties – one based on the current value of the rights, including the pension rights the Respondent had accrued, and the other based on the date the rights are to be realized. Under the latter option, the Applicant would receive most of the payments to which she is entitled through a monthly allocation of a fixed portion of the Respondent’s pension payments, each, once he retires. The Family Court rejected the Applicant’s claim that the resources be unevenly divided in her favor, as well as her claim to include the apartment inherited by the Respondent as property subject to resource balancing. In effect, it was held that the resource balancing would be even, according to the second alternative presented in the expert opinion, that is, in accordance with the date the pension rights would actually materialize. The Family Court added that it was under the impression that the Applicant was obstructing the divorce and refused to accept a get from the Respondent. As a result, the court held (referencing sections 5(c) and (d) of the Property Relations Law) that for the time being, the Applicant would be entitled to a sum of about NIS 73,000 unconditionally, while the remainder of the sums would be awarded her only later, subject to settling the divorce or any other decision by the Family Court. It was also decided that the Applicant bear the Respondent’s costs in the amount of NIS 59,000. The Applicant informed us that she intended to appeal the judgment. Needless to say, we are not concerned with this, and only mention it to complete the picture.

 

18.We would further add that in the course of the suit for dissolving the common property, and after the Rabbinical Court revoked the order for specific residence, the Family Court ordered to dissolve the community property rights in the house owned by the parties, and appointed the parties’ attorneys as receivers (FC 39732-12-11, decisions dated February 24, 2013, February 25, 2013 and April 14, 2013). Additionally, at the parties’ request and with their consent, a property appraiser was appointed on March 26, 2014, in order to prepare an appraisal of the house  for its sale.

 

The Application for Leave to Appeal

 

19.The application for leave to appeal before us challenges the District Court’s decision in regard to fixing the period of the Applicant’s support. The Applicant focuses her arguments on the fact that the District Court elected, despite the considerations it detailed, to terminate her support at the end of 2015, a date which she maintains is “speculative.” According to the Applicant, the District Court’s decision raises a fundamental question as to the Family Court’s authority to set a fixed period of time for spousal support in order to induce the parties to divorce, a decision which effectively denies the woman support contrary to the personal status law that applies to the parties, and despite the fact that the Rabbinical Court did not find her to be a recalcitrant spouse. In the Applicant’s view, this is a novel decision that provides the Family Court with new tools to compel parties to divorce.

 

20.On the merits, the Applicant maintains that, under the circumstances, her husband must be obligated to pay her support without an end date, and all subject to future developments (including the Respondent’s retirement in about five years time). The Applicant emphasized that she was married to the Respondent for over 35 years, during which time she did not work. She argues that she is currently over 56 years old, she is incapable of working and producing her own income, so that her entitlement to support is essential for her livelihood until she begins to receive her share in the Respondent’s pension in a way that ensures her continual income.

 

21.On the other hand, the Respondent argues that the request fails to invoke any special legal issue that warrants granting leave to appeal. He claims that the District Court ”was very gracious toward the Applicant”, in light of her unreasonable financial demands – demands which he believes hinder the resolution of the conflict by creating an “artificial delay” of the process. The Respondent adds that had the Rabbinical Court panel deciding the case not been substituted, their divorce decree would have been granted long ago.

 

22.The Respondent additionally claims that the Applicant’s conduct and her persistent refusal to accept a divorce in the Rabbinical Court, as well as deliberately delaying the hearings there, in stark contrast to her vigorous activity before the civil courts, should have been considered as bad faith that justifies revoking the support. The Respondent further argues, while addressing the unfolding of proceedings between the parties, that the lower courts examined the proceedings between the parties, as well as the factual circumstances, reviewed extensive evidence and made factual findings in which we should not intervene.

 

23.On May 5, 2015, a hearing on the Application was held before us. In the course of the hearing, the parties provided updates as to the ongoing proceedings between them in the various courts.

 

24.For her part, the Applicant insisted that the Rabbinical Court decided, on March 16, 2015, that her actions did not justify ordering a get, and rejected the Respondent’s request that she be required to divorce. The Rabbinical Court’s decision noted that, in accordance with the Applicant’s declaration, she is willing to live with the Respondent, and it was possible to end the case with the Applicant’s consent to divorce while granting her appropriate and reasonable compensation.

 

25.During the hearing, the Respondent updated us that, in the meantime, a decision was handed down by the Family Court in regard to the division of property between the parties, in the course of the Applicant’s suit for resource balancing. Additionally, the parties updated us that the house has yet to be sold, and that they still await the appraiser’s report on the matter.

 

26.At the end of the hearing, we instructed the parties to submit briefs on the question of whether it is permissible to fix the time period for support during the marriage.

 

27.On May 31, 2015, the Applicant submitted her brief. In her brief, the Applicant explained that requiring the Respondent to pay support stems from the personal status law that applies to them, which is Jewish religious law, which obligates the man to support his wife until the end of their marriage in divorce. The Applicant added that there is no obligation for a woman to work outside the home in order to be entitled to support, where she had not worked before and is unable to meaningfully produce an income, as in her circumstances. The Applicant notes further that there are no grounds to deny her support under the personal status law, and neither is there justification in her case to reduce the support or deny it for lack of good faith, which puts her in an impossible situation wherein she will remain without any source of income for several years until she becomes entitled to her share of the Respondent’s pension payments. The Applicant further argues that, in principle, there is no decision by this Court that has approved the denial or fixing of the term of support for a woman who is not working, is unable to produce an income, and is completely dependent on her husband for her livelihood.

 

28.On June 6, 2015, the Respondent filed his brief. The Respondent addressed a husband’s obligation for support under Jewish personal status law, but noted that the case-law balances these obligations against the principle of good faith, and created pragmatic rules to suit the changing times. Through good faith, he argued, the courts tend to reduce or deny support in general, and spousal support in particular, when necessary, as was done in this case, where the court is under the impression that the suit for support was designed merely to create “artificial pressure” in the property negotiations between the parties. The Respondent maintained that it is, indeed, common for family courts to fix the period of support, and that this approach can also be found in the writings of halakhic decisors. In this context, the Respondent presented the view of Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli  (Responsa Mishpatei Shaul, 5) according to which a man is not obligated to support his wife unless she is with him, “and if she leaves, there is no justification for this [halakhic] regulation as all”. It was also argued that the District Court’s decision is pragmatic and eliminates the need for additional deliberation on the issue of the amount of support and setting the date for its termination, as well as practices of investigations and surveillance of the woman in order to determine the extent of her expenses. The Respondent added that the courts’ approach as to fixing the term of a woman’s support is rooted in rehabilitative support awarded a common-law wife based on general contract law. It was thus argued that where the religious law discriminates against a man compared to a woman, its discriminatory instructions to this effect must be interpreted narrowly. One way of doing so may be fixing the period for support, as was done in this case. Additionally, it was argued that the approach adopted in the  case-law of the family courts is to prevent artificial continuation of the marriage where it no longer exists, and that, in this case, that approach should effectively have led to the denial of support altogether.

 

Discussion and Decision

 

29.After hearing the parties’ arguments, we are convinced that the law requires granting leave for appeal in this case, and we have decided to hear the application as if an appeal had been filed with the leave of the Court. The issue of fixing the period for a man’s support payments to his wife during their marriage is a new question that relates to the intersection between civil family law and the personal status law, as well as the “synchronization” between the decisions of the religious courts (in our case, the Rabbinical Court) and the rulings of the Family Court. In the background, as I will explain below, are additional questions touching on the financial survival of a partner who relies on the marriage in terms of income, considering, inter alia, that under Jewish religious law a woman is not entitled to support after the divorce (but without restricting the discussion in this context only to women, as opposed to men, who depended on the marriage in a manner that impacted their ability to produce an income). For the purposes of examining the question before us, I shall begin by presenting the complex tapestry of the relevant legal issues to be determined – some are matters of substantive law and some are matters concerning the jurisdiction of the relevant judicial tribunals.

 

30.Against this background, I will explore the rules that apply to spousal support, both through the lens of the personal status law that applies to the parties and through the lens of general civil law, all as related to the question of the “division of labor” between the family courts and the rabbinical courts as mandated under current legislation.

 

The Premise: The Connection between Entitlement to Support and the Marital Relationship under Personal Status Law and the Issues it raises

 

31.Section 2(a) of the Family Law Amendment (Maintenance) Law, 5719-1959 [13 L.S.I. 73] (hereinafter: the Maintenance Law) mandates: “A person is liable for the maintenance of his spouse in accordance with the provisions of the personal law applying to him.” Therefore, the premise for the discussion before us is the personal status as it applies to the parties. In our case, this is Jewish religious law, which closely links the woman’s entitlement to support to the marital relationship. As a general rule, only a married woman is entitled to support (subject to considering the income “of her own labor” in setting the amount of support). As opposed to this, after the divorce the woman is no longer entitled to support for herself (and this, as apposed to the maintenance awarded minor children that are, in effect, paid to the woman if the children are in her custody) (see also: Ben-Zion Schereschewsky and Michael Corinaldi vol. 1, 291-379 (2015) (hereinafter: Schereschewsky and Corinaldi)). This approach of Jewish religious law binds the family courts as well. This is an important point of departure for the discussion here, although it is not its final destination, as we explain below and considering the need to account for a wide range of principles that apply in the area of family law, including those drawn from civil law.

 

32.The application of Jewish religious law on awarding support between Jewish partners who married according to Jewish law – which is, as mentioned, the premise for the current legal situation – may occasionally create difficulties, and even incentives for unfavorable conduct. One of the immediate outcomes may be leaving the woman with no source of income after the end of the marriage, and in certain cases, even beforehand. Apparently, this outcome is not anticipated in the case of a woman who has worked and has been fully integrated into the workforce even during the marriage (and in any event, the amount of support to which she is entitled is often balanced against “her own labor”). However, this outcome is also highly problematic when we are concerned with a woman who, under the “division of labor” between her and her partner, did not participate in the workforce, and possibly has no profession or prospects of becoming integrated into the workforce due to her relatively advanced age (even if she may “formally” seek employment, and without detracting from the duty to combat the phenomenon of age-based discrimination). There is, thus, concern that women who divorce at an advanced age, and who are not integrated into the workforce, would descend into poverty, particularly when the community property amassed over the years is itself modest. As a result, women under these circumstances may refuse to divorce, even when there are no real prospects for the marital relationship to continue. This is because when support is contingent upon the marital relationship, as in Jewish law, divorce is likely to cut off their source of income.

 

33.The concern about the implications of ending the marital relationship on the entitlement to support for a woman who did not work during the marriage is exacerbated in those situations where the division of property between the parties is yet to be done. Should the woman stop being entitled to support, on one hand, while at the same time not be awarded immediate control over her share of the community property, on the other hand, the difficult outcome may compel her into a situation of no alternative but to unnecessarily waive some of her rights to the community property, in an attempt to achieve a prompt agreement as to the division of property and the ability to realize it.

 

34.The case before us demonstrates, so I believe, the complexity of the described situation. Of course, get recalcitrance – for financial reasons of any others – must not be encouraged, but it is also imperative to provide solutions for one who relied on the relationship and can no longer be integrated into the workforce, or alternatively requires a relatively extended training period in order to do so (for instance, by acquiring a new profession). This applies, of course, mutatis mutandis, to male partners who have relied on a  relationship in which his partner is part of the workforce and advances in it. Though the personal status law recognizes only a woman’s right to support, as I show below, under the general civil law, in the appropriate cases, a man’s reliance on the marital relationship may also be considered when granting the proper remedy to facilitate “adjustment” to independent financial existence (to the extent the “division of labor” in the former relationship justifies this).

 

 

Jewish Personal Status Law: The Death of Marriage, Obligation to Divorce and the Termination Date for Support

 

35.As noted, since the point of departure in the case before us is the personal status law that applies to the parties, we must first outline its principles in regard to an obligation to divorce and denying a woman’s right to support. In effect, the case before us raises two questions that, while related to one another, must be distinguished from one another. The first question is under which circumstances a woman my be declared a “recalcitrant spouse” even when there are no “classic” grounds for divorce, only because she refuses to divorce despite the fact that her relationship with her husband has reached an end in the sense of “disgust”, often described as the “death of the marriage” (see for example, Avishalom Westreich inhereinafter: Westreich)). The second question is what are the conditions to denying a woman’s right to support under circumstances characterized as the “death of the marriage.” These questions should be addressed briefly – not in order to purport to resolve the religious law disputes regarding them, but in order to understand their scope and their implications to the case before us.

 

36.The death of the marriage as grounds for divorce – as a general rule, there is a dispute among Jewish law decisors as to the whether an irreparable rift between the couple (regardless of the question of fault leading to this situation) justifies obligating a divorce (Westreich, 91). There is, indeed, halakhic support for the view that an irreparable rift in a marriage may give rise to a right to divorce, although that view is not universally accepted (Westreich,  93.) Such an approach is also consistent with economic concepts of human dignity that guide Israeli law. In any event, as I will explain below, determining this question does not “automatically” impact upon the determination in of the support issue. First, even if the Rabbinical Court decides to order the parties to divorce, it must still decide  upon the implications of that decision for the obligation of support. Requiring a divorce may be the “first step” toward revoking the right to support, but such a decision is a separate one, which may involve additional steps such as entrusting the get and the ketubah to a third party, that is depositing them with the Rabbinical Court for the woman. Second, even in the absence of a decision to require a divorce, it may be appropriate, in certain cases, to revoke the right to support, and this, as well, in a decision that may require additional steps such as entrusting the get and the ketubah to a third party.

 

37.Right to Support in the situation of the Death of a Marriage: As was already explained, the woman’s right to support in Jewish religious law stems from the marriage itself. This right expires when the woman is considered “rebellious” under Jewish law or where she is required to divorce under a “classic” ground for divorce, such as adultery (see:  Schereschewsky and Corinaldi, 309). Ordinarily, a woman is entitled to support only when she lives with her husband. When they live separately, the reason for the separation must be investigated (ibid., 335). Generally, a woman loses her right to support when she was the one to leave the home, unless “he was the cause”, i.e., she had a good reason to do so (ibid., 335, 354-57).

 

38.The issue of the right to support becomes more complicated in cases such as the one at hand, that is, in the case of the “death of a marriage.” The issue is partially related to the issue discussed above – whether the “death of a marriage” is grounds for requiring a get. However, as explained, these issues do not fully overlap. Doubts arise, inter alia, from the fact that denying the right to support may be seen as undermining the Decree of Rabbeinu Gershom prohibiting divorce without the woman’s consent due to the fact that non-payment of support may create economic pressure that would compel the woman to divorce against her will. In this context, Rabbi Elijah Mizrachi’s (the Re’em) position is well known. According to him, the husband may be exempted from supporting his wife when he could have lawfully divorced her against her will, but is prohibited to do so only due to the Decree of Rabbeinu Gershom. However, this position is considered, in many ways, a minority approach, and many halakhic decisors establish conditions for exempting the husband from paying support in this situation. Thus, for example, according to the view of Maimonides, this is contingent upon the husband depositing the get and ketubah with a third party. Additionally, Rabbi Herzog wrote, in regard to the approach of the Re’em, that “where the court is persuaded that she is responsible for disturbing a peaceful life (although the law does not require her to accept a get), and that there is no longer hope for restoring peace in the home, then it is permissible to rely on this approach, along while providing compensation so that she is not left without support, but of course this requires care and prudence and serious review in each and every case, in accordance with the situation and the circumstances.” In any event, clearly the basis for releasing the husband from paying support is an authorized finding of the Rabbinical Court that the marriage has come to an end, in terms of a ”disgust” claim (though the Rabbinical Court may refrain from deciding on actually requiring a get). Such a finding, and a consequent denial of support, usually involves entrusting the get and ketubah to a third party, acts that require, of course, active participation of the Rabbinical Court (see also: HCJ 7407/11 A v. Great Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem, para. 12 (January 27, 2013) and references there. For a detailed account of the approaches in Jewish law regarding support where the woman refuses to divorce, see: Rabbi Meir Batist, A Woman Obligated to Accept a Get: Has She Lost Her Support?, 23 125 (2003) (Hebrew); Rabbi Moshe Be’eri and Yuval Sinai, Obligating Support for A Woman Who Refuses a Get, The Center for Applied Jewish Law (February 9, 2007.) (Hebrew)).

 

Questions of Jurisdiction: Jurisdiction over Divorce, Jurisdiction over Support and the Relationship between them

 

39.Questions of jurisdiction must also be examined, alongside the examination of the substantive law, and we must address the dual system of litigation in the area of family law – in the rabbinical courts and in the family courts.  As we will see, the answer to the question before us is, in significant part, as much a result of the division of jurisdiction in family law as of the principles of substantive law that apply in this field.

 

40.As we know, the religious courts have exclusive jurisdiction over matters at the “core” of marriage and divorce. Family courts, too, hold jurisdiction over other matters in the area of personal status law. For the purposes of the case before us, it is unnecessary to elaborate on the distinctions between the different faiths’ religious courts and it is sufficient that we address rabbinical courts’ exclusive jurisdiction over all matters regarding marriage and divorce, as regulated by the Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction (Marriage and Divorce) Law, 5713-1953.

 

41.The Family Court is indeed authorized to hear a claim for a woman’s support, but as already discussed above, under the Maintenance Law the decision itself should be a product of the principles of personal status law detailed above, in this case Jewish law. Accordingly, when the Family Court hears a claim for support, it must determine whether there are grounds to end it in accordance with halakha.

 

42.What, then, must the Family Court do when faced with a claim for support where the husband argues in his defense that he is not obligated to pay because the woman is a “recalcitrant spouse?” The answer is that the Family Court cannot deny the right to support in the absence of an appropriate finding by the Rabbinical Court in the divorce case (this is distinct from the “classic” grounds, such as adultery, which the Family Court can consider independently). Indeed, it would appear that the Family Court may also address questions that are not under its “incidental” jurisdiction, in accordance with its authority under section 76 of the Courts Law [Consolidated Version], 5744-1984, and subject to the Rabbinical Court’s authority to find otherwise (CA 634/61 Makitan v. Makitan, IsrSC 15 945 (1962); Issachar Rosen-Zvi, 295 (2015) (Hebrew)). However, when the question at the heart of the dispute is whether to revoke the woman’s right to support for “get recalcitrance” (in the absence of a decision on this question by the Rabbinical Court,) it would be improper for the Family Court to address the issue. First, a claim of recalcitrance is closely tied to the matter of the divorce, which as noted, is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Rabbinical Court. Therefore, in a case of a claim of recalcitrance, litigation is conducted concurrently in the Rabbinical Court and the Family Court, and thus it must be viewed from the perspective of the principle of comity between courts (see LCA 4982/92 Tabib v. Tabib, IsrSC 48(3) 390, 294-95 (1994); HCJ 8497/00, Feig-Felman v. Felman, IsrSC 52(2) 118, 134-40 (2003); HCJ 9734/04, A v. Great Rabbinical Court, IsrSC 59(2) 295, 303 (2004)). Under this principle, the Family Court should wait for the decision of the Rabbinical Court in the matter. Reciprocal comity requires that as long as the Rabbinical Court believes that a demand for reconciliation by the party wishing not to divorce is sincere and in good faith, and that the time for determining that the marriage has died has yet to come, the civil court should not rule otherwise while the proceeding in the Rabbinical Court is still pending. As noted, considering the principle of comity between courts is necessary in this situation, since the divorce refusal claim cannot be raised out of thin air without the husband having filed for divorce in the Rabbinical Court. Second, as detailed above, according to religious law itself, denying the right to support in a case of requiring a divorce should be followed (in many opinions) by supplemental steps, such as entrusting the get and the ketubah amount to a third party. Denying the right to support, as a stand-alone measure, does not, therefore, reflect the religious law.

 

43.Waiting for the decision of the Rabbinical Court on the issue of divorce obligation is not expected to create any mishaps, considering the temporary nature of a support decision. A decision to award support is always contingent upon changes in circumstances, and a court may be approached repeatedly to decide the support issue in light of changing circumstances. Therefore, the Family Court need not be concerned that it may award support to a woman despite the fact she may be declared a “recalcitrant spouse.” If and when this happens, her partner may apply to the Family Court to adjust the support award. The logic of this proposed approach can be illustrated by the reverse situation, as well. Consider a situation in which the Rabbinical Court finds that the woman is required to divorce and she refuses to accept the divorce. Could the Family Court nevertheless find that she is not a recalcitrant spouse and that she is entitled to support under personal status law? Because the negative answer to this question is clear, it ought to be clear that unilateral intervention by the Family Court in findings in regard get recalcitrance in order to restrict a woman’s support is unacceptable.

 

44.It should be noted in this regard that the Family Court sought to rely on LFA 3148/07, cited above, as an example of considering recalcitrance when awarding support. However, this decision by my colleague (then) Justice E. Rubinstein, which generally addressed the application of the principle of good faith to issues of awarding support, cannot support this. In that case, it was held that a woman’s support may not be increased beyond the rate she was originally awarded  in light of changes in her former partner’s separate financial circumstances. However, our case effectively concerns the revoking of a woman’s support (in the sense of setting a date for their expiration), rather than merely setting their amount. Additionally, invoking the principle of good faith may not be used as a “detour” to waiting for the decision of the Rabbinical Court that is concurrently adjudicating the very same issue.

 

45.Indeed, we must aspire that the partner delaying the divorce without just cause does not gain the upper hand only because that partner falsely made a reconciliation claim (see also: Pinhas Shifman,  122 (2012) (Hebrew)). However, accomplishing this cannot be through limiting entitlement to support while the divorce proceedings are still pending. Of course, a finding by the Rabbinical Court that the woman is required to accept a get, insofar as there is such finding, would itself serve as cause for amending the support award. However, as longs as the proceeding in the Rabbinical Court is pending, and that court believes the time for divorce has not yet arrived, the civil court cannot base its decision on support on a different finding.

 

The Civil Law: Rehabilitative Support and the Marital Relationship

 

46.Though this was not articulated in this way in the District Court’s decision, the case before us, and similar cases, highlight a real difficulty that repeatedly comes up in divorce proceedings – the disincentive to agree to a divorce when the woman has no independent sources of income, and where, under the personal status law (here, Jewish halakha), divorce would leave her without an income. In effect, the Respondent believes that the Applicant refuses to divorce him only in order to continue to be entitled to support, and it seems the lower courts were under the same impression. The avenue these courts have chosen is problematic in light of the principles detailed above. The lower courts based their decisions on the finding that the Applicant is delaying the divorce only because she wishes to improve her financial situation through the support to which she is entitled as long as she remains married. As noted, the jurisdiction to determine whether this is indeed the case is in the hands of the Rabbinical Court, not the civil court. However, admittedly, the difficulty that the lower courts point out is real.

 

47.I believe that the way to handle this difficulty is different. It should not take the route of denying the right to support based on a finding that the women is a “recalcitrant spouse” (as longs and the Rabbinical Court has not decided this issue in the course of the divorce proceedings), but rather should be based on the recognition that, in appropriate cases, where a woman is divorced after years of not working outside of the home, she should be entitled to “civil” support with a rehabilitative objective, that is “rehabilitative” support according to general principles of the civil law. Of course, since this is a “civil” principle, this must apply, with the necessary changes, to a man who has divorced and is facing the same conditions, as well.  This Court has already said repeatedly that there is a contractual aspect to support, and general principles of fairness and good faith should also be considered on a case-by-case basis. I believe that these are principles that may be taken into account for the purpose of awarding rehabilitative support where, under religious law, the woman does not have a right to support. This would apply to a partner – man or woman – who is left with very limited or no ability to produce an income after the marriage, due to their reliance on the marital relationship and the “division of labor” between the partners during their relationship.

 

48.The right to an award of “rehabilitative support” (under the principles of reliance and good faith) has been recognized by this Court in regard to partners in a  cohabitation relationship that is not subject to regulation by religious personal status law – “common-law” partners (see: CA 805/82 Versano v. Cohen, IsrSc 37(1) 529, 531-32 (1983); CA 2000/97 Lindorn v. Karnit – Road Accident Victims Compensation Fund, IsrSC 55(1) 12, 33-34 (1999)), or even couples married in civil ceremonies abroad (see: CA 8256/99 A v. B, IsrSC 58(2) 213 (2003); HCJ 2232/03 A v. Tel Aviv Regional Rabbinical Court, IsrSC 61(3) 496 (2006) [http://versa.cardozo.yu.edu/opinions/v-tel-aviv-jaffa-regional-rabbinica...).

 

49.To date, this Court has yet to recognize the right of spouses married under Jewish law to “rehabilitative support”. However, at least prima facie, we should not rule out the possibility of awarding support under similar principles of protecting reliance, fairness, and good faith even when the couple is or was lawfully married. For example, consider CA 4590/92 Kahana v. Kahana (January 30, 1994) which addressed the matter of a kohen who married a divorced woman and was obligated to pay her support even after the Rabbinical Court found, in the course of the divorce case, that the woman was required to divorce (given that the marriage was prohibited).

 

50.How can this obligation, to the extent that it regards women, be reconciled with their right to support under religious law? I believe that rehabilitative support may be awarded under the civil law only to a woman who is no longer entitled to support under religious law (and, mutatis mutandis, to a man, too, as he is not entitled to support under religious law to begin with). This may arise at two possible points in time when the man’s duty to pay support expires under Jewish law – either before the divorce is granted but when there is a cause for denying support, or  after the divorce is granted, thus ending the right to support. This is consistent with the approach of Jewish religious law – both relevant points in time, whether before the divorce and after it, are occasions where the marital relationship substantively “ends.” In effect, awarding rehabilitative support even to a woman who was married under Jewish law (subject to appropriate restrictions, such as where she did not work, or worked only on a limited basis, and considering her anticipated challenges in integrating into the workforce) is consistent with the halakhic system in a broad sense. In practice, the woman’s ketubah is meant, inter alia, to guarantee her means of support at least for a period after the end of the marriage, and when she is no longer entitled to support (after divorce) (see for example: Eliav Shochetman, The Woman’s Status in Marriage and Divorce Law, 380, 398-401 (Francis Raday, Carmel Shalev and Michal Liban-Kobi, eds. (1995) (Hebrew)). Adjusting this idea to present circumstances (see and compare: LFA 9606/11 Estate of A (deceased) v. A (May 20, 2013)) supports awarding rehabilitative support to a married woman who was not integrated into the workforce at all, or only partially so, and where the end of the marriage would make it difficult to integrate into the workforce or where time would be needed to adapt in order to do so fully. Additionally, there are halakhic approaches that support awarding compensation to a woman who divorces, as another means (in addition to the ketubah) to provide her a “decent existence” after the divorce, as explained by Menachem Elon in his book (see Menachem Elon, 233-37 (2005) (Hebrew)).

 

51. As noted above, the question of whether the wife has income potential was already examined by the Family Court for the purposes of reducing the amount of the support awarded her under Jewish religious law (see: Halperin-Kaddari, Wife Support: From Perception of Difference to Perception of [In]Equality, 7 767, 789-91 (2005) (Hebrew); CA 6136/93 Bikel v. Bikel (July 6, 1994); CA 5930/93 Padan v. Padan, para. 2 (December 22, 1994)). The other side of the coin would appear to be accounting for a situation where the woman has no income potential, and where this fact results, inter alia,  from her reliance on the marital relationship (as the Court also saw things in the Acase, at 403). Moreover, the enactment of the Basic Laws, and the recognition that the right to a minimally dignified existence is a derivative right of human dignity, appear to reinforce the legal basis for awarding rehabilitative support as a duty stemming from the general  law – regardless of personal status law (though in a manner that is consistent with it, as explained above) – to the extent this is necessary for a minimally dignified existence. Indeed, a divorced woman has no independent right that her former partner ensure her right to a minimally dignified existence. This right is, first and foremost, a right in regard to the state (HCJ 366/03 Commitment to Peace and Social Justice Society v. Minister of Finance, IsrSC 60(3) 464 (2005) [http://versa.cardozo.yu.edu/opinions/commitment-peace-and-social-justice... HCJ 10662/04 Hassan v. National Insurance Institute (February 28, 2012) [http://versa.cardozo.yu.edu/opinions/hassan-v-national-insurance-institute]). However, the factor of guaranteeing a minimally dignified existence should influence the interpretation of support law (as this was already considered in the past for the purposes of limiting the scope execution of a support debt (see and compare: LCA 4905/98 Gamzo v. Yeshayahu, IsrSC 55(3) 360 (2001)).

 

52.Rehabilitative support of this type may reduce the incentive for “get recalcitrance” stemming from economic reasons, as well as provide the civil court with an effective tool for considering fairness and good faith. Such rehabilitative support could provide a partial response to the outcome resulting from  partners who contributed to maintaining the household possibly finding themselves in a situation where their work has no realizable “market value” (see: Shahar Lifshitz 332-334 (2005) (Hebrew) (hereinafter: Lifshitz)). To a certain degree, the possibility of awarding rehabilitative support is an obvious supplement to accounting for “career assets” in the division of property (see: LFA 4623/04 A v. B, IsrSC 62(3) 66 (2007) (hereinafter: LFA 4623/04); HCJ 8928/06 A v. Jerusalem Great Rabbinical Court of Appeals, IsrSC 63(1) 271, 280 (2008) (hereinafter: HCJ 8929/06)). Accounting for “career assets” expresses the “advantage” enjoyed by the partner whose work during the years of marriage acquired a special value, particularly where there are clear disparities in income potential because the partner who stayed at home facilitated the working partner’s ability to maximize their income potential (LFA 4623/04, at 86). On the other hand, awarding rehabilitative support also reflects, in appropriate cases, the special “harm” suffered by the partner who exited the workforce and was thus left in a position in which it became difficult to reintegrate into the workforce because of reliance upon the marital relationship and the understandings created within it. Indeed, these considerations may be reflected in the division of property, but that is not always the reality (Lifshitz, at 350-51.) Of course, awarding rehabilitative support must also take account of the manner of the property division– to the extent it already has occurred.

 

53.It is important to emphasize: rehabilitative support is what the title suggests. It is not a permanent entitlement to support, but an entitlement designed to achieve the rehabilitative objective of integration into the workforce – an end that advances dignified existence for the period of “rehabilitation”, which reflects the reliance upon the partnered relationship to the extent that the ability to produce an income was compromised. In practice, this may also be expressed as a “transition” until the realization of a different right to an income, for example, from a pension fund. Therefore,  as a rule, setting a fixed period for the support payments is possible, and may be required, although under certain circumstances this may be for an extended period, particularly where there is a significant difference between the partner who never worked and the supporting partner, and where the separation is at such a late stage of the partnered relationship that the ability of the partner who stayed at home to produce an income is very low.

 

54.Therefore these are considerations that must be taken into account when determining whether one of the partners is entitled to rehabilitative support, and what their amount ought to be. The central issue in this context is the likelihood of alternative sources of income. Therefore, the questions of professional training and work experience of the “home-based” partner, their age (including how close they are to retirement age,) as well as the value of the partners’ property and whether it has already been divided are important. On the other hand, considerations of fault as to responsibility for the relationship ending should not be taken into account. Generally, the prevalent approach to the property and economic aspect of family law is that it should not be subject to fault considerations (see also: HCJ 8928/06; LFA 7272/10 A v. B, para. 24 of my opinion (January 7, 2014)). To this we may add the fact that considering fault may also hinder the rehabilitative purpose of the support award, since it diminishes the abandoned partner’s incentive to rehabilitate through integration into the workforce.

 

55.In theory, one might argue that recognizing the possibility of awarding rehabilitative support will not reduce the phenomenon of “financial” divorce refusal by women in a case in which a woman may attempt to “drag out” the divorce in order to maximize her right to support as long as the marital relationship continues. This is because while recognizing rehabilitative support may address the concern that the partner who did not work during the marriage would be left without any source of income when it ends, it does not negate the fact that a woman is entitled to support under  personal-status law as long as she is married and there are no grounds for denying it, as explained. Rehabilitative support does not diminish this right and thus one might argue that women would attempt to “drag out” the marriage even where they may be awarded rehabilitative support once the marriage is over. Indeed, rehabilitative support does not fully resolve this problem, but I do believe that it significantly reduces it. First, from the moment when there is real “rift” between the parties and the woman no longer lives with her husband (whether by her desire or by his) it is likely she will attempt to return to the workforce or pursue professional training, and the need to do so, in the absence of any obstacle, is part of the good-faith duty imposed by the general law (to clarify, this duty is distinct from the considerations of fault in the relationship’s dissolution). In this context, the time that has lapsed during which the woman could have attempted to return to work may be factored into the decision whether to extend the “rehabilitative support” (considering her circumstances, including her age and health). Second, recognizing the institution of rehabilitative support may be expected to reduce the incentive for artificial delay of the marriage, which burdens partners in a situation of “rift” (and all the more so for the woman, considering the Jewish law consequences of an extra-marital relationship).

 

Other Civil Aspects of Divorce Refusal

 

56.At first glance, the possibility of seeking civil remedies through a tort suit in cases of get recalcitrance would appear to raise a tangential question to those under examination  (see, for example: FC (Jlem) 21162/07 A v. B (January 21, 2010) (hereinafter: FC 21162/07); FC (Krayot) 48362-07-12 A v. B (February 28, 2013); FC (Jlem) 46459-07-12 Z. G. v. S. G. (August 17, 2014)). As noted, in our case the District Court referred to this practice in order to infer that just as divorce refusal may serve as a cause of action in tort, so the Family Court may consider it for the purpose of reducing (or even revoking) the entitlement to support. In my opinion, this analogy is not at all obvious, and I believe it is misplaced.

 

57.I shall first note that the question as to when one may prevail in such a suit has yet to be addressed by this Court, and the case before us is not the proper case for discussing it (for the dispute on this matter see: Yehiel Kaplan and Ronen Perry, Tort Liability of Recalcitrant Husbands, 28 773 (2005) (Hebrew); Yifat Biton, Feminine Matters, Feminist Analysis and the Dangerous Gaps between Them: A Response to Yehiel Kaplan and Ronen Perry, 28 I, 871 (2005)). I shall, therefore, only note  that even according to the view that filing a tort suit for get recalcitrance does not depend on a prior ruling of the Rabbinical Court “obligating a divorce”, this would not ground an analogy that would permit taking the indirect path of denying a right to support that is prescribed by Jewish law, without an authorized decision by the Rabbinical Court as to the “death of the marriage”. There are several reasons for distinguishing the two types of suits, as I shall explain below.

 

58.In my opinion, the primary reason for distinguishing between the cases is that the right to support ordinarily concerns the ongoing maintenance of the woman entitled to support. Therefore, revoking it may affect her ability to survive in the most basic sense, as earlier explained. A decision to revoke entitlement to support is an extreme act when compared to awarding compensation for get recalcitrance (which, in any event, is subject to the rules governing execution of judgments, which condition enforcement upon ensuring that the party concerned be left with the means for existence). Moreover, denying the right to support may leave the woman destitute, and thus lead to “surrendering” to accepting a divorce in order to survive. On the other hand, taking the opposite step of increasing the support amount paid by the man (even in the absence of a divorce obligation by the Rabbinical Court) would necessarily be limited by laws restricting enforcement so as to ensure the right to a minimally dignified existence, as held in the Gamzo case. The result may, therefore, be asymmetrical for men and women.

 

59.Another, more formal but not unimportant reason for the distinction derives from the fact that tort suits for get recalcitrance are adjudicated exclusively under civil law, in accordance with the tests of the tort of negligence, and in any event, the matter is given to the exclusive jurisdiction of the civil courts. On the other hand, determining issues of support is contingent on the marital relationship and draws upon religious law.

 

From the General to the Particular

 

60.In light of the legal principles detailed above, I am of the opinion that the appeal should be granted.

 

61.First, the District Court (and prior to that, the Family Court) was guided by considerations of preventing “get recalcitrance”, but did so without positively determining that the Applicant is required to accept a get, and this while a parallel proceeding on the matter of the divorce was pending before the Rabbinical Court, which holds exclusive jurisdiction over the matter. A woman’s right to support cannot be revoked merely for considerations related to the subject matter of divorce refusal, without a positive finding of the Rabbinical Court that the woman is required to  accept a get. It must be either one or the other – if the woman is a recalcitrant spouse in the sense that the Rabbinical Court found her to be required to accept a get, or it is found that the marriage has come to its end and the get and her ketubah amount were deposited for her, with all that implies,  then she is not entitled to support under religious law. Or, if she is not a recalcitrant spouse, there are no grounds for revoking her support under religious law and neither can it be set for a fixed period of time at this point.

 

62.Indeed, it would appear from the Regional Rabbinical Court’s decision to revoke the specific residence order, as well as from its most recent decision, which was presented before us, that the Rabbinical Court was also under the impression that the marriage between the parties has, to a large extent, come to an end. However, the Rabbinical Court refrained to find as such, and also refrained from finding that the Applicant was required to accept a get. Instead, the Rabbinical Court sufficed in recommending that the partners reach an agreement between themselves. Of course, such findings are dynamic, and to the extent that the Respondent is able to persuade the Rabbinical Court that his wife is a recalcitrant spouse, this finding would have clear implications as to her entitlement to support, as well.

 

63.In our case, no “classic” ground was found, in the words of the Family Court, for revoking the Applicant’s support under religious law (see para. 17 of its opinion). The District Court did not find otherwise, but only wished to take into account, inter alia, the fact of the woman’s “recalcitrance”, although it noted that under the circumstances this was not “recalcitrance” that immediately leads to revoking the right to support. The District Court addressed additional considerations that are relevant to the “rehabilitation” of the marital relationship and the extent of her fault in ending it. I do not believe that these findings can stand. As explained above, to the extent that at this stage there are no grounds under religious law to deny the Applicant’s support (and even more so in light of the most recent decision of the Rabbinical Court presented to the Court) – she is lawfully entitled to it. In addition, to the extent that it be held in the future that the Applicant is not entitled to her support under religious law (and I do not, of course, take any position in this regard), then it would also be necessary to explore whether she must be awarded rehabilitative support, under the principles outlined, and as a result of a concrete examination of the woman’s prospects for securing an income. Indeed, the District Court noted that in setting the amount of support, a court must consider various factors, including whether the woman would have sources of income. The District Court even stated that one of the rationales for the award is affording the Applicant a reasonable period of time to prepare for the future. However, in applying this principle, it did not clarify to what extent the time it set might facilitate the woman’s ability to secure an income when that period of time comes to an end.

 

64.As noted, after the delivery of the District Court’s decision regarding support, which this proceeding concerns, a decision as to the division of the community property was also handed down, which was presented to us. The Respondent may, therefore, wish to argue that the community property at the woman’s disposal would serve as her source of income. However, this argument must be examined on its merits, and we cannot make the desired assumption. What matters for our purposes is that when the decision regarding support was delivered, there still was no decision regarding the property, and its outcome could have left the Applicant with no source of income. On the merits, the consideration of the woman’s share of the community property for the purposes of her ongoing income must factor in the date of sale of the house, the expected sale price to be received, and other information, while examining the woman’s living expenses during the time she may remain without a source of income, and the fact that she relied on the partnered relationship with her husband and the “division of labor” in that framework.

 

65.Under these circumstances, I would propose that my colleagues decide that the Family Court’s decision as to fixing the period of the support be reversed, and that to the extent that there is not change in the couple’s circumstances, including the circumstances relating to the proceedings in the Rabbinical Court, the Respondent continue to pay the Applicant’s support in accordance with the Family Court’s decision, without setting a time for the payments’ expiration.

 

66.I wish to end my opinion by expressing hope that despite the conflict between the parties and the great pain they have inflicted on one another, they may find the strength to ultimately conclude all the proceedings between them, which at the end of the day, benefit neither of them.

 

Afterward: Between the Principle of Good Faith and the Rules of Jurisdiction

 

67.At this stage, after completing my opinion, I have received the opinion of my colleague Deputy President E. Rubinstein. My colleague believes that fixing the term of the support awarded a woman by reason of “recalcitrance” should be permitted even without an appropriate ruling by the Rabbinical Court, on the basis of the required application of the good-faith principle. He further explains that such decisions may “encourage” the parties to reach agreements and end the marriage. I wish to disagree in this regard, although, of course, I do not dispute the general statement that the principle of good faith should appropriately apply to an adjudication between parties in the area of family law, just as it must apply to any other issue.

 

68.Indeed, there can be no dispute that the principle of good faith is an overarching principle of Israeli law, and rightly so. Additionally, I concur with my colleague that the principles of fairness and decency can also be found in the fundamental principles of Jewish law itself, and that is encouraging. However, as I explain below, the dispute between us does not concern whether the principle of good faith obligates the parties and the trial court, but other questions – how it ought to be implemented, and primarily which court does Israeli law entrust with ruling on the question of the death of the marriage, and what are the consequences of that finding for personal status law?

 

69.Given that in the matter of the parties’ before us two parallel proceedings are pending – both in the Rabbinical Court and in the Family Court – I do not believe that we can accept a situation wherein the Family Court issues a ruling concerning recalcitrance that is inconsistent with the rulings of the Rabbinical Court on this very same issue. Insisting on the principle of comity between courts, a point whose importance my colleague, too, emphasizes, is not consistent with conflicting rulings on this matter on an issue that is at the core of the Rabbinical Court’s jurisdiction, and while this issue is yet pending before it.

 

70.My colleague explains that the special care that the Rabbinical Court exercises in regard to recalcitrance must be taken into account. My view is different. The Family Court cannot impose sanctions under the Rabbinical Courts (Enforcement of Divorce Judgments) Law, 5755-1995, against the husband where it is persuaded that he is a recalcitrant spouse in the absence of the proper finding by the Rabbinical Court, regarding which the Rabbinical Court also exercises great care. Similarly, there is no place for the Family Court to deviate from the Rabbinical Court’s position to the detriment of women in matters of support. Otherwise, we may undermine the delicate balance upon which the division of jurisdiction in Israeli family law is founded.

 

71.Even on the merits, I do not believe that the principle of good faith is directed, in this case, at setting support for a particular period of time. My colleague bases his position, inter alia, on the set of incentives that influences women’s conduct during divorce proceedings, and points to the contribution of the position he expresses in his opinion to promoting compromise between the parties. This is but one possibility. However, a no less reasonable possibility is that of “pressuring” a woman who has no independent sources of income to agree to divorce under unfair conditions, only because of her concern over becoming truly impoverished. We must remember that the procedural equality between the couple when one has a steady income and the other lacks a steady income is a fictional equality, and in this sense, the proverbial sand in the hourglass runs out unilaterally to the woman’s disadvantage.

 

72.The response to my colleague’s concern about divorce “extortion” by the woman may be found in other proceedings of a civil nature. This solution is preferable because it does not involve putting existential pressure on a woman left without a steady income, but rather allows for appropriate “recalculation” after the fact, to the extent it is needed.

 

73.Should my opinion be accepted, I would propose that the appeal be granted as stated in paragraph 65 above, and that the Respondent bear the Applicant’s costs in the amount of NIS 20,000.

 

 

 

Deputy President E. Rubinstein:

 

1.I have carefully read my colleague Justice Barak-Erez’s comprehensive opinion. Her opinion presents weighty questions for consideration, however, at the end of the day, I cannot concur in her opinion as to the outcome of this case, although the idea of rehabilitative support she discusses is appealing. Should my opinion be heard, the District Court’s decision – which, in essence, took the same route as the Family Court – would be upheld. I shall restate the gist of the matter, as my colleague presented the details of the proceedings. We are concerned with a couple who married and lived together for 35 years, after which they separated and proceeded to sue each other. Over the years, the husband (the Respondent) worked continually at a regular workplace, carrying pension benefits, whereas the Applicant worked at home and managed the household. She worked out of the home for only brief periods of time. I shall not go into the issues of property described by my colleague, as we are here concerned with the issue of support. The Family Court believed that in light of the Applicant’s refusal to divorce in order to gain advantages in the property proceedings, and for considerations of good faith, support must be set for a fixed period of time that would take all the factors into account. The period set was for two years from the date of filing the suit in 2011. The District Court noted that refusal of a get affects support, but that in this case the Rabbinical Court has yet to decide on the issue of recalcitrance, and the personal status law applies. Thus the support was set for three years from the date of the Family Court’s decision (December 12, 2012) or until the day the Applicant begins receiving her share of the Respondent’s pension, according to the earlier of the two. Hence the application, and it should be noted that we tried unsuccessfully to lead the parties to a compromise.

 

Support for Fixed Periods

 

2.My colleague believes that as long as there are no grounds under personal status law to revoke a woman’s support, it must be awarded as her legal right. Indeed, in her view, it is incorrect for the Family Court to revoke a woman’s support when the Rabbinical Court refrained from finding that she is a recalcitrant spouse in the course of the divorce proceeding.

 

3.Indeed, as my colleague also noted that, under personal status law, only a married woman is entitled to support. This rule binds the Family Court, which follows personal status law in matters of support (section 2(a) of the Family Law Amendment (Maintenance) Law, 5719-1959; B. Schereschewsky and M. Corinaldi, , vol. 1 (2015) 291-92) (Hebrew), yet, as my colleague carefully explained: “This approach of Jewish religious law … is an important point of departure for the discussion here, although it is not its final destination, as explained below and considering the need to account for a wide range of principles that apply in the area of family law, including those drawn from civil law” (para. 31) (emphasis added – E.R.). One of these – and one of the most important – is the principle of good faith.

 

4.Our law recognizes the principle of good faith as a “‘royal, multi-faceted provision” (HCJ 1683/93 Yachin Plast v. National Labor Court, IsrSC 47(4) 702, 708 (1993) (per Barak J.) which casts its net over the different areas of law (CA 2070/06 Equipment and Construction Infrastructures Ltd. and Others v. Attorney Yaakov Greenwald – Receiver (2008)). The principle of good faith is a flexible legal rule, and the court may fill it with content and meaning, and determine whether any particular act deviates from it or complies with it (CA 467/04 Yitach v. Mifal Hapayis (2004)). In this regard, President Barak’s well-known statement in (CA 6339/97 Rocker v. Solomon, IsrSC 55(1), 199 (1999) is apt: “The principle of good faith establishes a standard for the behavior of people who are each concerned with their own interests. The principle of good faith holds that protecting one’s own interest must be fair, and considerate of the justified expectations and proper reliance of the other party. Person-to-person, one cannot behave like a wolf, but one is not required to be an angel. Person-to-person, one must act like a person” (at 279).

 

5.In CA 10582/02 Ben Abu v. Hamadia Doors Ltd., (2005) (hereinafter: the Hamadia Doors case) I was presented with the opportunity to address the moral aspect of the principle of good faith:

 

I will admit without shame that, in my view, the subject of good faith crystallizes moral principles into the law. As Justice (emeritus) Professor Itzhak Englard said in his lecture The Principle of Good Faith in Israeli Civil Law: “There is basis for the view that the aspiration for comprehensive application of the principle of good faith is also based on the desire to incorporate moral values into human relations, including in the commercial field” (lecture in a judges’ conference in Paris, June 2004, p. 2)… in CA 1662/99 Haim v. Haim, IsrSC 56(6) 295, 340, Justice Strasberg-Cohen wrote that the “theoretical foundation for the doctrine of estopple, like the principle of good faith, is rooted in principles of decency and morality,” and she quoted Professor G. Shalev (Promise, Estopple, and Good Faith, 15 Mihspatim 295, 313 (1989))… I cannot but concur with these words of truth, and under section 61(2) of the Contracts Law, they extend over the entirety of private law…” (para. 15).

 

It should be added that “good faith” is not a common term in Jewish law (although linguistically, the origin of the term “good faith” [tom lev] is in the language of the Bible – “In the integrity of my heart [tom lev] and clean hands” (Genesis 20:5)). In his paper Comments on the Draft Civil Code, 5771-2010, in light of Jewish Law (2011) [Hebrew], Dr. M. Wigoda explains that our Sages recognized three other principles that reflect different aspects of the principle of good faith: “Do what is right and good”, “one is compelled not to act in the manner of Sodom" (one is compelled not to abuse a legal right), and the rule of “lacking faith” (originally this phrase referred to reneging on a promise, and later referred more broadly to reprehensible conduct due to a moral flaw, as opposed to breeching an explicit lawful duty); see also Moshe Silberg, Such is the Way of the Talmud (1964) (chapter 7, pp. 97ff.) [Hebrew]). Dr. Wigoda explains that: “these rules are perceived both as general standards that create certain duties, and as principles that control the entirety private law” (pp. 4-5.) Additionally, according to the commentator to Maimonides’ Mishne Torah, Rabbi Vidal of Tolosa (Spain, 14th century) (Laws concerning Neighbors 14:5): “And thus [the Torah] said, and you shall do the good and righteous, meaning that one must conduct well and honestly with people, and it was not proper in this matter to command details as the Torah’s commandments are eternal and for all time and apply to every matter and issue,  and one is obligated to do so, but the attributes and conduct of people change with the times and the people. The Sages wrote some useful details under these rules, some are absolute rules and some preferred and ways of piety, and this is all said by them.” See also the Hamadia Doors case (para. 16), particularly as to how the principle of good faith is reflected in the principle “what is hateful to you do not do to others,” and as Hillel the Elder said “this is the entire Torah, and  the rest is commentary, go study” (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a); and also see there one of the questions by which a person is judged by the heavenly court – “did you deal faithfully?” To summarize, good faith is a central legal and moral principle that must interpreted and applied according to the circumstances of the case, and must not be forgotten.

 

6.In CA 32/81 Tzonen v. Stahl, IsrSC 37(2) 761 (1983) then Justice M. Elon first applied the principle of good faith to spousal support obligations: “Although it is a statutory obligation, it has a contractual nature and it is rooted in the marital relationship, which is itself – by nature and at its core – a contractual relationship” (at 771). In LFA 3148/07 A v. B (2007) (hereinafter: LFA 3148/07) in which the Applicant petitioned to increase her support due to the improvement in her partner’s financial circumstances, I noted:

 

As a general rule, the court must consider not only whether a change in support should be considered under personal status law, but also how awarding increased support as requested would influence the entirety of the relationship, for better or for worse, and particularly whether it is requested in good faith. In our case, therefore, there is no reason to intervene in the decisions of the lower courts, which addressed the entirety of the relationship between the parties… [para. 6(4)) (emphasis added – E.R.)].

 

It should be noted that LFA 3148/07 concerned a decision not to increase spousal support, whereas our case concerns revoking it, and see my colleague’s comments in paragraph 44. Put simply, in these situations the court must exercise exponentially more caution on a legal and the human level. And yet, I believe our words are apt in these situations as well.

 

7.Considering the principles of personal status law under which a woman may be denied her right to support, the family courts have reached the conclusion, under general civil-law principle of good faith, that even if the personal status law obligates the husband to continue supporting his wife, in the case of a long separation and a marriage that has effectively ended (“a marriage on paper”) it may be appropriate to relieve the husband of the obligation to pay support. The family courts did so where they were satisfied that the woman’s objection to the divorce stemmed from her interest in support, and believed it was a “ruse”:

 

To summarize things thus far – only when we are concerned with a long separation will the court carefully consider the matter before it from all angles, and scrutinize its circumstances and root causes. This examination is broad, comprehensive, and multifaceted. However, the court will not easily stray from the primary duty that Jewish law imposes on the husband to pay his wife’s support, and make recourse to the possibilities for relieving him of that fundamental responsibility. The court will also consider who is to blame for the separation, whether there is a real chance for reconciliation between the parties, whether the Rabbinical Court required a divorce or merely recommended it, whether the Rabbinical Court ruled as to reconciliation, who is refusing the divorce and whether this refusal is merited, whether all the property issues between the parties have been resolved, and other factors. After the court has gathered the relevant facts, it must attempt to examine them through two lenses, one is the lens of the essence of the law as it is reflected in halakhic decisions and its interpretation under the civil law, and the other, that of the heart of the law, that is, the principle of good faith, a principle which can take the sting out of the law and reconcile it with logic and common sense… [FC (Fam. Petach Tikva) 51689-11-12, I.L. v. E.L. (2013) para. 28) (Judge Weizman); see also FC (Krayot) 11495-11-08, A v. B (2010); FA 765/05 (Jlem) A v. B et al.  (2006) and many others].

 

And also see that decision in regard to the need to strike a balance between  personal status law and “applying moral norms stemming from the principle of good faith, which also have a place in Jewish law” (para. 18).

 

Clearly, the principle of good faith, which covers all areas of life and applies to relationships between strangers in one-time contractual relations, certainly holds an important place when two individuals who decided to join their lives together wish to end their relationship. I believe that a different conclusion would lead the Family Court to do a disservice to this area of the law, by encouraging the continuation of a marriage that has ebbed, by the artificial means of continuing spousal support in a case of “a marriage on paper.”

 

8.However, this reflects one – fundamental -- aspect of the problem. Of course, I am aware that in many cases the woman is left without a source of income after the marriage ends (R. Halperin Kaddari, Wife Support: From Perception of Difference to Perception of [In]Equality, 7 ebrew))and of the concern about the consequences of the end of the marriage for the woman’s entitlement to support when she has not worked outside the home during the marriage – and I would emphasize: did not work outside of the home, as the common term “did not work” does an injustice to a woman who worked, sometimes to exhaustion, in performing household tasks – increases when the division of property between the couple is yet to be completed. These situations were common in past generations, and even though today there are very many couples where both partners work outside the home for purposes of income and for purposes of self-fulfillment, there are still couples, as in our case, where the woman did not work outside of the home for years, or hardly did so, and often, even when she did work, it was limited and her professional advancement was hindered due to the demands of child raising. Nevertheless, it is hard to accept denying the Family Court the option of encouraging the parties to negotiate, with its understanding of the complex dynamics of life, and its practical experience with cases of the sort (to complete the picture regarding the background for get recalcitrance by a man, and Jewish law’s solutions, see: HCJ 6751/04 M. S. v. Great Rabbinical Court of Appeals, IsrSC 59(4) 817 (2004) and the amendment to the Rabbinical Courts Jurisdiction (Marriage and Divorce) Law, 5713-1953 (Amendment 1 of Section 11 of the Rabbinical Courts (Enforcement of Divorce Judgments) (Temporary Provision) Law, 5755-1995, as well as Yehiel S. Kaplan, Punitive Maintenance as a Solution to the Plight of the Wife of the Recalcitrant Husband, 10 381 (2005)). The solution to the difficulty my colleague describes, which I do not take lightly at all, is provided by the law in the authority granted the court under section 8(2) of the Spouses (Property Relations) Law, 5733-1973, to make an unequal division of assets, along with the additional powers it provides. This is expressed in the Explanatory Notes to the Spouses (Property Relations) (Amendment 4) Law, 5769-2008:

 

Section 8 of the Law establishes that under special circumstances that justify it, the competent court may decide that the balancing of the assets of the partners will not be carried out by means of an equal division between them, but according to a different equation. It is proposed to make clear that in determining such  a division, the competent court also factor the future assets of each of the partners (such as goodwill, professional degrees, professional experience, and workplace tenure) and the income prospects of each of them (section 5(2)). In western countries, there is a growing trend in legislation and jurisprudence of considering the financial gaps between the spouses in proceedings for the division of community assets, inter alia, when awarding one-time or periodic compensation to the weaker partner. Often, these gaps are a result of one partner forgoing their professional development and the consequent income prospects in order to allow the other partner to do so (see Shahar Lifshitz, On Past Assets and Future Assets and the Philosophy of Marital Property, 34(3) Mishpatim 627 (2005), primarily p. 728ff. (Hebrew)) [(emphasis added – E.R.) (Spouses (Property Relations) (Amendment 4) (Earlier Balancing of Assets), 5767-2007, H.H. 163)].

 

Moreover, the current state of the law allows partners who did not earn an income – mostly women – to share the pension that their partner receives upon retirement, as in this case, which has great significance.

 

It should be noted that in our matter, the court (FC 24358-08-11 and FC 33489-03-12) did not find it appropriate to rule in that manner, despite the Applicant’s request, for its own reasons. I shall address the issue of rehabilitative support below.

 

9.My colleague further explains in her opinion that it is inappropriate for the court to consider the matter of get recalcitrance, which is given to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Rabbinical Court. She emphasizes – and this is undisputed – that the situation must be must be viewed from the perspective of the principle of comity between courts, and that it is difficult to accept that in a situation in which the Rabbinical Court believes that the reconciliation claim by the party who does not wish to divorce still stands and that ordering a get would be inappropriate, the Family Court should rule otherwise. The principle of comity is undisputedly a central principle of our system (HCJ 8578/01 Haliva v. Haliva, IsrSC 56(5) 634 (2002)), and the civil courts are scrupulous in that regard, and we need not address the complex questions of res judicata. I am the last to take comity between courts lightly. However, the rabbinical courts  have halakhic concerns regarding the matter of a get, which is an extremely complex subject (“Rabbi Judah said in Samuel’s name: One who does not know the peculiar nature of divorce and betrothal should have no business with them” (a, and they should, of course, be respected. But the civil court sees a broader picture in the financial matters. The Family Court has jurisdiction over issues of support, and it is required to adjudicate under personal status law. It is only logical that in that framework, weight will be given to the general principles of the civil law, as well. Moreover, the courts are often called upon to make incidental rulings that are necessary for deciding upon the support issue (section 76 of the Courts Law (Consolidated Version), 5744-1984). It should be further noted, and this may be the main point, that a finding as to the lack of likelihood for reconciliation (“the death of the marriage”) does not imply a halakhic obligation to divorce, and the lack of a divorce obligation does not mean there was good faith. The possibility for reconciliation, or the lack thereof, is determined by examining the entirety of the relationship between the parties over the years, as we can also see in our matter (see the decision of the Rabbinical Court (Rabbinical Court Judges Rabbi Domb, Rabbi HaLevi, and Rabbi Zer) of October 14, 2013, where the court noted that “it seems the Respondent’s goal is that she have a whole house rather than a peaceful home”). Indeed, the Family Court handed down its decision on December 12, 2012, about ten months before the Rabbinical Court’s decision, and at the Applicant’s request, the Rabbinical Court initially attempted, as is usually the case, to explore the possibility of reconciliation.

 

10.My colleague reminds us (in para. 36) that, in cases in which the Rabbinical Court has orders a get, revoking the right to support  may be accompanied by supplementary steps such as entrusting the get and the ketubah amount to a third party. The issue of entrusting the get is generally relevant in the case of a recalcitrant husband, while the matter of the ketubah is, of course, highly relevant to the general proceedings as to property. My colleague ably reviewed the halakhic literature on the topic of “the death of the marriage.” In my view, the question before us is whether to maintain the moribund marriage  through “artificial respiration” merely because of the property dispute. In general, I do not believe that the doors of the family courts are barred when the Rabbinical Court, for its own considerations, has yet to rule on ordering a get, while the Family Court is persuaded there are no prospects for the marriage, although appropriate caution should be exercised. The Family Court holds jurisdiction over the subject of  support, and in considering the overall picture, there is no reason for it not to see the couple as it truly is, where the get is clearly serving as a “property weapon”.

 

11.In this case, under the circumstances described – and given that the lower courts, including the Rabbinical Court, were, in fact, under the impression that the marriage had reached its end and that the Applicant was delaying the divorce in order to improve her financial situation – I am of the opinion that the Family Court was correct in its decision, as was the District Court, to award support for a fixed period of time. Therefore, the approach of the District Court, which took further steps to accommodate the Applicant, is acceptable to me.

 

Rehabilitative Support

 

12.My colleague proposes awarding rehabilitative support in cases where the partner is no longer entitled to support under personal status law, and this at two possible points in time: “either before the divorce is granted but when there is a cause for denying support, or after the divorce is granted, thus ending the right to support” (para. 50). I am not certain whether the term “rehabilitative support” is appropriate, and perhaps “bridging support” is preferable where the support is meant to bridge the period remaining until retirement. This mechanism is primarily rooted in the desire to assist the partner (in the majority of cases, the woman) when she lacks independent sources of income, and where there is reliance on the partnered relationship. I agree with my colleague’s holding that “in appropriate cases, where a woman is divorced after years of not working outside of the home, she should be entitled to ‘civil’ support with a rehabilitative objective, that is ‘rehabilitative’ support according to general principles of the civil law.” (para. 47); this on a case by case basis, including examining the partner’s possibility to integrate back into the workforce, and the entire property arrangement between the couple.

 

13.The basis for awarding rehabilitative support where they were not agreed upon in advance is, as my colleague noted, as well, also to be found in the principle of good faith, which attributes to the couple a normative intent as to support (LCA 8256/99 A v. B, IsrSC 58 (2) 213 (2003)). In appropriate cases, I believe that this is even consistent with the spirit of section 8 of the Spouses (Property Relations) Law, which – as noted – seeks to grant the court flexibility in balancing resources and to deviate from the principle of equal distribution prescribed by the law. This can be seen, in my view, as an attempt to achieve “real equality” as opposed to “formal equality.” Indeed, when we are concerned with “rehabilitative support” we are not concerned with a permanent entitlement to support, but rather with an entitlement designed at rehabilitation until another entitlement to income materializes, while considering the factors of good faith and fairness in this regard, as well.

 

14.In addition to the cases referred to by my colleague in regard to partners who are not “regulated” by religious law, the family courts have, on more than one occasion, awarded rehabilitative support to partners married in accordance with Jewish law. For example, in FC (Haifa) 7282-12-09 A v. B (2011), support was awarded after the couples’ divorce (before the issue of the community property and its division was decided) in light of the woman’s financial dependence on her partner after 28 years of marriage, during 16 years of which she managed the household. Also see FC (Krayot) 11495-11-08, mentioned above, where it was held that the right to support would be for a fixed time in light of the principle of good faith and in order not to perpetuate a “marriage on paper”. It was held that should the parties divorce beforehand (thus prima facie extinguishing the obligation for support under personal status law), the woman would be awarded rehabilitative support. In practice, this mechanism facilitates a divorce where the relationship has died, while granting the woman support for an additional period of time. To a certain extent, it could be said that we are concerned with semantics, that is, with a formula designed not to cause friction with the Rabbinical Court, but its goal is to achieve the same material outcome that the lower courts reached in our case, although by a different path.

 

15.I do not rule out this manner of awarding support in appropriate cases, however, in my opinion, it is a tool in the Family Court’s “toolbox” that should be used in accordance with the circumstances, in order to solve the matter of alternative income. However, I fear this method does not always solve the cases of “dragging out” a moribund marriage by artificial means, in order to achieve economic advantages, and I am not certain that it leads to more attempts to integrate into the workforce than before.

 

16.It would not be superfluous to note that support under the personal status law is clearly to be paid when the husband is the recalcitrant spouse, and further discussion of this matter would, indeed, be superfluous.

 

17.And now to the case before us. With all due respect, I disagree with my colleague’s statement in paragraph 63. At the end of the day, once I have not seen fit to bar the way to the civil courts considering the “clinical death” of the marriage, I see no flaw in the position of the lower courts here, including the District Court’s fixing of support for a relatively extended period of time. It is entirely possible that the District Court’s ruling is what prompted reaching a decision as to the property.

 

18.In concluding,  I would note that I will not address the issue of tort claims in cases of recalcitrance, which raise significant questions (FA (Tel Aviv) 46631-05-11 A v. B (2014); FC (Jlem) 1748/06 A v. B (2011); FC (Jlem) 6743/02 K. v. K. (2008)), though I, with all due respect, and with proper concern for the issue of a “coerced get” [get me’useh], which is often at the basis of such disputes (due to the fear that the husband’s consent to the divorce was a result out of concern about tort damages rather than his free will), believe the path to compensation should not be barred. In this context, also see the Professor A. Radzyner’s enlightening article,  “The Essential Thing is not the Study, but the Deed”: Get Procedures after Tort Claims and the Policy Respecting Publication of Rabbinical Court Judgments, 44(1) M  5 (2105). It should be noted that, according to this article, a get can be granted even after compensation is paid. I believe that a decision to revoke support is no more harsh than a decision finding that a  recalcitrant husband is a tortfeasor and a nuisance, and liable for compensation.

 

19.In closing, I think it appropriate to briefly address my colleague Justice Erez-Barak’s response. I fear that I do not agree with presenting the matter as a binary dichotomy between the jurisdiction of the Rabbinical Court in matters of divorce and the jurisdiction of the Family Court in matters of property. The Family Court, in adjudicating matters of property, which are undisputedly within his primary jurisdiction by default, sees the picture before it in the matter within its jurisdiction (that is, matters of property) and must render judgment. It does not consider factors of halakha, and does not end the marriage in the halakhic sense. However, it is not required to grant one of the partners, be it the husband or the wife, a perpetual key. Surely, my colleague has no intention of presenting the Family Court or the District Court as insensitive to distress of the male or female partner who has no source of income, or to the rights of women. And indeed, this is not the case in general, nor is it the case before us. The Family Court, like the District Court, as fair courts, will know how to navigate in the appropriate cases, and properly examine good faith in matters of property before reaching a decision. The Rabbinical Court’s jurisdiction stands and is respected. Finally, as for the comments by my colleague Justice Zylbertal, I believe his concern as to the possibility of filing tort claims for get recalcitrance, which he wishes to put at center stage, should not be taken lightly. His reasons for disputing our colleague Justice Barak-Erez’s distinction between suits for fixing periods of support for recalcitrance and tort suits for recalcitrance are essentially acceptable to me.

 

20.In conclusion, in light of the above, should my opinion be heard, the District Court’s decision would be upheld, and support would be paid until the date set. At the end of that period, it will be possible to reexamine the situation between the parties, and whether there might be any justification for rehabilitative support on the basis of a new request.

 

21.After reviewing the opinion of my colleague Justice Zylbertal, and having been left in the minority as to the operative outcome, I would suggest that, at the end of the day, the gap between my colleagues’ positions as to the outcome and my own is not so wide. My colleague Justice Barak-Erez proposes that the Respondent continue to pay the Applicant’s support as decided by the Family Court, without determining a termination date, whereas, in my opinion, the situation ought to be revisited at the end of such period – this coming December of 2015, when the possibility for extending the period of support may be considered. In any case, as my colleagues are in the majority in this matter, the operative outcome is according to the opinion of my colleague Justice Barak-Erez.

 

 

 

 

Justice Z. Zylbertal:

 

1.I have carefully read the compressive, thorough opinions of my colleagues Justice D. Barak-Erez and Deputy President E. Rubinstein. I will begin by stating that in the disagreement between my colleagues, I concur with the outcome arrived at by Justice Barak-Erez, whereby the appeal should be granted as set out in paragraph 65 of her opinion. Nevertheless, as will be explained below, I cannot concur with all the principled findings that led my colleague to that outcome, and I concur with the opinion of the Deputy President on the main point of dispute between my colleagues.

 

2.The discussion here may be divided into two primary issues: the first, on which my colleagues are divided, is the question of jurisdiction (or, at least, how it is exercised). Is the Family Court permitted to revoke a woman’s support without a prior decision by the Rabbinical Court requiring that she accept a get, and without a positive finding that the couple’s marriage has come to an end? My colleague Justice Barak-Erez’s position is that the principle of comity between courts calls for restraint by the civil court, and therefore, in her opinion, as long as the divorce proceedings are pending in the Rabbinical Court, the civil court cannot base rulings as to the issue of support on “recalcitrance” in regard to the get in the absence of an appropriate finding by the Rabbinical Court on this issue. Justice Barak-Erez added that this conclusion results not only from the principle of comity between courts, but also from the Jewish religious law that applies in our case, according to which revoking a right to support in a case where a get has been ordered must (in the opinion of many) be followed  by supplementary steps that are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Rabbinical Court, and that require the active involvement of the Rabbinical Court (entrusting the get and the ketubah amount to a third party.)

 

The Deputy President disputes Justice Barak-Erez’s position on the matter of jurisdiction. His position is that the civil courts may revoke a married woman’s support when they are satisfied that the marriage has effectively ended and that the woman refuses to accept her get only for financial reasons, even in the absence of a finding by the Rabbinical Court that the woman is required to accept the get. The Deputy President explained that the civil court often makes incidental findings that are required for determining the issue of support and the property matters under its primary jurisdiction (section 76 of the Courts Law [Consolidated Version], 5744-1984). In the Deputy President’s view, the civil court’s finding that a woman must lose her support because she is a “recalcitrant spouse” does not lead to the end of the marriage in the halakhic sense, and does not deviate from the principle of comity between courts.

 

3.My colleagues’ positions are well reasoned and internally consistent, and each expresses important (sometimes conflicting) principles that are necessary for a functioning legal system. Still, my position is that a broader perspective as to the unfortunate phenomenon of “get recalcitrance” tips the scale in favor of the Deputy President’s position, and thus, on the fundamental issue in question, I join his opinion. I will explain my conclusion below.

 

4.Both the Deputy President and Justice Bark-Erez briefly discussed an issue that is tangential to ours – the possibility of being awarded monetary compensation in cases of get recalcitrance through a tort suit (see paras. 56-59 of Justice Barak-Erez’s opinion, and para. 18 of the Deputy President’s opinion.) Indeed, in recent years, various legal and halakhic means have been explored in order to contend with the harsh phenomenon of get recalcitrance, including the option of filing a tort claim against the recalcitrant party. In this context, Justice Barak-Erez’s position on the jurisdiction issue, as presented above, may – by a possible analogy – lead to the outcome that it will not be possible to award tort damages against a recalcitrant spouse in the absence of a positive finding by the Rabbinical Court  requiring the husband to deliver a get. Justice Barak-Erez considered this possibility in noting:

 

In my opinion, this analogy is not at all obvious and I believe it is misplaced… There are several reasons for distinguishing the two types of suits, as I shall explain below.

In my opinion, the primary reason for distinguishing between the cases is that the right to support ordinarily concerns the ongoing maintenance of the woman entitled to support…A decision to revoke entitlement to support is an extreme act when compared to awarding compensation for get recalcitrance…Another, more formal but not unimportant, reason for the distinction derives from the fact that tort suits for divorce refusal are adjudicated exclusively under civil law, in accordance with the tests of the tort of negligence, and in any event, the matter is given to the exclusive jurisdiction of the civil courts. On the other hand, determining issues of support is contingent on the marital relationship and draws upon religious law.

 

5.With all due respect, in my view, the distinction my colleague proposes is not problem free. I fear that her position may seal the fate of tort claims against recalcitrant spouses in the absence of appropriate findings by the Rabbinical Court, and this despite my colleague’s clarification that such an analogy is misplaced. Below, I will attempt to explain why I believe that such an analogy is possible, as well as the problems posed by the reasons for distinguishing between the two claims that my colleague addressed, and why, in my opinion, such a distinction is inappropriate.

 

At the end of the day, both in regard to tort claims and support claims, the civil court will be called upon to determine whether one of the partners is a “recalcitrant spouse.” This issue, which goes directly to the issue of the state of the couple’s marriage, is subject, as noted in my colleague’s opinion, to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Rabbinical Court. It can be further assumed that when a support suit (as in our case) or a tort claim for get recalcitrance is filed in the civil court, a parallel  divorce proceeding is pending in the Rabbinical Court, such that the principle of comity between courts applies equally to both types of claims. Therefore, it is not impossible that establishing my colleague Justice Barak-Erez’s position as binding precedent whereby the civil court may not determine that the woman is a “recalcitrant spouse” in the absence of a finding to that effect by the Rabbinical Court would, in practice – and without persuasive reasons for distinguishing the two types of claims – lead to an analogous conclusion with regard to tort claims for get recalcitrance. In other words, in the absence of a finding by the Rabbinical Court that the man is required to issue a get, it will be impossible for the civil court to find that the husband is recalcitrant and order that he pay compensation in a tort action. In this context it should be emphasized that rabbinical courts are very cautious, for their own reasons, in regard to ordering a man to deliver a get, and it often takes many years from the beginning of the conflict and the filing of the divorce suit until the Rabbinical Court orders that the issuance of a get is required. It should also be noted that the family courts, which have been hearing tort claims for get recalcitrance in recent years, vacillated on this issue, but it would appear that the prevailing approach allows them to grant such claims (under the tort of negligence) even in the absence of “get obligation” by the Rabbinical Court (see: FC (Jlem) 46459-07-12 Z. G. v. S. G. (August 17, 2014) para. 51). As noted, I fear that accepting my colleague’s approach, and its resulting application to the parallel case of tort claims against “recalcitrant spouses” as well, would lead to a change in the current state of the law regarding such claims, which is, in any event, somewhat vague, and will seriously undermine the possibility of employing one of the central tools for combating this wrongful phenomenon.

 

6.Justice Barak-Erez, who is aware of the possible ramifications of implementing her position in regard to tort claims for get recalcitrance, made it clear that she believes that the analogy above is misplaced, and even provided two reasons for her distinction between the types of claims. In doing so, my colleague attempts to alleviate the concern for the undesirable consequences of her position in the context of the general fight against the phenomenon of get recalcitrance to which I referred. However, as I will explain below, I do not believe that there is any real justification for the distinction proposed by my colleague. Moreover, I believe the proposed distinction may lead to a lack of coherence and legal consistency, and create different laws for recalcitrant husbands and recalcitrant wives. Therefore, I am unable to agree with my colleague’s fundamental position, as well as with the attempt to restrict that position so that it would apply only to limiting the periods for the payment of support in response to get recalcitrance, as opposed to tort claims in which the civil court must consider which of the parties is the recalcitrant spouse. I shall explain my position.

 

As noted, my colleague gave two reasons for a distinction between suits for limiting the period of support due to get recalcitrance and tort suits for get recalcitrance. The first and central reason is that a decision to revoke a woman’s support is a harsher act in comparison to awarding compensation for get recalcitrance. Therefore, as I understand it, her position is that the civil courts must not be granted authority to revoke a woman’s support without “speed bumps” of sorts, or threshold requirements, in the form of the Rabbinical Court’s order requiring the issuance of a get, because of the severe consequences of such a decision. On the other hand, as the argument goes, awarding compensation for get recalcitrance would not render the recalcitrant spouse impoverished or in a state of existential distress, and thus my colleague is willing to permit the civil courts to rule on this matter even without “speed bumps” or other moderating mechanisms. With all due respect, I cannot agree. Indeed, a decision to deny support to a woman who for years relied on her husband’s income may have a dramatic effect on her life and bring her to a state actual poverty. Therefore, my position is that clear rules must be established as to the circumstances under which it may be possible to revoke a “recalcitrant” woman’s support, so that reducing women to poverty will not be possible (see, for example, my position in regard to fixing the support of the Applicant at bar, below.) We must assume that the family courts will act responsibly in regard to the issue of revoking a woman’s support, and will rule in accordance with the guidelines that will be established in the case-law as to the circumstances in which a woman’s support may be revoked for being a “recalcitrant spouse.” I shall further comment that even under my colleague’s approach, revoking support from a “recalcitrant wife” would be possible after the Rabbinical Court orders her to accept a get, so that the harsh outcomes of revoking the support would not be fully prevented, but only delayed until after the Rabbinical Court hands down an appropriate decision. I do not see much point in this. A decision to deny a woman support for “recalcitrance”, whether it is given before the “get obligation” by the Rabbinical Court or after it, must, in any case, be made very carefully, with consideration for the reason for the recalcitrance, the woman’s prospects of supporting herself, and the understandings between the couple throughout the marriage (and on this – in detail – below). Therefore, I do not share my colleague’s position that the harsh consequences of revoking support of the recalcitrant spouse warrant a distinction between such a suit and a tort claim for recalcitrance. In my view, a finding whereby a civil court may revoke a woman’s support only after she is required to divorce by the Rabbinical Court is merely delaying the inevitable, but it does not offer a real solution for concerns about reducing the recalcitrant woman to a state of poverty. Below, as noted, I will discuss the considerations that the civil court must weigh before reaching a decision with such dramatic consequences, and this, I believe, would provide a real response to the concerns my colleague has raised.

 

The second reason my colleague mentioned for distinguishing between suits for denying a woman’s support and tort claims for “get recalcitrance” is based on the fact that tort claims are adjudicated exclusively under civil law, and that jurisdiction over them is granted only to the civil courts. As opposed to this, according to Justice Barak-Erez, ruling on the matter of support depends on the marital relationship and draws upon religious law. Here, too, I am not persuaded that the distinction my colleague proposes will indeed be possible, inasmuch as the tort cause of action – the get recalcitrance – is itself dependent upon religious obligations and norms stemming from the applicable religious law, and it may not be viewed as a classic, “pure” civil tort claim, as my colleague implies.

 

I would further add that the distinction proposed by my colleague between the two claims – that claims to revoke a woman’s right to support would require a positive finding of the Rabbinical Court requiring a get, but that such a finding would not be required in tort claims against a recalcitrant spouse – may be interpreted, and with some justification, as an improper distinction between the law applicable to recalcitrant husbands and the law applicable to recalcitrant wives.

 

7.In conclusion, though it is clear from my colleague’s opinion that, in her view, there is no place for an analogy between her general position on denying support and the tort claim for get recalcitrance, I believe that such an analogy is possible and even warranted, and I do not find it proper or possible to distinguish the two cases. Therefore, although this consideration is beyond the scope of this case, I saw fit to emphasize it and bring it to center stage as a primary consideration for joining the position of the Deputy President on the issue of jurisdiction. As stated, the fundamental positions of my colleagues are possible, in my view, in terms of their logic and the important values that each expresses. Therefore, in determining which of the two is preferable, and with a broad perspective as to their future ramifications, I find that Justice Barak-Erez’s position strikes a hard blow that significantly restricts the powers of the civil courts when dealing with the difficult phenomenon of get recalcitrance. Therefore, and as it is possible in our legal system, as extensively detailed in the Deputy President’s opinion, my position is that the civil courts are authorized, in principle, to revoke the support of a “recalcitrant woman”, even in the absence of an explicit ruling by the Rabbinical Court requiring her to accept a get. Therefore, as stated, my position on the issue of jurisdiction is as that of the Deputy President.

 

8.The second question that should be discussed after determining the matter of jurisdiction, is what considerations the court must contemplate before revoking a woman’s support due to “get recalcitrance”, and whether, under the circumstances of this case, fixing a time period for the Applicant’s support was proper.

 

Indeed, we must assume that leave for appeal on a “third incarnation” would not have been granted were this issue adjudicated on its own and independently from the jurisdiction question, because it seemingly does not raise an issue of public or general importance that goes beyond the matter of the direct parties to the proceedings (LCA 103/82 Haifa Parking Lot Ltd. v. Matzat Or (Hadar Haifa) Ltd., IsrSC 36(3) 123 (1982.)) Leave to appeal was granted in our case because of the public and general importance of the jurisdictional question, discussed above. Having concluded that the Family Court is authorized, in principle, to fix a time period for a woman’s support due to “get recalcitrance” even in the absence of a positive finding by the Rabbinical Court, the fundamental question that was the reason for granting leave to appeal is decided, and it is held that the lower courts’ ruling was within their competence. Therefore, we could have stopped here and upheld the District Court’s ruling without further intervention into the operative, concrete matter before us. This is the path that the Deputy President adopted in reaching the conclusion that support should be paid to the Applicant until the date set by the District Court (that is until December 31, 2015). The Deputy President added that, at the end of that period, it would be possible to reconsider the situation between the parties, and whether there is justification for awarding rehabilitative support on the basis of a new motion. On this point, my position diverges from that of the Deputy President. I believe that once leave for appeal was granted on the fundamental question, and once a comprehensive, in-depth discussion into the case at hand was conducted, the door is now open to consider the additional questions the case raises, including the matter of the actual application in the circumstances before us. Moreover, as will be explained below, this question, too, has fundamental, broad consequences that go beyond the particular matter of the parties (on the broad jurisdiction of appeals courts over family court decisions, see Chemi Ben Nun and Tal Havkin, The Civil Appeal 568-71 (3rd ed., 2012) (Hebrew)).

 

9.What, then, are the considerations the Family Court must consider when it is called upon to fix the period for support or revoke the support of a married woman merely because she is delaying the divorce and refusing to accept her get for financial reasons?

 

I have noted above that the phenomenon of get recalcitrance is wrong and severe. It exploits the get – which is a “ticket” out of a failed marriage – as a bargaining chip for extortion. Often male partners refuse to release their wives from a marriage in which they are no longer interested, and condition their consent on financial demands and compromises in which the women partners forgo their property rights. In my opinion, this wrongful and painful phenomenon requires that we find legal and halakhic tools that would respond to the plight of those who for many years (often – their fertility years) beg for the possibility to end a marital relationship which they do not wish to continue, and for the possibility to move on to a new relationship.

 

10.Though I present this phenomenon in a gender-based manner, clearly when the woman refuses to accept a get and allow the husband to end the marriage and go on with his life in order to compel him to forgo his property rights or for sheer vindictiveness, the matter is just as serious. Parenthetically, I would note that, nevertheless,  the distress of women who are refused a get is more extreme than that of men, primarily because a married woman may not start a new family with another man (that is “move on with her life” without a get) without her new children being considered mamzerim [bastards] in the eyes of Jewish halakha. Married men do not face this problem, and the may go on with their lives and raise new families without the having the cloud of halakhic “bastardy” hanging over the heads of their future children.

 

11.In light of all this, it is clear why, in appropriate cases, the Family Court must be allowed to deny incentives to recalcitrant men and women who act out of a lack of good faith (to put it mildly). However, in my opinion, the matter at hand is not among those cases, at least not obviously. We must distinguish between recalcitrance that is rooted in personal vindictiveness or extortion, and recalcitrance that is rooted in the absence of adequate financial protection for the financially weaker party in a divorce. It seems that when the support guaranteed to a woman who, as in our case, managed the household for decades and never integrated into the workforce or acquired a vocation or profession, is absolutely stopped upon divorce (without simultaneously providing a solution for her financial distress in the division of property), she must not be condemned for refusing to divorce due to her economic dependence on her husband. Surely, this is not analogous to the more difficult case of a “get recalcitrance” which, as noted, involves extortion and vindictiveness (Shahar Lifshitz, Family and Property Relations: Challenges and Tasks subsequent to the 4th Amendment of the Property Relations Law, 1 Hebrew)and see the references there; and also see the end of section 5A(d) of the Spouses (Property Relations) Law which mandates that “the refusal of the applicant [for balancing resources – Z. Z.] to waive rights to which they or their children are entitled by law, shall not be deemed an absence of good faith”).

 

12.Indeed, there are currently many legal tools designed to contend with the financial distress of the “home-based” partner and the inequality in the ability of partners to produce income when the division of labor during the marriage was the “traditional division.” A significant number of these tools were mentioned, in one way or another, in the opinions of my colleagues, as well. These include, for example, “rehabilitative civil-support,” which was discussed at length in the opinion of Justice Barak-Erez, as well as the possibilities for an unequal balancing of resources, for division of human capital and resources, and compensation for career losses. Indeed, as a general rule, the court adjudicating the end of the couple’s marriage has a full “toolbox” that is meant to bring about a just outcome, as well as  the economic protection of the “home-based” partner after the divorce.

 

13.Sadly (and this is regretfully typical of proceedings between partners due to the split jurisdictions in the area), the picture before us at this point is only very partial and limited. The full picture of the couple’s assets and its division has not been presented to us, and the parties did not present arguments on the issue of balancing the assets between them or the division of non-monetary assets such as human capital or career assets. Although the Family Court did decide on the issue of the division of assets between the couple (and denied the woman’s request for an unequal division in her favor), the Applicant informed the Court that she intended to appeal that decision (and we were not informed as to whether any appeal was actually filed). In any event, there is not doubt that in the absence of many relevant details as to the Applicant’s ability to maintain herself after the divorce, it is extremely difficult to reach a just outcome on the matter of support in and of itself. That being the case, and although we are unable to “complete the task”, neither are we free to absolve ourselves of it [ 2:16]. We must, despite our  frustration, determine only the issue before us solely on the basis of the facts and arguments of which we are aware.

 

14.Before us is a couple that, until the dispute between them erupted, were married for about thirty-five years, raised three children, and lived a shared, full life together that included shared vacations and a warm relationship (see para. 31 of the District Court’s decision). Over the course of  the marriage, the Applicant hardly worked outside of the home, and she is currently over fifty years old. In other words, during all of her adult life, the Applicant relied on the income of the Respondent, her husband, and did not acquire a profession or professional experience through gainful employment. It is therefore understandable why, when the dispute between the couple began, the Applicant became concerned about the implications of a future divorce for her financial circumstances and daily survival, and why she filed a suit for support. Similarly, it is understandable that as long as the entirety of the couple’s financial relationship and division of property has not been settled, and lacking any secure, stable source of income, the Applicant refused to divorce and forgo the support to which she is lawfully entitled. Thus, I do not find that the Applicant’s delay of the divorce necessarily proceeds from  extortion or vindictiveness, and it is entirely possible that the refusal to divorce before a final determination as to the division of the property between the couple derives from a concern over coming out of the divorce process having lost everything and without financial support.

 

To all the above we must add the fact that the Respondent is expected to retire relatively shortly (and in any event, in the next few years), and there is no dispute that the Applicant will be entitled to pension rights accumulated until the time of the rift. In other words, effectively the matter of the Applicant’s entitlement to support concerns only a short period of time, which is a “transitional period” of sorts, until the Respondent retires and she receives her share in his pension rights.

 

15.This being the case, my position is that, under the circumstances of the case, in light of the Applicant’s age (which is not very far from retirement age) and her limited prospects of integrating into the workforce, gaining experience and earning a satisfactory income during the short time left until the Respondent’s retirement,  setting a fixed period for her support would not be appropriate. The District Court noted that one of the rationales for fixing the term of support was to allow the Applicant a reasonable amount of time to prepare for her future. However, as my colleague Justice Barak-Erez noted, in applying that principle the lower court did not explain to what extent the term it set (about three years from the date of the Family Court’s decision) is supposed to serve the woman’s ability to produce an income when that term comes to its end.

 

We must bear in mind that requiring the Applicant to go out and attempt to integrate into the workforce may be an excessive burden in view of the short period of time she would be able to work before both parties reach the age of retirement. Above all, and this must be emphasized, after many years of common effort in maximizing the couple’s assets (including, the Respondent’s ability to produce an income), it would be unjust  that the Applicant be the one to bear the primary financial costs of the divorce, and it would be unfair that her quality of life and financial security be compromised while the Respondent continues to enjoy a high salary and the lifestyle to which he has been accustomed. Requiring a woman in her fifties to integrate into the workforce within three years (for any job?  for any pay?) only because her husband decided that he wishes to end the marriage between them is unreasonable. And it should further be emphasized that the Respondent’s decision to divorce the Applicant is a legitimate decision, in and of itself, but it does not allow shirking the responsibility stemming from decades of understandings that led to the current state of affairs. Therefore, my position is that, in the case at hand, the term of the Applicant’s support must not be fixed as long as she does not receive her share in the Respondent’s pension rights.

 

16.As noted, this finding relies upon an incomplete picture of the facts and data related to the division of property between the couple. Therefore we should make it clear that this determination would not permit the Applicant to “double dip”. If it be decided in any of the other proceedings conducted between the partners that she is entitled to any periodic payments that represent her share in the Respondent’s monthly salary (in the form of civil support, an unequal division of resources, career assets, and the like), it will be appropriate to set off the payment of support, which is designed to realize the very same goal.

 

17.In light of the above, we would again make it clear that there may indeed be cases in which the civil court would be authorized to fix a woman’s support for a set period, even in the case of a woman who did not work outside the home for many years. For example, a woman facing a long period of time until the age of retirement may acquire a profession, gain experience and stand on her own two feet financially within a reasonable adjustment period (the length of which would depend on the concrete circumstances). During the adjustment period, the woman would be entitled to her support (or to a similar amount through one of the other legal tools at the court’s disposal), until she realizes her income potential. There is also great significance to the nature of the relationship during the years of marriage, and primarily to the question of whether the man encouraged his wife to manage the household and thus forgo acquiring a profession or higher education, or whether he did all he could to facilitate her personal and professional development, and it was she, contrary to his wishes, who chose to stay at home. These considerations are relevant and must be taken into account by the Family Court when adjudicating a request to fix the period of support for a woman who has no independent sources of income.

 

18.Before concluding I would emphasize that I am not ignoring the concern that a decision not to set a fixed time for the Applicant’s support may become an incentive for her, and for other woman under similar circumstances, to continue to refuse to divorce. Nevertheless, we cannot ignore the fact that negotiations between the parties over a future settlement are not conducted in a vacuum. The parties know that if they do not arrive at an agreement, the compulsory arrangement the court will establish will be in accordance with the relevant legal rules. Therefore, it may be assumed that husbands – like the Respondent in our case – who foresee a high probability of being obligated to pay their wives’ support (or another financial obligation that would reflect the future support of their wives through one of the other possible legal tools) would conduct the negotiations over the division of property accordingly. To the extent that the negotiations for a settlement between the couple would include a proposal for periodic or fixed payment of equivalent value to the woman’s support payments, and the woman would still maintain her refusal to divorce as an  extortionist or vindictive tactic, the court may take this into consideration and fix the period of her support, and thus somewhat mitigate the concern over incentivizing wrongful refusal.

 

19.In conclusion, on the fundamental question at issue in this application for leave to appeal, I concur with the position of the Deputy President: the family courts may fix the term of support for a woman by reason of get recalcitrance, even in the absence of an order by the Rabbinical Court requiring a get.

 

However, my position is that under the circumstances of the case at hand, fixing period of the Applicant’s support would not be appropriate, both because her delay of the get in not necessarily a result of wrongful vindictiveness or extortion, that is, we are not concerned with a lack of good faith that would justify setting a time limit for support, and in light of the understandings that characterized the couple’s marriage, the Applicant’s age and her prospects for integrating into the workforce during the short adjustment period left until the partners reach the age of retirement. Therefore, under the circumstances of this application for leave to appeal, I concur with the operational outcome of my colleague Justice Barak-Erez, as detailed in paragraph 65 of her opinion. The case is remanded to the Family Court to rule on the matter of support in accordance with the Rabbinical Court’s updated decision and in accordance with the considerations outlined above. Until a further decision by the Family Court, the Respondent shall continue to pay the Applicant her support as decided, without fixing a date for the termination of payment.

 

                                                                                   

                                                                                   

 

The Appeal is granted in regard to the operative outcome, as stated in paragraph 65 of the opinion of Justice D. Barak-Erez. The Respondent will bear the Applicant’s costs in the amount of NIS 20,000.

 

Given this 23rd day of Heshvan 5776 (November 5, 2015)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Translator’s note: An order for “specific residence” is a temporary order issued by a rabbinical court in divorce proceedings, which grants a wife a right of specific residence in the couple’s home (thereby, for example, blocking an attempt by the husband to sell the property). The order derives from the Talmudic principle: “She rises with him, but does not go down with him” (TB Ketubot 61a, and see Shulhan Arukh, Even Ha’ezer 75(2)).

Full opinion: 

Sela v. Yehieli

Case/docket number: 
AAA 662/11
Date Decided: 
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Decision Type: 
Appellate
Abstract: 

[This abstract is not part of the Court's opinion and is provided for the reader's convenience. It has been translated from a Hebrew version prepared by Nevo Press Ltd. and is used with its kind permission.]

 

Facts:    An appeal of the decision of the Haifa Administrative Affairs Court, dismissing the petition of the Appellants and holding that the court should not intervene in the decision of the Kfar Vradim local council according to which a women’s mikve (ritual bath) would not be constructed in the town in the near future.

 

Held:     As a rule, a local council enjoys broad discretion in regard to decisions concerning the allocation of public resources. The initial assumption is that a local council – which is an elected authority whose members represent the public they were chosen to serve – occupies the best position for deciding upon the priorities that will advance the general good, and for striking the proper balance between meeting public needs and maintaining the budgetary framework. Therefore, the Court will not hastily intervene in such decisions, and will refrain from placing itself in the authority’s shoes. In the framework of judicial review, the question of whether public resources were allocated wisely, or whether they could have been allocated differently, will not be considered unless the decision regarding the allocation of resources was tainted by a substantive, fundamental flaw that justifies the Court’s intervention.

 

It is clear that the council, like any local authority, is subject to the principles of public law. This restraint in regard to judicial review does not relieve the Court of fulfilling its duty: to ensure that the authority exercises its discretion in accordance with the law. And note: the local authority serves – in all of its actions – as a trustee of public funds, and its job is to advance public purposes for the general good. Even in allocating public resources, the authority is obligated to act in a manner that faithfully serves the entire public and ensures proper governance. Accordingly, the allocation of public resources in public authorities must be carried out in accordance with the principles of reasonableness and proportionality, and in accordance with fair, equal, relevant and transparent criteria. Reasonableness requires that in setting priorities among various subjects for which the authority is responsible, priority be given to the more important subjects.

 

Although the council’s decision relied upon the recommendations of the committee for examining criteria for the construction of public buildings in the village, it is clear that those recommendations cannot absolve it of the duty to exercise its authority to consider every case on its merits. Indeed, an administrative agency will not lightly deviate from the recommendation of a knowledgeable, expert body, established at its request, which was adopted after an in-depth professional evaluation. However, that does not mean that the council is bound by the recommendations of the criteria committee, which is merely an advisory body. Under the circumstances, the decision to rescind its decision to build a mikve in the village, adopt the recommendations of the criteria committee in full, and refrain from taking action in the near future to establish a mikve in the town does not pass the reasonableness test, and does not reasonably balance the needs of the religiously observant female residents of the community, who are required to fulfill their religious obligation of ritual immersion, against the budgetary considerations and the available land resources.

 

The religious obligation of ritual immersion is an integral part of the life of a religiously observant, married woman, and is an inseparable part of her religious ritual and the expression of her identity and customs. It is substantively related to the right to the free exercise of religion and religious practice. No mikve has ever been built in Kfar Vradim. Given the geographic location of Kfar Vradim and its topographic conditions, there is no reasonable way to go to any of the mikves in the nearby towns on foot.  Under the circumstances, the absence of a mikve in the town deprives the female residents of the town of the possibility of performing an obligatory ritual practice that is deemed to be of great importance by the traditionally religious Jewish community.

Voting Justices: 
Primary Author
majority opinion
majority opinion
majority opinion
Full text of the opinion: 

 The Supreme Court sitting as Court of Administrative Appeals

AAA 662/11

 

Before:                                                The Honorable Justice E. Hayut

                                                The Honorable Justice N. Hendel

                                                The Honorable Justice U. Vogelman

 

The Appellants:                       1.  Yehudit Sela

                                                2.  Sima Ben Haim

                                                3.  Peri Shahaf

                                                4.  Yinon Sela

                                                5.  Yoav Ben Haim

                                                6.  Katy Shilo Oliver

                                                7.  Michael Ayash

                                                8.  David Cohen

                                                9.  Amnon Ben Ami

                                                10. Zachary Grayson

                                                               v.

The Respondents:                   1.  Head of the Kfar Vradim Local Council, Sivan Yehieli

                                                2.  Kfar Vradim Local Council

                                                3.  Oriette Amzalag

                                                4.  Shimon Amzalag

                                                5.  Victor Haziza

                                                6.  Tibi Hertz

                                                7.  Jacques Ben Zaken

                                                8.   Nissim Avital

 

Appeal of the judgment of the Haifa Administrative Affairs Court (The Honorable Judge R. Sokol) in AP 21404-06-09 of Dec. 23, 2010.

Date of hearing: 29 Adar 5774 (March 31, 2014)

 

Attorneys for the Appellants: Avi Weinroth, Adv.; Amir Lockshinsky-Gal, Adv.

Attorney for the Respondents: Haim Pitchon, Adv.

Attorney for the State Attorney’s Office: Tadmor Etzion, Adv.

 

Facts:   An appeal of the decision of the Haifa Administrative Affairs Court, dismissing the petition of the Appellants and holding that the court should not intervene in the decision of the Kfar Vradim local council according to which a women’s mikve (ritual bath) would not be constructed in the town in the near future.

Held:   As a rule, a local council enjoys broad discretion in regard to decisions concerning the allocation of public resources. The initial assumption is that a local council – which is an elected authority whose members represent the public they were chosen to serve – occupies the best position for deciding upon the priorities that will advance the general good, and for striking the proper balance between meeting public needs and maintaining the budgetary framework. Therefore, the Court will not hastily intervene in such decisions, and will refrain from placing itself in the authority’s shoes. In the framework of judicial review, the question of whether public resources were allocated wisely, or whether they could have been allocated differently, will not be considered unless the decision regarding the allocation of resources was tainted by a substantive, fundamental flaw that justifies the Court’s intervention.

            It is clear that the council, like any local authority, is subject to the principles of public law. This restraint in regard to judicial review does not relieve the Court of fulfilling its duty: to ensure that the authority exercises its discretion in accordance with the law. And note: the local authority serves – in all of its actions – as a trustee of public funds, and its job is to advance public purposes for the general good. Even in allocating public resources, the authority is obligated to act in a manner that faithfully serves the entire public and ensures proper governance. Accordingly, the allocation of public resources in public authorities must be carried out in accordance with the principles of reasonableness and proportionality, and in accordance with fair, equal, relevant and transparent criteria. Reasonableness requires that in setting priorities among various subjects for which the authority is responsible, priority be given to the more important subjects.

            Although the council’s decision relied upon the recommendations of the committee for examining criteria for the construction of public buildings in the village, it is clear that those recommendations cannot absolve it of the duty to exercise its authority to consider every case on its merits. Indeed, an administrative agency will not lightly deviate from the recommendation of a knowledgeable, expert body, established at its request, which was adopted after an in-depth professional evaluation. However, that does not mean that the council is bound by the recommendations of the criteria committee, which is merely an advisory body. Under the circumstances, the decision to rescind its decision to build a mikve in the village, adopt the recommendations of the criteria committee in full, and refrain from taking action in the near future to establish a mikve in the town does not pass the reasonableness test, and does not reasonably balance the needs of the religiously observant female residents of the community, who are required to fulfil their religious obligation of ritual immersion, against the budgetary considerations and the available land resources.

            The religious obligation of ritual immersion is an integral part of the life of a religiously observant, married woman, and is an inseparable part of her religious ritual and the expression of her identity and customs. It is substantively related to the right to the free exercise of religion and religious practice. No mikve has ever been built in Kfar Vradim. Given the geographic location of Kfar Vradim and its topographic conditions, there is no reasonable way to go to any of the mikves in the nearby towns on foot.  Under the circumstances, the absence of a mikve in the town deprives the female residents of the town of the possibility of performing an obligatory ritual practice that is deemed to be of great importance by the traditionally religious Jewish community.

            The primary consideration that led to the decision was the limited resources available to the council. In its deliberations, the council could, indisputably, give weight to the limits upon the available resources, and allocate them in accordance with public needs. However, under the circumstances of the instant case, the resources – both land and money – that were expected to be required for the purpose of building and maintaining a mikve in the town were not significant. Under those circumstances, the weight of the budgetary consideration relative to the opposing interest was limited.

            That being so, in circumstances in which appropriate weight was not given to the substantial harm to the religiously observant, female residents of the town by the absence of a mikve that is accessible on the Sabbath and on religious holidays, and where it was found that the allocation of resources was given disproportionate weight even though land was readily available for erecting the mikve without harming other public interests, and without any need for allocating substantial resources by the council due to external funding – The Court held that the council’s decision not to erect a mikve was unreasonable and must, therefore, be annulled.

 

Judgment

 

Justice U. Vogelman:

 

            An appeal of a judgment of the District Court sitting as a Court Administrative Affairs in Haifa (the Honorable Judge R. Sokol), denying the petition of the Appellants, and holding that the court would not intervene in the decision of the local council of Kfar Vradim (hereinafter: the Council or the Local Council) not to erect a mikve for the women of the town in the near future.

 

Background

1.         The town of Kfar Vradim was established in the western Galilee following a government decision made in 1978. The town currently has some 6,000 residents. Some of the residents (many dozens of families according to the Appellants) define themselves as religious or traditional. In the past, the authority to plan, develop and market building lots in the town was held by the Kfar Vradim Development Corporation Ltd. In 2008, that authority was transferred to the Council. In 2005, the Local Council and the Ma’ale Yosef Regional Religious Council agreed that the former would be responsible for providing religious services in the village, including “family purity and the instruction of brides”. No mikve was ever erected in Kfar Vradim, and the closest mikves [ritual baths] for women are a short drive away, in the neighboring communities. Over the last few years, some of the local residents began working toward the establishment of a mikve in the town.

2.         On March 12, 2007, the National Religious Services Authority in the Prime Minister’s Office (hereinafter: the Authority) undertook to provide an “extraordinary budget” in the amount of NIS 745,000 for the building of a mikve in the town (hereinafter: the EB). The Local Council was asked to approve the Authority’s offer in order to receive the EB, and on May 22, 2007, it decided to approve it on condition that the Authority agree to exempt the Council from any obligation to finance the construction or maintenance of the mikve. The Council then completed the necessary application for receiving the EB – deleting the sections regarding the Council’s obligation to participate in financing – and returned it to the Authority, while emphasizing the condition that the Council not be required to fund the construction or maintenance of the mikve in any way. At the Council meeting, the chairman at the time informed the Council that, in a meeting with the Minister for Religious Affairs, the Minister informed him that the application to receive the EB would not be approved due to the reservations and deletions made in the application, but added and promised that the maintenance of the mikve would be financed by the Religious Services Authority, and that no funding would be required of the Council. In the course of that Council meeting, Mr. Amnon Ben Ami (Appellant 9, hereinafter: the Donor) – a community resident who had contributed monies in the past for the construction of the community’s synagogue – asked that the mikve be attached to that synagogue, and agreed to guarantee that the maintenance of the mikve will not require funding by the Council. At the end of the meeting, the Council decided “to approve the EB as is, without any changes, and in the “Stage B zone” (by the term “Stage B”, the Council was referring to a particular area in the village).

3.         Pursuant to that decision, on Oct. 23, 2008, the Council published a public tender for the construction of the mikve (hereinafter: the Tender). A petition submitted in regard to alleged flaws in the tender process was dismissed on Nov. 6, 2008, following a declaration by the Council that it would not open the bid envelopes until after the elections for the Local Council and until a decision was reached by the new Council in regard to opening the envelopes (AAA 10/08 (Haifa Administrative) Akirav v. Kfar Vradim Local Council (Nov. 6, 20018)). On Nov. 11, 2008, elections were held for the Local Council, in which a new Council head was elected (Respondent 1). On Nov. 16, 2008, the outgoing Council head requested that the Israel Lands Administration suspend the Council’s request to allocate land for the construction of the mikve, and instead, allocate the land for the construction of the Tefen comprehensive high school. This suspension request resulted from a compromise agreement, granted court approval in 2008, under which the Council agreed to allocate land for the construction of the Tefen school in its jurisdiction (AP (Haifa Administrative) 630/08 Association for the Ma’alot and Region Experimental School (R.A.) v. Industrial Local Council Migdal Tefen (Sept. 4, 2008)).

4.         On Dec. 22, 2008, the new head of the Council informed the bidders of the cancellation of the Tender, and the sealed envelopes were returned to the bidders unopened. In the course of February 2009, a decision was taken to change the location for the construction of the Tefen school, and to allocate other land in the town for that purpose. A Council meeting was held on May 13, 2009. In the course of the discussion of the allocation of land for religious purposes, the head of the Council requested the repeal of the decision of the previous Council in the matter, and added that the Tender for the building of the mikve had been cancelled due to a problem concerning the allocation of the land, and because there was no available budget and the Donor had not provided his share. It was further noted that, in the meantime, the Ministry of Religious Services’ commitment to underwrite construction of the mikve had lapsed. At the end of the meeting, the Council decided to repeal the decision of the previous Council from Nov. 18, 2007 in regard to the synagogue and mikve in Stage B (hereinafter: the Repeal Decision). As a result of this decision, several dozen residents organized in order to bring about its repeal. When their efforts failed, they submitted a petition against the Council’s decision to the Haifa District Court in its capacity as a Court of Administrative Affairs.

 

Proceedings in the Lower Court

5.         In their petition to the lower court, the Appellants argued that the Council’s decision to suspend and cancel the Tender for building the mikve should be annulled, and that the Respondents should be ordered to publish a new tender. A hearing was held on Sept 8, 2009. In the course of the hearing, it was argued, inter alia, that a decision could not be made to construct a mikve, or any other public building, without clear criteria for the allocation of public resources. In the end, a procedural agreement was reached between the parties under which the proceedings in the case would be adjourned for six months, during which the Council would establish criteria for the allocation of land for public buildings and for budgetary support for public purposes. It was agreed that those criteria would “relate to all the needs of the village, including religious needs, among them the construction of a mikve”; and that “in the framework of the criteria that will be established by the Council, the Council will consider the public desire and all the public needs, and will take the public’s constitutional rights into account. In addition, the Council would consider the burden on the public purse […] [and in that regard] the possibility of obtaining public or other funding for the construction of public buildings, including public funding already approved […], and the possibility of combining different needs together in order to reduce and save expenses”. It was made clear that the agreement would not derogate from any of the parties’ claims in regard to the petition itself.

6.         On Dec. 14, 2009, pursuant to the procedural agreement, the Council decided to establish a committee to evaluate the criteria for constructing public buildings in the town (hereinafter: the Criteria Committee or the Committee). The Committee comprised nine members, including representatives of the Appellants. Following five meetings and a public discussion to which the entire community was invited, the Committee presented its conclusions. The Committee decided that the priorities for the construction of public buildings in the town should be based upon a group of criteria, and quantified the relative weight that should be given to each criterion, as follows:

 

            Criterion                                                                                              Relative Weight

  1. Expected number of users                                                                                    30%
  2. Necessary for well-being in the town                                                       25%
  3. Appropriate to the character of the town                                     25%
  4. Cost relative to number of expected users                                                10%
  5. Possibility of fulfilling the need in neighboring communities                  10%

 

            In light of these criteria, the members of the Committee ranked the list of 17 public buildings required by the town. After the mikve placed last under each of the criteria, separately and cumulatively, the mikve was ranked last in priority for the construction of public buildings required for the town.

7.         On April 21, 2010, the Council ratified the Committee’s recommendations, and explained that the priorities would serve as a “compass” for the Council’s decisions in this area, but added that the recommendations do not relieve the Council of its authority to consider each case on its merits. Following the ratification of the recommendations, and in light of the low ranking given to the construction of the mikve, the Appellants submitted an amended petition in which they reiterated the claims made in the original petition, and added claims against the criteria established and the method for ranking public buildings.

The Judgment of the Lower Court

8.         On Dec 23, 2010, the lower court (the Hon. Judge R. Sokol) dismissed the petition and assessed NIS 20,000 against the Appellants for costs. At the beginning of its judgment, the court explained that the fundamental rights of the Appellants to freedom of religion and worship were not in question, but the discussion must be focused upon the question of the criteria for the allocation of public resources in the local authority and the lawfulness of the procedures adopted by the Respondents. The court found that the building of the mikve required the allocation of public resources – land and budget – for construction and maintenance. The court explained that even if the Appellants expect to raise contributions for the project, those contribution are not expected to eliminate the need for public resources, but only to limit the costs. Against this background, the court rejected the Appellants’ claims in regard to the Repeal Decision, as well as the Council’s decision – made following the recommendations of the Criteria Committee – to rank the mikve as the lowest priority in the list of public building construction in the town (April 21, 2010).

9.         As for the Repeal Decision, the court found that since the allocation of land for building of the mikve was contingent upon conditions that were not fulfilled – the money was not provided by the Donor, and the Religious Affairs Authority required an unconditional undertaking that the Council underwrite the construction and maintenance costs – the Council’s decisions were lawfully repealed. Moreover, the Council was at liberty to repeal those decisions inasmuch as they were not made in accordance with the criteria established later in accordance with the Council’s new policy, and because the circumstances under which the decisions were made had changed after it was decided to allocate the land for the building of a school.

10.       All of the Appellant’s arguments against ranking the mikve as the lowest priority for the construction of public buildings were dismissed, as well. As for the claim that there was insufficient factual basis, the court found that the Committee’s reliance upon the data of the Council, upon oral and written public requests, and upon the Committee members’ personal knowledge of the town was reasonable, and that the Appellants had been given an opportunity to present data to the Committee as they wished. It further held that the statements of the Committee members in regard to the town’s future did not testify to the existence of improper considerations in regard to preventing an increase in the number of observant residents in the town, and that that the worldviews of the Committee members in regard to the needs of the community were relevant and required for addressing the matter. As for the Appellants’ claim that the criteria established under the procedural agreement were not included in the final list of criteria, the court held that the procedural agreement could not limit the Council’s exercise of its discretion, and that the said agreement was not intended to establish the criteria, but rather to set out the considerations that the Council should take into account in deciding upon those criteria, which it did. It was further found in this regard that the Council’s decision not to include the availability of resources as a criterion was intended to prevent the use of contributions in order to erect buildings for which there was no real need, and was, therefore, a relevant, legitimate consideration. The court added that the ritual needs of the residents are seen to by the Ma’ale Yosef Regional Religious Council, and that there are mikves in neighboring communities. It held that the absence of a mikve in the town presented a hardship for residents seeking to fulfil the religious obligation of ritual immersion, but it did not prevent the fulfilment of that obligation. Lastly, the court held that, in view of the appropriate judicial restraint to be shown in regard to intervention in administrative discretion, the court should not intervene in the criteria in a manner that would grant priority to the construction of the mikve.

            That is the background that led to the appeal before this Court.

 

Arguments of the Appellants

11.       The Appellants ask that the Court set aside the judgment of the lower court, annul the Council’s decision of May 13, 2009 (in regard to the EB and the allocation of land for the construction of the mikve), and of April 4, 2010 (in regard to ranking the mikve as the lowest priority for public buildings required in the village), and invalidate the recommendations of the Criteria Committee. The Appellants further ask that we order that the Council erect a public mikve in reliance upon the funding from the Ministry of Religious Services, and apply for an extension for obtaining the EB, as may be necessary.

12.       According to the Appellants, the construction of a mikve in the town will protect the right of the residents to freedom of religion and worship, on the one hand, while not affecting the communal resources, on the other. The Appellants argue that the mikve can be combined with another public building, such that it will not detract from the land available for public use, while its construction and maintenance will be funded through state funding and not from the Council’s budget. Under those circumstances, they argue, the Council’s decision to refrain from building a mikve in the town was disproportionate and unreasonable, and derived from improper, extraneous considerations that arose from a desire to preserve the secular character of the community and keep religiously observant people out of the village. They further raised a series of flaws in the Council’s decision-making process in the matter. The Appellants also argued that there were factual errors in the lower court’s judgment, among them, the finding that the mikve was to be built in reliance upon funding by a private donor (whereas, they argues, the funding was to be provided by the State); the finding that the Appellants claimed only a burden upon their constitutional right to freedom of religion and worship (whereas, according to the Appellants, they claimed a real infringement and absolute denial of the ability to perform the religious obligation on the Sabbath and holidays); the finding that allocating land for the mikve was contingent upon conditions that were not met (whereas the Council decided, on Nov. 18, 2007, to waive the conditions it had previously set for the building of the mikve).

 

Arguments of the Respondents

13.       The Respondents support the judgment of the lower court. First, they argue that there were no flaws in the work of the Criteria Committee. On point, the Respondents argue that the Criteria Committee rightly decided that the availability of resources should not serve as a criterion for the construction of public buildings, as otherwise, the Council would have to erect every building for which there was outside funding; that the possibility for combining a number of functions in one building should not be considered in the framework of establishing criteria, as it is a preliminary stage; and that the constitutional rights of the residents should not serve, in and of themselves, as a criterion, and it is sufficient that they are taken into account in the framework of the established criteria. It was further argued that, at present, there were other public buildings that remained to be built, for which the residents had long-ago paid the development costs The Respondents are of the opinion that once the parties decided upon the establishing of the Criteria Committee, there was no longer any justification for reexamining the Council’s decisions prior to the establishing of the Committee, and moreover, in light of the decision of the former Council head to build the Tefen school on the lot, the Council had no choice but to cancel the Tender; in any case, the Council is permitted to decide upon a change of policy; and that, in any case, the requisite preconditions for carrying out the repealed decision – full outside funding and available land – were not met.

 

Proceedings before this Court

14.       On Sept. 6, 2012, a hearing was held on the appeal (E. Hayut, U. Vogelman, Z. Zylbertal, JJ), in the course of which the Court recommended that the parties attempt to settle the dispute amicably and out of court, inter alia, in light of the suggestion that arose in the course of the hearing that it might be possible to build the mikve privately in the town’s commercial center. On Nov. 11, 2012, the parties informed the Court that no agreement had been reached, and that the possibility of building a private mikve as suggested was in doubt inasmuch as it was contingent, inter alia, upon obtaining a zoning variance. Following a further hearing before this panel (E. Hayut, U. Vogelman, N. Hendel, JJ) on Nov. 4, 2013, the Court requested that the State (the Ministry of Religious Services, and, if necessary, the Israel Lands Authority) declare its position on the matter.

15.       The State submitted its reply on Dec. 24, 2013. The reply stated that the Council could submit a request for funding for the construction of a mikve, which would be considered based upon the criteria of the Ministry of Religious Services, and that it was possible to erect a “standard” public mikve in reliance upon state funding. However, it was noted that there are cases in which the local council participates in certain related costs (such as, environmental development and various complimentary costs), and that, as a matter of course, the Ministry of Religious Services requires that the local authority undertake – as a condition for receiving funding – to pay the difference, if any, between the cost of construction and the funding. It was further made clear that there was no need to allocate specific land for the purpose of submitting the application, and that the salary of the mikve attendant would be provided by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, prorated in accordance with the number of users. It was further explained that the state does not participate in the construction or maintenance of private mikves. As far as the allocation of land was concerned, the Israel Lands Authority informed the Court that, after investigating the matter with the engineer of the Lower Galilee Local Building and Planning Committee, it found that there are three lots in the town– lots 718, 720 and 856 – that could be appropriate, in terms of planning, for the construction of a mikve. In light of the above, we were informed that “The State is of the opinion that there is a possible course for the erection of a mikve in Kfar Vradim, the construction of which will be funded (entirely or primarily) by funding from the Ministry of Religious Services. This, if an application is duly submitted on the prescribed dates, and subject to its examination in accordance with the criteria, and its approval”.

16.       Following the State’s reply, the Appellants submitted an urgent request for an interim order. The Appellants asked that we order the Respondents to submit an application to the Ministry of Religious Services for funding for the erection of a public mikve in accordance with the State’s recommendation, in order to meet the timetable for receiving the funding in 2014. The Respondents opposed the request, arguing that they should not be ordered to submit such a request before the matter is approved by the Council in an appropriate administrative procedure. On Dec. 29, 2013, we dismissed the request for an interim order, and ordered that a date be set for a further hearing of the appeal, in which the State’s representative would also participate.

17.       In updated notices submitted on Feb. 28, 2014 and March 3, 2014, the parties informed the Court that the attempt to initiate the erection of a private mikve had failed due to the Local Council’s decision to deny the request for a zoning variance, and that it the possibility of obtaining such a variance was now unclear inasmuch as it would only be possible to resubmit the request after the completion of the parcelization process for the commercial center. We were further informed that the parties remained divided on the issue of allocating Council resources for the construction and maintenance of a public mikve.

18.       On March 31, 2014, this panel conducted a further hearing of the appeal, in which the attorney for the Respondents claimed that there were planning and practical problems in regard to constructing the mikve on lot 856, which had been mentioned in the State’s reply. At the conclusion of the hearing, we ordered that the Respondent’s attorney submit a notice to the Court, no later than April 6, 2014, detailing the planning and other problems cited in his arguments in regard to lot 856, which had been found suitable, in terms of planning, for the erection of a mikve, as well as in regard to the other lots in the area that might be suitable, and that the State’s attorney then submit an updated notice in regard to the possibility for allocating a lot for the erection of a mikve.

19.       On April 6, 2014, the Respondents submitted an update in which they informed the Court that it would not be possible to build a mikve on lot 856, inasmuch as it would require a new urban development plan and the adjustment of infrastructures; because the type of use of the buildings surrounding the lot was not appropriate for the building of a mikve; and because part of the lot had been sold to a private individual. Therefore, according to the Respondents, the possibility of building the mikve in the commercial center would be preferable, since work on the project had begun (without a permit). On May 1, 2014, the State submitted a further notice in which it stated that building a mikve of lot 856 was possible. The State explained that there are no current negotiations for the transfer of parts of the lot to private hands; there is no need for a new, detailed plan for erecting a mikve, as the current plan is sufficient; and that nothing about the type of use of the surrounding lots would prevent the building of a mikve on the lot. It further noted that a mikve could also be built of lots 718 and 720, both from a planning and practical point of view. The State further explained that building a mikve in the area of the commercial center would involve planning and practical problems: under the relevant plan, the area is zoned for “commercial purposes”, and therefore the erection of a mikve would require initiating planning proceedings in order to change zoning; the proximity to commercial areas is incompatible with the operation of a mikve; and the ownership of the lot and construction violations had yet to be resolved. As for funding the building of the mikve, the Council could submit an application for funding to the Ministry of Religious Services for 2015, which would be reviewed in accordance with the Ministry’s criteria that would be published in the final months of the current year.

 

Deliberation and Decision

            Is the Kfar Vradim Council’s decision to rescind its decision to erect a mikve in the town and refrain from acting towards its construction compatible with the rules of public law? That is the question that we must decide.

 

The Scope of Judicial Review over a Local Authority’s Decision in regard to Allocating Public Resources

20.       The Kfar Vradim Council is a local council authorized to decide how resources will be allocated, subject to the provisions of the law. Indeed, “What use a local authority will make of its property, and to what extent will it permit an individual to use it and when will it refuse, is the question that the authority itself, through its elected representatives, is authorized to decide” (HCJ 262/62 Peretz v. Kfar Shmaryahu Local Council, 16 IsrSC 2101, 2114 (1962) (hereinafter: the Peretz case)). As a rule, a local council enjoys broad discretion in regard to decisions concerning the allocation of public resources. The initial assumption is that a local council – which is an elected authority whose members represent the public they were chosen to serve – occupies the best position for deciding upon the priorities that will advance the general good, and for striking the proper balance between meeting public needs and maintaining the budgetary framework. Therefore, the Court will not hastily intervene in such decisions, and will refrain from placing itself in the authority’s shoes (whether we are concerned with a local authority or a governmental authority). In the framework of judicial review, the question of whether public resources were allocated wisely, or whether they could have been allocated differently, will not be considered unless the decision regarding the allocation of resources was tainted by a substantive, fundamental flaw that justifies the Court’s intervention. Such restraint is a corollary of the principle of the separation of powers. In this regard, the words of Justice S. Netanyahu are apt:

 

“The Court will not instruct the authority how to allocated and divide its resources. Requiring an expenditure for a specific purpose must come at the expense of another, perhaps more important, purpose, or perhaps, require enlarging the budget it is granted by the state treasury, which must then come at the expense of other, perhaps more important, purposes. This Court is not the authorized body, and cannot treat of the allocation of the public’s resources” (HCJ 3472/92 Brand v. Minister of Communications, 47 (3) IsrSC 143, 153 (1993) (hereinafter: the Brand case); and see HCJ 2376/01 Federation of Local Authorities in Israel v. Minister of Science, Culture and Sport, 56 (6) IsrSC 803, 811 (2002)).

 

            Despite the broad reach of discretion and the narrow scope of judicial review that it implies, it is clear that the Council, like any local authority, is subject to the principles of public law. This restraint in regard to judicial review does not relieve the Court of fulfilling its duty: to ensure that the authority exercises its discretion in accordance with the law. And note: the local authority serves – in all of its actions – as a trustee of public funds, and its job is to advance public purposes for the general good. As Justice H. Cohn put it:

 

“The private sphere is not like the public sphere. In the former, one grants at will and denies at will. The latter exists for no reason other than to serve the public, and has nothing of its own. All it has is held in trust, and it has no other, different or separate rights or obligations than those that derive from that trust or that are granted or imposed by the authority of statutory provisions” (HCJ 142/70 Shapira v. Bar Association District Committee, Jerusalem, 25 (1) IsrSC 325, 331 (1971); and see HCJ Israel Contractors and Builders Center v. State of Israel, 34 (3) IsrSC 729, 743 (1980); the Peretz case, at p. 2115).

Even in allocating public resources, the authority is obligated to act in a manner that faithfully serves the entire public and ensures proper governance. Accordingly, the allocation of public resources in public authorities must be carried out in accordance with the principles of reasonableness and proportionality, and in accordance with fair, equal, relevant and transparent criteria (see: HCJ 3638/99 Blumethal v. Rehovot Municipality, 54 (4) IsrSC 220, 228 (2000); HCJ   5325/01 L.K.N. Association for the Advancement of Women’s Basketball v. Ramat Hasharon Local Council, para. 10 (June 2, 2004); AAA 5949/04 Mercaz Taxi Ltd. v. Hasharon Taxi Service Ltd., para. 16 (Nov. 28, 2005); and see and compare: HCJ 59/88 Tzaban v. Minister of Finance 42 (4) IsrSC 705, 706 (1989); HCJ 637/89 A Constitution of the State of Israel v. Minister of Finance, 46 (1) IsrSC 191, 200 (1991); HCJ 5023/91 Poraz v. Minister of Construction and Housing, 46 (2) IsrSC 793, 801 (1992); and also see: Dafna Barak-Erez, Administrative Law, 231-235 (2010) (Hebrew); Yitzhak Zamir, The Administrative Authority, 246-248 (2d ed., 2010) (Hebrew); for the anchoring of these principles in the Directives of the Ministry  of the Interior, see: Circular of the Director General of the Ministry of the Interior 5/2001 “Procedure for the allocation of land and buildings without or for minimal consideration” 4-11 (Sept. 12, 2001)). Before reaching a decision on the allocation of public resources, the authority is required to “establish for itself priorities and precedences, and rules and guiding criteria for their application, which must meet the test of reasonableness, and which it must apply equally. Reasonableness requires that in setting priorities among various subjects for which the authority is responsible, priority be given to the more important subjects” (the Brand case, at p. 153).

We will now turn to an examination of whether the decision of the Local Council in the case before us was taken in a proper administrative process, and whether it falls within the scope of the discretion granted the Council.

 

Review of the Decision of the Local Council

21.       I will begin with the conclusion before presenting the analysis: In my opinion, the Council’s decision not to move forward with the building of a mikve for women in the town in the near future does not pass the reasonableness test. Under the special circumstances of the case, I find that the Council’s decision did not reasonably balance the need of religiously observant women to observe the religious obligation of immersion against the budgetary considerations and the available land resources. Under these circumstances, addressing the other claims of the Appellants in regard to flaws that they believe fell in the decision-making process is superfluous, as I shall explain.

22.       As we know, an administrative decision is reasonable if the decision is made as a result of a balance between relevant considerations and interests that have been given appropriate weight under the circumstances (see HCJ 389/80 Golden Pages Ltd. v. Broadcasting Authority, 35 (1) 421, 437 (1981)). Indeed, “A decision may be flawed even when the authority weighed only the relevant considerations, without a hint of an extraneous consideration in its deliberations, if the internal balance among the considerations and the internal weight assigned to each consideration were distorted” (HCJ 1027/04 Independent Cities Forum v. Israel Lands Authority Council, para. 42 (June 9, 2011); Barak-Erez, at p. 725). Examining the reasonableness of the Council’s decision therefore requires that we look at the nature of the considerations that it weighed when it reached that decision, upon the manner of striking the balance, and upon the weight assigned to each consideration. Although the Council’s decision relied upon the recommendations of the Criteria Committee established to set criteria for the construction of public buildings in the town, it is clear that those recommendations cannot absolve it of the duty to exercise its authority to consider every case on its merits.

23.       What weight was the Council required to assign to the recommendations of the Criteria Committee in examining the possibility of acting to erect a mikve in the village? Having established the Criteria Committee for that purpose, the Council was required to take note of the Committee’s recommendations in deciding upon the manner for allocating the town’s resources. Indeed, an administrative agency will not lightly deviate from the recommendation of a knowledgeable, expert body, established at its request, which was adopted after an in-depth professional evaluation. It is decided law that “in the absence of an administrative flaw in the opinion of the advisory body, special reasons and extenuating circumstances are required in order to justify deviation from its opinion, especially when the authority is the one that established the advisory body and authorized it to carry out its task” (HCJ 5657/09 The Movement for Quality Government in Israel v. Government of Israel, para. 48 (Nov. 24, 2009); and see HCJ 8912/05 Mifgashim Association for Educational and Social Involvement v. Minister of Education, Culture and Sport, para 16 (March 14, 2007)). However, that does not mean that the Council is bound by the recommendations of the Criteria Committee, which is merely an advisory body. On the contrary, the Council is required to exercise its discretion independently. As Justice Y. Zamir aptly stated: “[…] a recommendation is only a recommendation. In other words, a recommendation does not exempt the authority from the duty to exercise its own discretion. The authority must weigh the recommendation and decide if it would be appropriate, under the circumstances, to accept or reject the recommendation” (HCJ 9486/96 Ayalon v. Registration Committee under the Psychologists Law, 5737-1977, 52 (1) IsrSC 166, 183 (1988); and for a more detailed discussion, see Zamir, at pp. 1219-1222).

24.       Thus, the Local Council was required to examine each request to erect a public building individually, on the basis of the recommendations of the Criteria Committee, while taking into account all the considerations relevant to the decision. In the matter before us, the Council did not discuss the possibility of proceeding with the erection of the mikve in the town in its meeting on April 21, 2010, and from the documents submitted to us, it would appear that this possibility was also not addressed on its merits in the meetings held thereafter. In fact, it would appear that in the Council’s opinion – as can be inferred from the responses that it submitted throughout the proceedings in this case – there was no need for any concrete consideration of the possibility of erecting a mikve in the town once the project was ranked last in the list of public priorities. From the moment that the Council failed to consider the request to erect a mikve in the town on its merits, not deciding to consider the subject of erecting a mikve in the town in the near future was tantamount to a “decision” as defined by law (see sec. 2 of the Administrative Courts Law, 5760-2000, according to which the lack of a decision is deemed a “decision of an authority”; and see HCJ 3649/08 Shamnova v. Ministry of the Interior, para. 3 (May 20, 2008)). Against the said background, the question before us is whether, under the circumstances of the instant case, the Council’s decision to rescind its decision to build a mikve in the village, to accept the recommendations of the Criteria Committee in toto, and therefore refrain from acting in the near future toward the erection of a mikve in the village, does not deviate from the scope of its discretion.

 

The Reasonableness of the Council’s Decision – The Proper Balance of Relevant Considerations

A.        Considerations supporting the erecting of a mikve in the town – the needs of the religiously observant residents

 

25.       Section 7 of the Jewish Religious Services Law [Consolidated Version], 5731-1971 (hereinafter: the Jewish Religious Services Law) provides that the religious councils of the local authorities are competent to provide for the religious services of the residents. The subject of “family purity”, which concerns the operation of ritual baths, is among the religious services for which the religious councils are responsible (see: HCJ 516/75 Hupert v. Minister of Religion, 30 (2) IsrSC 490, 494 (1976); HCJ 6859/98 Ankonina v. Elections Official, 52 (5) IsrSC 433, 447-448 (1998); HCJ 4247/97 Meretz Faction in the Jerusalem Municipal Council v. Minister of Religious Affairs, 52 (5) IsrSC 241, 251 (1998); HCJ 2957/06 Hassan v. Ministry of Building and Housing – Religious Buildings Development Section (July 16, 2006); Shelly Mizrachi, Religious Councils 7-6 (Knesset Research and Information Center, 2012) (Hebrew); Hadar Lifshits and Gideon Sapir, “Jewish Religious Services Law––A Proposed Framework for Privatization Reform”, 23 Mehkarei Mishpat - Bar-Ilan Law Studies 117, 147-148, 153-154 (2006) (Hebrew)).

26.       Mikve services for women are necessary to maintaining the religious lifestyle of Israel’s religiously observant population. Ritual immersion in a mikve is a vital need for those who observe the laws of “family purity”, which require a women to immerse in a mikve after her monthly period. As is commonly known, the observance of the religious obligation of immersion is deemed very important in Jewish law, to the extent that religious decisors have ruled that erecting a mikve takes precedence even over erecting a synagogue (Yalkut Yosef, Reading the Torah and the Synagogue, secs. 152-153) (Hebrew). The obligation to immerse in a mikve forms an integral part of the life of an observant, married Jewish woman, and is an inseparable part of her religious ritual and the expression of her identity and customs. It is substantively related to the right to freedom of religion and worship, which our legal system has recognized as a fundamental right of every person in Israel, although the case law has not yet established that it imposes a positive obligation requiring that the State allocate public resources for the provision of religious services. In the framework of this appeal, I will not attempt to provide a precise definition of the interrelationship between the right to freedom of religion and worship and the State’s obligation to provide religious services, as in any event, as will be explained below, an administrative review of the authority’s decision in this case, in accordance with the accepted standard of review, leads to the granting of the appeal (on the recognition of the importance of the right to freedom of religion and worship in this Court’s decisions, see: CrimA 112/50 Yosifof v. Attorney General 5 (1) IsrSC 481, 486 (1951) [http://versa.cardozo.yu.edu/opinions/yosifof-v-attorney-general]; HCJ 866/78 Morad v. Government of Israel, 34 (2) IsrSC 657, 663 (1980); HCJ 292/83 Temple Mount Faithful Association v. Jerusalem District Police Commander, 34 (2) IsrSC 657, 663 (1980); HCJ Foundation of the Movement for Progressive Judaism in Israel v. Minister of Religion, 43 (2) IsrSC 661, 692 (1989); HCJ 650/88 Movement for Progressive Judaism in Israel v. Minister of Religious Affairs, 42 (3) IsrSC 377, 381 (1988); HCJ 3261/93 Manning v. Minister of Justice, 47 (3) IsrSC 282, 286 (1993); HCJ 4298/93 Jabarin v. Minister of Education, 48 (5) IsrSC 199, 203 (1994); HCJ 257/89 Hoffman v. Director of the Western Wall, 48 (2) IsrSC 265, 340-341 (1994); HCJ 1514/01 Gur Aryeh v. Second Television and Radio Authority, 55 (4) IsrSC 267, 277 (2001) [http://versa.cardozo.yu.edu/opinions/gur-aryeh-v-second-television-and-r... HCJ 11585/05 Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism v. Ministry of Absorption, para. 16 (May 19, 2009); HCJ 10907/04 Solodoch v. Rehovot Municipality, paras. 71-72 (Aug. 1, 2010); and see: Aharon Barak, Human Dignity: The Constitutional Right and its Daughter-Rights, vol. 2, 769-774 (2014) (Hebrew) [published in English translation as: Human Dignity: The Constitutional Value and the Constitutional Right (Cambridge, 2015)]; Amnon Rubenstein and Barak Medina, The Constitutional Law of the State of Israel, 354-378 (6th ed., 2005) (Hebrew); Daniel Statman and Gideon Sapir, “Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Religion and the Protection of Religious Feelings”, 21 Mehkarei Mishpat - Bar-Ilan Law Studies 5, 7-38 (2004) (Hebrew)).

27.       As noted, there is no religious council in Kfar Vradim (the Ma’ale Yosef Regional Religious Council is responsible for providing religious services in the town, under an agreement signed in 2005 with the Local Council). Therefore, the Appellants directed their request to the Local Council. No mikve has ever been built in Kfar Vradim, and the religiously observant residents of the town must travel to neighboring towns in the Ma’ale Yosef Regional Council District in which there are mikves, and that are a short drive from the town. According to the Respondents, inasmuch as there are mikves in the neighboring towns, the harm to the ability of the town’s religiously observant residents in observing the obligation of immersion is not significant, and is merely an inconvenience. It is further argued that even if there were a mikve in the town, due to the town’s topography and the winter weather, the residents would have to drive to the mikve and could not go on foot. And in any case, the ratio of the number of mikves in the area relative to the population is among the highest in the country when compared to various cities. As opposed to this, the Appellants argue that we are not concerned with a mere “inconvenience” but with an absolute denial of the possibility of performing the religious obligation of ritual immersion. They argue that the absence of a mikve in the town deprives women whose day of immersion falls on a Sabbath eve or on a holiday from performing the obligation at its prescribed time. It is argued that when the immersion day falls on a Sabbath eve or on a holiday, one cannot drive to the mikve, and since it is practically impossible to walk to the neighboring mikves, the possibility of observing the obligation of immersion on such days is entirely denied them. In this regard, the Appellants explain that Jewish religious law ascribes supreme importance to the observance of the obligation of immersion at its prescribed time, because “[…] it is a religious obligation to immerse at the prescribed time so as not to refrain from procreation even for one night” (Shulhan Arukh, Yoreh De’ah, Laws concerning Niddah, 197:2). It is further argued that the said harm is exacerbated because not immersing at the prescribed time deprives the observant families of the ability to observe the obligation of onah (marital relations), sometimes for several days (when holidays coincide with the Sabbath eve). Lastly, the Appellants argue that the absence of a mikve in the town even makes it difficult to observe the obligation of immersion on weekdays, as there is no available public transportation by which one can travel to the mikves in the neighboring communities.

28.       After considering the arguments, I find that given the geographic location of Kfar Vradim and its topographic conditions, there is no reasonable way to go to any of the mikves in the neighboring communities on foot.  Under the circumstances, the absence of a mikve in the town cannot be said merely to “inconvenience” the religiously observant residents. The absence of a mikve in the town – given its particular circumstances – completely deprives the female residents of the town whose prescribed day of immersion falls on a Sabbath eve or holiday of the ability to perform the religious obligation of immersion at its proper time, and as a result, also deprives them of the possibility of performing of the religious obligation of onah. Thus, the women of the town are deprived of the possibility of performing an obligatory ritual practice that is deemed to be of great importance by the traditionally religious Jewish community, and which is substantively connected to the expression of their personal and group identity. As Justice E. Arbel aptly stated:

 

“We recognize the importance of a mikve for the public, and certainly for the public that uses it. The mikve is of great importance for the traditionally observant family unit, and the authorities are required to provide this service for the interested public as part of the provision of religious services by the authorities. It is also important that the mikve be situated within reasonable walking distance from the homes of the public, for those who are Sabbath observant. However, these considerations, that should not be underestimated, must be weighed against other needs that are of public importance, and against the character of the community that resides in the place, as well as against other alternatives for the erection of public buildings, as noted” (AAA 2846/11 Rehovot Religious Council v. Claudio, para. 19 (Feb. 13, 2013) (hereinafter: the Claudio case).

 

            Thus, the need of the religiously observant female residents to observe the obligation of ritual immersion at its prescribed time – a practice whose realization derives from the autonomy granted every person, as such, to follow the dictates of her conscience and faith, and observe the rules and customs of her faith – must be granted significant weight in the framework of the decision-making process in regard to the erection of public buildings in the town (compare: the Gur Aryeh case, at p. 278). However, the need of the religiously observant residents for the erection of a mikve in the town must be balanced against the opposing considerations. What, then, are the opposing considerations that tilted the scales in favor of the Council’s decision not to move forward on the construction of a mikve in the town in the near future?

 

B.        The “Budgetary” Consideration

 

29.       As best we can understand from the Respondent’s response, the primary consideration that led to adopting the decision was the limited public resources available to the Council. According to the Respondents, the construction of a mikve in the town would require that the Council allocate public monies and land at the expense of other public construction of greater importance. Indeed, “it is decided law that a public authority may, and even must, consider budgetary restrictions in the framework of its discretion, as part of its public obligation” (see: HCJ 3071/05 Louzon v. Government of Israel, 63 (1) IsrSC 1, 39-40 (2008) [http://versa.cardozo.yu.edu/opinions/louzon-v-government-israel]; HCJ 3627/92 Fruit Growers Association v. Government of Israel, 47 (3) IsrSC 387, 391 (1993); HCJ 2223/04 Nissim v. State of Israel, para. 29 (Sept. 4, 2006); HCJ 9863/06 Association of Combat Leg Amputees v. The State of Israel, para. 13 (July 28, 2008); HCJ 1662/05 Levi v. State of Israel, para. 51 (March 3, 2009); Barak-Erez, at pp. 661-663, 745-746; Aharon Barak, Proportionality in Law: Infringing Constitutional Rights and its Limits, 460-461 (2010) (Hebrew) [published in English translation as Proportionality: Constitutional Rights and their Limitations (Cambridge, 2012)]).  In the matter before us, among its considerations, the Council could certainly give weight to the limits upon the available resources, and allocate them in accordance with public needs. However, as shall be explained below, under the circumstances of the instant case, the Council resources – both land and money – that were expected to be required for the purpose of building and maintaining a mikve in the town were not significant.

30.       In regard to the allocation of land for the construction of the building, the State informed us that there are, at present, at least three available lots in the town that would be appropriate for the construction of a mikve, in terms of both existing planning and practicality. In addition, there is a possibility – that the Respondents do not deny – of incorporating the mikve in other public buildings. In such a case, building the mikve will not come at the expense of public land earmarked for other purposes. As for financing, the matter can be divided into two parts: the monies required for constructing the building, and the monies needed for maintenance. As far as financing the construction is concerned, it is clear from the State’s response that if the Council’s application for funding the construction of a mikve is approved – and there is no reason to believe that it will not be reapproved, in light of the letters from the Ministry of Religious Services and the fact that an EB was already approved in the past for the construction of a mikve in the town – the construction of the mikve will be financed from state funds, and not from the Council’s budget. The Local Council will incur expenses only if the cost of construction exceeds the funding due to deviation from the budgetary framework, or if it will be required to bear certain related costs (such as environmental development and complementary costs). As for maintenance costs, according to the State’s response and the letters from the Ministry of Religious Services, the salary of the mikve attendant will be paid from the budget of the Ministry of Religious Services, prorated to the number of users, while maintenance (electricity, water, etc.) will be funded in part by users’ fees collected by the attendant. Thus, the Council can expect to pay only a small, insignificant part of the ongoing expenses of maintaining the building. Under these circumstances, in which the construction and maintenance are barely likely to come at the expense of the limited resources of the Council, the weight of the budgetary consideration is limited relative to the opposing interest.

 

2.         Preserving the Secular Character of the Town

 

31.       The parties are divided on the question of whether the Council’s decision gave weight to the consideration of protecting the town's secular character. According to the Appellants, the main consideration that grounded the Council’s decision not to erect a mikve in the town was the desire – that they consider an extraneous, improper consideration – to preserve the secular character of the town and to keep the religious community away. As opposed to this, the Respondents claim that the consideration of preserving the secular character of the town had no weight in the Council’s decision. The question if and under what circumstances a local authority may entertain the consideration of preserving a particular character of the town is complex (and compare: HCJ 528/88 Avitan v. Israel Lands Administration, 43 (4) IsrSC 297 (1989); HCJ 4906/98 “Am Hofshi” Association for Freedom of Religion, Conscience, Education and Culture v. Ministry of Construction and Housing, 54 (2) IsrSC 503, 508-509 (2000); and for an opposing view: HCJ 6698/95 Ka’adan v. Israel Lands Administration, 54 (1) IsrSC 258 (2000) [http://versa.cardozo.yu.edu/opinions/ka%E2%80%99adan-v-israel-land-admin... and see: HCJ 650/88 Movement for Progressive Judaism in Israel v. Minister for Religious Affairs, 42 (3) IsrSC 377, 381 (1988); HCJ 10907/04 Solodoch v. Rehovot Municipality, paras 68-90 (Aug. 1, 2010); the Claudio case, at para. 12; Statman and Sapir; Gershon Gontovnik, Discrimination in Housing and Cultural Groups, 113-127, 201-209 (2014) (Hebrew)). We need not decide this issue in the matter before us, as even if we assume – to the Respondent’s benefit – that the consideration of preserving the town’s character carried no weight in the Council’s decision – as they claim – the decision must, nevertheless, be voided because it did not strike a proper balance between the considerations that were taken into account even according to the Respondents, as we shall explain below.

 

C.        Balancing the various Considerations and Examining the Reasonableness of the Decision

 

32.       Having reviewed the considerations on both sides of the scales, all that remains is to examine whether the decision struck a reasonable balance between those considerations. In doing so, we should bear in mind that such balancing does not, generally, lead to a single, reasonable result. Indeed, the Council enjoys some latitude in which different and even opposing decisions may coexist. However, in the circumstances of the instant case, I find that the Council’s decision not to act toward the erecting of a mikve in the town does not fall within that discretionary latitude. As is commonly known, the weight to be assigned to budgetary considerations is examined, inter alia, in relation to the importance of the opposing rights and interests (see: Barak-Erez, at pp. 746-747; and also see the citations at fn 86, loc. cit.). In the matter before us, the harm to the religiously observant women in the town, which I discussed above, is of significant force, whereas the “price” involved in erecting the mikve is minor. In this context, we should recall that the Council already decided several years ago to erect a mikve in the town, but chose to rescind that decision for “budgetary” reasons that would seem no longer to exist. In this situation, the Council’s decision not to erect a mikve in the near future does not grant adequate weight to the harm caused to the religiously observant women, to the availability of external funding that would render the burden upon the Council insignificant, and to the possibility of incorporating the construction of the mikve within the framework of a building with another purpose, in a manner that would limit the need for a separate allocation of public land, and preserve it for other, necessary public purposes.

33.       In the final analysis, in the circumstances of the present case, in which appropriate weight was not assigned to the substantial harm to the religiously observant, female residents of the town due to the absence of mikve that is accessible on the Sabbath and on religious holidays, and where it was found that the allocation of resources was granted disproportionate weight even though land was readily available for erecting the mikve without harming other public interests, and without any need for allocating substantial resources by the Council due to external financing, I find that the Council’s decision not to erect a mikve was unreasonable and must, therefore, be quashed. In light of the long “history” of the proceedings in this matter, we do not find it appropriate to remand the matter to Council, yet again, inasmuch as, under the circumstances, the decision required is the erection of the mikve with due haste (and compare, for example: HCJ 1920/00 Galon v. Release Board, 54 (2) IsrSC 313, 328 (2000); HCJ 89/01 Public Committee against Torture in Israel v. Release Board, 55 (2) 838, 878 (2001); AAA 9135/03 Council for Higher Education v. Haaretz, 60 (4) IsrSC 217, 253 (2006) [http://versa.cardozo.yu.edu/opinions/council-higher-education-v-haaretz]; AAA 9353/10 Yakovlev v. Ministry of the Interior, para. 19 (Dec. 1, 2013).

 

Conclusion

34.       Given the conclusion reached, I would recommend to my colleagues that we grant the appeal such that the judgment of the lower court be reversed and the appeal granted. The Kfar Vradim Council is ordered to act immediately to erect a mikve on one of the lots in the town listed in the State’s reply – or some other lot that it may find appropriate – such that construction will commence as soon as possible, and no later than a year and a half from the date of this judgment. The Council may submit an application for funding support for the erection of the mikve from the Ministry of Religious Services with due speed. Respondent 2 will pay the Appellants’ costs in both instances in the amount of NIS 25,000.

                                                                                                            Justice

 

Justice E. Hayut:

I concur.

                                                                                                            Justice

 

Justice N. Hendel:

I concur.

                                                                                                            Justice

 

Decided in accordance with the opinion of Justice U. Vogelman.

Given this 14th day of Elul 5774 (Sept. 9, 2014).

 

 

 

           

 

 

Full opinion: 

Nahmani v. Nahmani

Case/docket number: 
CFH 2401/95
Date Decided: 
Thursday, September 12, 1996
Decision Type: 
Appellate
Abstract: 

Facts: Ruth and Daniel Nahmani, a married couple, were unable to have a child because of an operation that Ruth underwent. They therefore decided to try in-vitro fertilization of Ruth’s ova with Daniel‟s sperm, with a view to implanting the fertilized ova in a surrogate mother. Under Israeli law, surrogacy was not permitted and in-vitro fertilization was only permitted for implantation in the woman from whom the ova were taken. Because of the great expense of the in-vitro fertilization procedure in the United States, the couple petitioned the Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, to allow the in-vitro fertilization procedure to be conducted in Israel, for the purpose of surrogacy in the United States. In that proceeding (HCJ 1237/91), a consent judgment was given allowing the in-vitro fertilization procedure to be done in Israel. The procedure was carried out at Assuta Hospital. Subsequently, Daniel left Ruth and went to live with another woman, who bore him a child. Ruth applied to Assuta Hospital to release the fertilized ova into her possession for the purpose of the surrogacy procedure in the United States, but Daniel opposed this. Assuta Hospital therefore refused to release the fertilized ova. Ruth applied to the Haifa District Court for an order against the hospital to release the fertilized ova, and in its judgment the District Court gave such an order.

 

Daniel appealed the judgment of the District Court to the Supreme Court. In the appeal (CA 5587/93), the Supreme Court, with a majority of four of the five justices that heard the case, allowed the appeal of Daniel Nahmani and reversed the order of the District Court. Ruth petitioned the Supreme Court to hold a further hearing of the appeal, and this further hearing was subsequently held before a panel of eleven justices.

 

Held: A majority of seven of the Supreme Court justices reversed the judgment in the appeal, with four justices dissenting.

 

(Majority opinion — Justice Ts. E. Tal) The husband was estopped from opposing the continuation of procedure by promissory estoppel, since he gave his consent, his wife reasonably relied on this consent, and she did so irreversibly, by fertilizing her ova with her husband’s sperm. Furthermore, Jewish heritage, which is one of the fundamental principles of the Israeli legal system, considers having children an important value, whereas not having children is not considered a value at all.

 

(Majority opinion — Justice D. Dorner) The liberty of not having unwanted children is in essence secondary compared to the right to have children. Subject to this principle, the balancing between the rights of the parties is made by taking into account the current stage of the procedure, the representations made by the spouses, the expectations raised by the representations and any reliance on them, and the alternatives that exist for realizing the right of parenthood. In this case, the basic principles and considerations lead to a preference of the wife to be a parent over the right of the husband not to be a parent.

 

(Majority opinion — Justice E. Goldberg) In the absence of any normative arrangement, the case should be decided according to the basic value of justice. The just solution is the one that results in the lesser of evils. Justice demands that we do not, retroactively, undermine the position of someone who was entitled to rely on a representation of another, as the petitioner was entitled to do in this case.

 

(Majority opinion — Justice Y. Kedmi) Before fertilization, each spouse can change his decision to be a parent, and his basic right not to be a parent prevails over the contractual right of his partner to demand performance of the agreement between them. After fertilization, the right of the spouse wishing to complete the procedure of bringing the child into the world and to become a parent is strengthened by the fertilization of the ovum. From this point onward, the right of the spouse wishing to complete the process of bringing the child into the world overrides the right of the one wishing to destroy the fertilized ovum.

 

(Majority opinion — Justice Y. Türkel) The ethical weight of the right to be a parent is immeasurably greater than the weight of the right not to be a parent. Doing “ethical justice” compels us to prefer the former right to the latter.

 

(Majority opinion — Justice G. Bach) Where there is no express statute to guide us, we must avail ourselves of our sense of justice, and make our ruling according to what seems to us to be more just, in view of all the circumstances of the case before us. Even if the scales of justice were evenly balanced, then the fact that preferring Ruth’s position created the possibility of granting life and bringing a living person into our world, would tip the scales.

 

(Majority opinion — Justice E. Mazza) The restriction that Daniel wishes to impose on Ruth’s right to be a mother, although it appears to be a specific restriction, is really a quasi-general one, since Ruth has no real alternative to becoming a mother other than by use of her ova that were fertilized with Daniel’s sperm. The restriction that Ruth wishes to impose on Daniel’s right not to be a father against his will is a specific restriction. Imposing a specific restriction on Daniel’s right is preferable to imposing a quasi-general restriction on Ruth’s right to be a mother. The violation caused by the specific restriction to Daniel’s right is, necessarily, less than the violation caused by the quasi-general restriction to Ruth’s right. Where all other factors are equal, justice requires us to prefer the lesser violation to the greater violation.

 

(Minority opinion — Justice T. Strasberg-Cohen) Consent is required for each stage of the in-vitro fertilization procedure up to the point of no-return, which is the implantation of the ova in the woman’s body. In the absence of such consent, Daniel cannot be compelled to consent to Ruth’s aspiration against his will by means of a judicial order, either in the name of the law, or in the name of justice or in the name of life.

 

(Minority opinion — Justice T. Or) The consent of the parties to cooperate towards realization of an in-vitro fertilization procedure is a framework consent. It is founded on the basic assumption that the marital relationship between the parties will continue. But it does not include consent, ab initio, to all the stages and aspects of the fertilization procedure. The consent is based on the understanding that at each stage of the procedure the joint consent of both spouses will be required.

 

(Minority opinion — Justice I. Zamir) If, before the procedure began, Daniel were asked whether, if he separated from Ruth, he would consent to implantation of the ovum, which would make him and Ruth joint parents of a child, his answer, as a reasonable person, would be no. His initial consent to the procedure should therefore not be regarded as consent even in the circumstances of a separation. For the same reason, Daniel is not estopped from opposing the continuation of the fertilization procedure, since he never represented that he consented to the continuation of the procedure even if he separated from Ruth.

 

(Minority opinion — President A. Barak) Continuing consent is required for every stage of the fertilization procedure. This cannot be waived ab initio for reasons of public policy. Justice requires equality between the spouses in decision making. Refusing to give consent to the continuation of the fertilization procedure because the relationship has ended does not constitute bad faith.

Voting Justices: 
Author
majority opinion
Author
concurrence
Author
concurrence
Author
concurrence
Author
concurrence
Author
concurrence
Author
concurrence
Author
dissent
Author
dissent
Author
dissent
Author
dissent
Full text of the opinion: 

 

 

Ruth Nahmani v

1.            Daniel Nahmani

2.            Attorney-General

3.            Assuta Ltd

 

CFH 2401/95

 

 

The Supreme Court sitting as the Court of Civil Appeals [12 September 1996]

Before President A. Barak and Justices G. Bach, E. Goldberg, T. Or,

E.            Mazza, Y. Kedmi, I. Zamir, T. Strasberg-Cohen, D. Dorner, Ts. E. Tal,

Y. Türkel

 

Further Hearing of Civil Appeal 5587/93 on the judgment of the Haifa District Court (Justice H. Ariel) on 2 September 1993 in OM 599/92.

 

Facts: Ruth and Daniel Nahmani, a married couple, were unable to have a child because of an operation that Ruth underwent. They therefore decided to try in-vitro fertilization of Ruth‟s ova with Daniel‟s sperm, with a view to implanting the fertilized ova in a surrogate mother. Under Israeli law, surrogacy was not permitted and in-vitro fertilization was only permitted for implantation in the woman from whom the ova were taken. Because of the great expense of the in-vitro fertilization procedure in the United States, the couple petitioned the Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, to allow the in-vitro fertilization procedure to be conducted in Israel, for the purpose of surrogacy in the United States. In that proceeding (HCJ 1237/91), a consent judgment was given allowing the in-vitro fertilization procedure to be done in Israel. The procedure was carried out at Assuta Hospital.

Subsequently, Daniel left Ruth and went to live with another woman, who bore him a child. Ruth applied to Assuta Hospital to release the fertilized ova into her possession for the purpose of the surrogacy procedure in the United States, but Daniel opposed this. Assuta Hospital therefore refused to release the fertilized ova. Ruth applied to the Haifa District Court for an order against the hospital to release the fertilized ova, and in its judgment the District Court gave such an order.

Daniel appealed the judgment of the District Court to the Supreme Court. In the appeal (CA 5587/93), the Supreme Court, with a majority of four of the five justices

 

 

 

that heard the case, allowed the appeal of Daniel Nahmani and reversed the order of the District Court.

Ruth petitioned the Supreme Court to hold a further hearing of the appeal, and this further hearing was subsequently held before a panel of eleven justices.

 

Held: A majority of seven of the Supreme Court justices reversed the judgment in the appeal, with four justices dissenting.

(Majority opinion — Justice Ts. E. Tal) The husband was estopped from opposing the continuation of procedure by promissory estoppel, since he gave his consent, his wife reasonably relied on this consent, and she did so irreversibly, by fertilizing her ova with her husband‟s sperm. Furthermore, Jewish heritage, which is one of the fundamental principles of the Israeli legal system, considers having children an important value, whereas not having children is not considered a value at all.

(Majority opinion — Justice D. Dorner) The liberty of not having unwanted children is in essence secondary compared to the right to have children. Subject to this principle, the balancing between the rights of the parties is made by taking into account the current stage of the procedure, the representations made by the spouses, the expectations raised by the representations and any reliance on them, and the alternatives that exist for realizing the right of parenthood. In this case, the basic principles and considerations lead to a preference of the wife to be a parent over the right of the husband not to be a parent.

(Majority opinion — Justice E. Goldberg) In the absence of any normative arrangement, the case should be decided according to the basic value of justice. The just solution is the one that results in the lesser of evils. Justice demands that we do not, retroactively, undermine the position of someone who was entitled to rely on a representation of another, as the petitioner was entitled to do in this case.

(Majority opinion — Justice Y. Kedmi) Before fertilization, each spouse can change his decision to be a parent, and his basic right not to be a parent prevails over the contractual right of his partner to demand performance of the agreement between them. After fertilization, the right of the spouse wishing to complete the procedure of bringing the child into the world and to become a parent is strengthened by the fertilization of the ovum. From this point onward, the right of the spouse wishing to complete the process of bringing the child into the world overrides the right of the one wishing to destroy the fertilized ovum.

(Majority opinion — Justice Y. Türkel) The ethical weight of the right to be a parent is immeasurably greater than the weight of the right not to be a parent. Doing „ethical justice‟ compels us to prefer the former right to the latter.

(Majority opinion — Justice G. Bach) Where there is no express statute to guide us, we must avail ourselves of our sense of justice, and make our ruling according to what seems to us to be more just, in view of all the circumstances of the case before us. Even if the scales of justice were evenly balanced, then the fact that preferring

 

 

 

Ruth‟s position created the possibility of granting life and bringing a living person into our world, would tip the scales.

(Majority opinion — Justice E. Mazza) The restriction that Daniel wishes to impose on Ruth‟s right to be a mother, although it appears to be a specific restriction, is really a quasi-general one, since Ruth has no real alternative to becoming a mother other than by use of her ova that were fertilized with Daniel‟s sperm. The restriction that Ruth wishes to impose on Daniel‟s right not to be a father against his will is a specific restriction. Imposing a specific restriction on Daniel‟s right is preferable to imposing a quasi-general restriction on Ruth‟s right to be a mother. The violation caused by the specific  restriction to Daniel‟s  right is, necessarily, less than the violation caused by the quasi-general restriction to Ruth‟s right. Where all other factors are equal, justice requires us to prefer the lesser violation to the greater violation.

(Minority opinion — Justice T. Strasberg-Cohen) Consent is required for each stage of the in-vitro fertilization procedure up to the point of no-return, which is the implantation of the ova in the woman‟s body. In the absence of such consent, Daniel cannot be compelled to consent to Ruth‟s aspiration against his will by means of a judicial order, either in the name of the law, or in the name of justice or in the name of life.

(Minority opinion — Justice T. Or) The consent of the parties to cooperate towards realization of an in-vitro fertilization procedure is a framework consent. It is founded on the basic assumption that the marital relationship between the parties will continue. But it does not include consent, ab initio, to all the stages and aspects of the fertilization procedure. The consent is based on the understanding that at each stage of the procedure the joint consent of both spouses will be required.

(Minority opinion — Justice I. Zamir) If, before the procedure began, Daniel were asked whether, if he separated from Ruth, he would consent to implantation of the ovum, which would make him and Ruth joint parents of a child, his answer, as a reasonable person, would be no. His initial consent to the procedure should therefore not be regarded as consent even in the circumstances of a separation. For the same reason, Daniel is not estopped from opposing the continuation of the fertilization procedure, since he never represented that he consented to the continuation of the procedure even if he separated from Ruth.

(Minority opinion — President A. Barak) Continuing consent is required for every stage of the fertilization procedure. This cannot be waived ab initio for reasons of public policy. Justice requires equality between the spouses in decision making. Refusing to give consent to the continuation of the fertilization procedure because the relationship has ended does not constitute bad faith.

 

Basic Laws cited:

Basic Law: Administration of Justice, 5744-1984, ss. 6, 15(c).

 

 

 

Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, 5752-1992, s. 1.

 

Statutes cited:

Administrative Courts Law, 5752-1992, s. 22.

Contracts (General part) Law, 5733-1973, ss Administrative Courts Law, 5752-1992, s. 22. 14(b), 25, 30, 31, 61(b).

Contracts (Remedies for Breach of Contract) Law, 5731-1970, s. 3(4). Criminal Procedure Law [Consolidated Version], 5742-1982, s. 3.

Foundations of Justice Law, 5740-1980, s. 1. Immovable Property Law, 5731-1971, s. 10.

Labour Court Law, 5729-1969, s. 33.

Land Law, 5729-1969, s. 10.

Penal Law, 5737-1977, ss. 314, 316, 316(a), Chapter 10, Article 2.

Surrogacy Agreements (Approval of Agreement and Status of the Child) Law, 5756- 1996, ss. 2, 2(1), 5, 5(c), 7.

Tenant‟s Protection Law [Consolidated Version], 5732-1972, s. 132(a). Torts Ordinance [New Version], s. 84.

Unjust Enrichment Law, 5739-1979, s. 2.

 

Regulations cited:

Civil Procedure Regulations, 5744-1984, r. 524.

Public  Health  (In-vitro  Fertilization)  Regulations,  5747-1987,  rr.  2,  2(a),  3,  8,

8(b)(1), 8(b)(2), 8(b)(3), 8(c)(3), 9, 11, 14, 14(c).

 

Israeli Supreme Court cases cited:

[1]          CrimA 95/51 Podamski v. Attorney-General [1952] IsrSC 6 341.

[2]          CA 451/88 A v. State of Israel [1990] IsrSC 44(1) 330.

[3]          CA 614/76 A v. B [1977] IsrSC 31(3) 85.

[4]          CA 5464/93 A v. B (a minor) [1994] IsrSC 48(3) 857.

[5]          CA 577/83 Attorney-General v. A [1984] IsrSC 38(1) 461.

[6]          BAA 663/90 A v. Bar Association Tel-Aviv District Committee [1993] IsrSC 47(3) 397.

[7]          HCJ 4267/93, Amitai — Citizens for Good Government v. Prime Minister

[1993] IsrSC 47(5) 441.

[8]          CA 488/77 A v. Attorney-General [1978] IsrSC 32(3) 421.

[9]          CA 413/80 A v. B [1981] IsrSC 35(3) 57.

[10]        CA 623/80 A v. Attorney-General [1981] IsrSC 35(2) 72.

[11]        HCJ  702/81  Mintzer  v.  Israel  Bar Association  Central  Committee  [1982] IsrSC 36(2) 1.

[12]        FH 22/73 Ben-Shahar v. Mahlav [1974] IsrSC 28(2) 89.

 

 

 

[13]        CA 461/62 Zim Israeli Shipping Co. Ltd v. Maziar [1963] IsrSC 17 1319; IsrSJ 5 120.

[14]        LCA 4298/92 Ezra v. Tel-Mond Local Council [1993] IsrSC 47(5) 94.

[15]        CA 518/82 Zaitsov v. Katz [1986] IsrSC 40(2) 85.

[16]        CA 398/65 Rimon v. Trustee in bankruptcy of Shepsals [1966] IsrSC 20(1) 401.

[17]        CA 214/89 Avneri v. Shapira [1989] IsrSC 43(3) 840.

[18]        FH 4/82 Kut v. Kut [1984] IsrSC 38(3) 197.

[19]        HCJ 200/83 Wathad v. Minister of Finance [1984] IsrSC 38(3) 113.

[20]        HCJ   4712/96   Meretz   Democratic   Israel   Party   v.   Jerusalem   District Commissioner of Police [1996] IsrSC 50(2) 822.

[21]        CA 499/81 Odeh v. Haduri [1984] IsrSC 38(4) 729.

[22]        CA 506/88 Shefer v. State of Israel [1994] IsrSC 48(1) 87; [1992-4] IsrLR

170.

[23]        HCJ 73/53 Kol HaAm Ltd v. Minister of Interior [1953] IsrSC 7 871; IsrSJ 1

90.

[24]        HCJ 153/83 Levy v. Southern District Commander [1984] IsrSC 38(3) 393;

IsrSJ 7 109.

[25]        HCJ 292/83 Temple Mount Faithful v. Jerusalem District Commissioner of Police [1984] IsrSC 38(2) 449.

[26]        MApp  298/86  Citrin  v.  Tel-Aviv  District  Disciplinary  Tribunal  of  Bar Association [1987] IsrSC 41(2) 337.

[27]        CA 496/88  Henfeld  v.  Ramat  Hasharon  Sports Association  [1988]  IsrSC 42(3) 717.

[28]        HCJ 1601/90 Shalit v. Peres [1991] IsrSC 45(3) 353; IsrSJ 10 204.

[29]        HCJ 4112/90 Association of Civil Rights in Israel v. Southern Commander

[1990] IsrSC 44(3) 353.

[30]        HCJ 3412/91 Sufian v. IDF Commander in Gaza Strip [1993] IsrSC 47(2) 848.

[31]        CA 105/92 Re‟em Contracting Engineers Ltd v. Upper Nazareth Municipality

[1993] IsrSC 47(5) 189.

[32]        CA 2266/93 A v. B [1995] IsrSC 49(1) 221.

[33]        HCJ 753/87 Borstein v. Minister of Interior [1988] IsrSC 42(4) 462.

[34]        HCJ 721/94 El-Al Israel Airlines v. Danielowitz [1994] IsrSC 48(5) 749;

[1992-4] IsrLR 478.

[35]        CA 154/80 Borchard Lines Ltd, London v. Hydrobaton Ltd  [1984] IsrSC 38(2) 213.

[36]        CA 554/83 Atta Textile Company Ltd v. Estate of Zolotolov [1987] IsrSC 41(1) 282.

 

 

 

[37]        CA 275/83 Netanya Municipality v. Sahaf, Israeli Development Works Co. Ltd

[1986] IsrSC 40(3) 235.

[38]        HCJ 846/93 Barak v. National Labour Court, Dinim 37 823.

[39]        HCJ 932/91 Central Pension Fund of Federation Employees Ltd v. National Labour Court [1992] IsrSC 46(2) 430.

[40]        CA 4956/90 Paz-Gas Marketing Co. Ltd v. Gazit Hadarom Ltd [1992] IsrSC 46(4) 35.

[41]        CA 248/86 Estate of Lily Hananshwili v. Rotem Insurance Co. Ltd [1991] IsrSC 45(2) 529.

[42]        CA 840/75 Jewish National Fund v. Tevel [1976] IsrSC 30(3) 540.

[43]        CA 555/71 Amsterdramer v. Moskovitz [1972] IsrSC 26(1) 793. [44]            HCJ 5087/94 — unreported.

 

Israeli District Court cases cited:

[45]        CC (TA) 3021/84 Apple Computer Inc. v. New-Cube Technologies Ltd [1987] IsrDC 5747(1) 397.

 

Australian cases cited:

[46]        Mount Isa Mines Ltd v. Pusey (1970) 125 C.L.R. 383.

 

American cases cited:

[47]        Davis v. Davis 842 S.W. 2d 588 (1992).

[48]        Griswold v. Connecticut 381 U.S. 479 (1965).

[49]        Eisenstadt v. Baird 405 U.S. 438 (1972).

[50]        K.S. v. G.S. 440 A. 2d 64 (1981).

[51]        Kass v. Kass WL 110368 (1995).

[52]        Skinner v. Oklahoma 316 U.S. 535 (1942).

[53]        Roe v. Wade 410 U.S. 113 (1973).

[54]        Planned Parenthood of Missouri v. Danforth 428 U.S. 52 (1976).

[55]        Lochner v. New York 198 US 45, 25 S.Ct 539, 49 L.Ed 937 (1905).

[56]        In re Baby M 525 A. 2d 1128 (1987).

 

English cases cited:

[57]        Layton v. Martin [1986] 2 F.L.R. 227 (Ch.).

 

Jewish Law sources cited:

 

 

 

[58]        Rabbi  Moshe  ben  Maimon  (Maimonides),  Mishneh  Torah, Hilechot Ishut

(Laws of Marriage), 15, paras. 2, 5.

[59]        Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher, Arba‟ah Turim, Even HaEzer, 1. [60]     Rabbi Yosef Karo, Shulhan Aruch, Even HaEzer, 1, 1; 154, 4.

[61]        Mishnah, Tractate Yevamot 6, 6.

[62] Dr Avraham Steinberg ed., Encyclopaedia of Jewish Medical Ethics, vol. 2, the entry „In-vitro fertilization‟, at p. 115 et seq.; vol. 4, Responsum of Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli pp. 28, 41.

[63]        Responsum of Rabbi Shalom Shalush, „Fertilization in a Surrogate Womb‟, in

Orchot, the magazine of the Haifa Religious Council, no. 39, p. 31. [64]    Deuteronomy 4, 42; 16, 20; 19, 2-5.

[65]        Genesis 1, 28; 30, 1.

[66]        Bereishit Rabba 79, 9 on Genesis.

[67]        Jeremiah 22, 10.

[68]        Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Moed Katan, 27b. [69]         Mishnah, Tractate Gittin, 4, 5.

[70] Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Yevamot, 63b, 65b. [71] Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, 3b, 10a. [72]    II Kings 20, 1.

[73]        Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher, Arba‟ah Turim, Hoshen Mishpat, 1. [74]             Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat, 10a.

[75]        Rabbi Yehoshua ben Alexander HaCohen Falk, Drisha, on Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher, Arba‟ah Turim, Hoshen Mishpat, 1, 2.

[76]        Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Nedarim, 64b. [77]                Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Makkot, 10a.

[78]        Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides), Mishneh Torah, Hilechot Rotzeah uShemirat Nefesh (Laws of Homicide and Preservation of Life), 7, 1.

[79]        I Samuel 1, 27.

[80]        II Samuel 19, 1.

 

For the petitioner — Z. Gruber.

For the first respondent — D. Har-Even.

 

 

 

JUDGMENT

 

 

Justice T. Strasberg-Cohen

Introduction

1.            The Nahmani case, which was considered on appeal (CA 5587/93 Nahmani v. Nahmani IsrSC 49(1) 485), now comes before us for a further hearing. For the purposes of this hearing we shall briefly review the facts. After several years of marriage without children, and after Ruth Nahmani underwent surgery, as a result of which she lost the ability to conceive naturally, the Nahmani couple decided to have children by means of in-vitro fertilization. Ova taken from Ruth‟s body were fertilized with Daniel‟s sperm, frozen and stored at the hospital. The couple entered into a contract with an institute in the United States to find a surrogate who would bear their child. But before this stage of the procedure had been reached, Daniel Nahmani left home, established a new family and fathered a daughter, while he was still married to Ruth, who refused to be divorced. Ruth contacted the hospital and asked for the fertilized ova in order to continue the procedure, and when she was refused, she filed suit in the Haifa District Court, which ruled in her favour. This court allowed the appeal of Daniel Nahmani, by a majority decision with Justice Tal dissenting, and this led to the further hearing.

2.            The emotions, morals and norms associated with this issue naturally lead to a lack of consensus. Differences of opinion concerning a problematic issue such as this are to be expected and are legitimate, and are reflected in both the decision on appeal and this decision (see also Ch. Gans, „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple‟, 18 Tel-Aviv Uni. L. Rev., 1994, at p. 83; Dr

A. Marmor, „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple: a Response to Chaim Gans‟, 19 Tel-Aviv Uni. L. Rev., 1995, at p. 433; and Ch. Gans, „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple: a Reply to Andrei Marmor‟, 19 Tel- Aviv Uni. L. Rev., 1995, at p. 453). The problem before us has two diametrically opposed solutions. We must choose a solution that is consistent with both the law and the fundamental principles of our legal system, and that is based upon the values and norms of our society.

I have re-examined the matter before us with an open heart and mind. I again reviewed the appeal judgment, the opinions of my colleagues in this proceeding and the erudite articles published after judgment was given. I have reconsidered and re-examined my earlier position and tested it against the opposing position, and in the final analysis, I do not see any reason to change it.

 

 

In the judgment on appeal, I discussed at length the nature, novelty and difficulty of the matter before us, and I shall not repeat myself. Nonetheless, it is appropriate that what was covered extensively in that decision should be referred to in this. Moreover, I shall make clarifications to my position, which will constitute an integral part of my remarks in the judgment on appeal. The two opinions should be regarded as one.

In the first opinion, the issue was examined and analyzed from every possible angle. In it I concluded, after having examined and analyzed the fundamental rights of the individual, that a spouse does not have an enforceable right, where that right would lead to imposing parental status on an „objecting‟ spouse. It was held that there is no basis in the various areas of private law, whether in law, statute or case-law, for granting shared genetic material to one of the spouses without the consent of the other. The opinion concluded that the fertilized ova — which are pre-embryonic — have no independent „right‟ to life, nor have they any kind of status that would give precedence to someone interested in the continuation of the procedure over someone who does not wish this. Comparative law was brought to show that the majority of countries in the enlightened western world — whether in statute or as a result of recommendations made by commissions that considered the issue — require both spouses to consent to each stage of the procedure, including the stage of implantation, and without consent from both spouses, the procedure cannot continue. This can also be seen in the Public Health (In-vitro Fertilization) Regulations, 5747-1987, and it was also the recommendation made by the Professional Public Commission for Examining the Issue of In-vitro Fertilization, 1994, whose members included renowned experts from several relevant fields. It can also be seen from the recently enacted Surrogacy Agreements (Approval of Agreement and Status of the Child) Law, 5756-1996.

Court intervention

3.            It has been argued that the appeal decision avoided intervention in the case or taking a stand, and that the outcome was a matter of chance resulting from the status of the litigants, with the stronger party having the advantage. These claims have no basis. I too am of the opinion that there should be legal intervention, even in cases involving normative value judgments, as well as in matters ruled by emotion; indeed, the appeal decision did just that. It did not refrain from taking a stand or from intervening, as suggested by Dr. D. Barak-Erez („On Symmetry and Neutrality:  Reflections on the Nahmani Case‟, 20 Tel-Aviv Uni. L. Rev. (1996) 197). The decision adopted a position

 

 

by refusing to force parenthood on a person. This constitutes ethical, normative and legal intervention. It is not avoiding making a decision. It is a decision made responsibly. The outcome was not a matter of chance resulting from the status of the litigant, as plaintiff or defendant (as claimed by Dr Barak-Erez, ibid.). The outcome would have been identical had a suit been filed by Daniel Nahmani for an injunction preventing the ova from being given to Ruth Nahmani, or had a suit been filed by the institution where the ova are stored because it had been given conflicting instructions. The decision does not give legitimacy to the maxim „might is right‟, but instead it applies the law in its wider sense. It does so in a way that reflects the legal policy outlined by the principles and norms that are fundamental to our legal system, a policy that recognizes the basic rights of the individual, his freedom of choice, and a refusal to force on him a status that he does not agree to take upon himself.

Indeed, 1e have not been called upon to interpret a particular statute, and we are not required to implement any such statute. In this case, as in others, we are called upon to decide issues that are not governed by any special statute. We must establish a legal norm that has ethical significance. In doing so, we are not operating in a vacuum. We have at our disposal the rich world of existing law with all its branches that affect the issue under discussion.

The case as an exception

4.            The matter before us is exceptional in that it is the first and only case being litigated. But it is not exceptional with regard to the situation that it presents to us. What do I mean by this? As science presents us with new, previously-unknown possibilities, and as more and more couples use in-vitro fertilization, the problem before us will take on an increasing general importance. Quarrels and  separations  between  spouses  are — unfortunately — a common phenomenon in our society. Whenever a couple quarrels about the use of fertilized ova, it occurs between spouses who have separated, and one of them does not agree to continue the procedure. The rule established by this court will have implications for all of these people, and the question of whether consent is required by each spouse to every stage in the in-vitro fertilization process prior to implantation in the womb must receive a clear, principled answer. The same is true of the question whether a spouse who refuses to continue the procedure that will lead to his becoming a parent against his will should be compelled to do so. Our determination in this case is likely to have implications that go beyond the specific circumstances in this instance, and affect every field where an individual has

 

 

rights that have no corresponding obligations, and where the consent of those involved is required to achieve a common goal.

As I said in the judgment on appeal, foremost in my mind has been Ruth Nahmani‟s longing for motherhood, her anguish and frustration at not being able to achieve it, and the improbability that she will become a biological mother. But we should not consider only the specific case before us, and sympathy and understanding for Ruth Nahmani‟s aspiration is insufficient for giving rise to a legal remedy to her problem. This issue cannot be decided on the basis of the wishes of one of the parties; it must be decided according to the rights and duties  of the parties  vis-à-vis  one  another, and these are enshrined in our legal system and provide the basis for an answer.

The right of parenthood

5.            It would appear that no one disputes the status and fundamental importance of parenthood in the life of the individual and in society. These have been basic  principles of  human  culture throughout  history. Human society exists by virtue of procreation. Realizing the natural instinct to be fruitful and multiply is a religious commandment of the Torah (see Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides), Mishneh Torah, Hilechot Ishut (Laws of Marriage), 15, 2 [58]; Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher, Arba‟ah Turim, Even HaEzer, 1, 1 [59]; Rabbi Yosef Karo, Shulhan Aruch, Even HaEzer, 1, 1 [60];

H. H. Cohn, HaMishpat (Bialik Institute, 1991) 579, 580). This is a basic need for ensuring the continuation of society and the self-realization of the individual. The importance of parenthood and its status as a basic constitutional right has found expression in American case-law, see: K. D. Alpern ed., The Ethics of Reproductive Technology, New York, Oxford, 1992,

p. 252, and the decisions cited there. With respect to the status of this right, the Court of Appeals of the State of Tennessee said in Davis v. Davis (1990) [47] at pp. 4-5:

„The United States Supreme Court in Skinner v. Oklahoma… recognized [that] the right to procreate is one of a citizen‟s “basic civil rights”. Conversely, the court has clearly held that an individual has a right to prevent procreation. “The decision whether to bear or beget a child is a constitutionally protected choice.” Cary v. Population Serv. Int‟l, … Eisenstadt v. Baird … see Griswold v. Connecticut … Matter of Romero…‟

The dispute is not about the importance of parenthood and the status of the right to be a parent. That is not the question at issue. In principle, the

 

 

relevant question is: is it possible, because of the great importance of parenthood, to force parenthood on someone who does not want it, and to use the machinery of the legal system to achieve such coercion? In order to answer this question, it is first necessary to make a correct classification of parenthood as a value, in the relationship between the potential parents.

Classification of rights

6.            The classification of norms that regulate activity in relationships between man and his fellow-man has not infrequently occupied legal scholars and academics in various fields. The scholar Dias deals extensively with what is sweepingly called „rights‟, and indicates the lack of clarity that prevails on this issue and on the distinctions gradually reached by scholars.

„Claims, Liberties, Powers and Immunities are subsumed under the term “rights” in ordinary speech, but for the sake of clarity and precision it is essential to appreciate that this word has undergone four shifts in meaning. They connote four different ideas concerning the activity, or potential activity, of one person with reference to another‟ (R. W. M. Dias, Jurisprudence, London, 5th ed., 1985, at p. 23).

Dias presents a list of thinkers and jurists (Sir Edward Coke, Hobbes, Bentham and others) who contributed to the conceptual classification of

„rights‟, and he mentions the American jurist Hofeld, who revised and completed a table made by the scholar Salmond, and prepared a table known as the Hofeld Table, which categorizes the claims, liberties, powers and immunities that are called „rights‟, according to their status, substance and implications (ibid., at p. 23).

In CrimA 99/51 Podamski v. Attorney-General [1], Justice Agranat — with regard to the classification of rights — gives a summary of several principles that he says are derived from the writings of recognized legal scholars, who classified rights into rights entailing legal obligations or legal liberties or legal privileges. Legal rights, in the narrowest sense, are interests that the law protects by imposing duties on others with regard to those interests. By contrast, legal rights in the widest sense also include interests that are recognized by the law but do not entail a legal duty. These are the liberties (see Salmond, On Jurisprudence, London, 11th ed., by G. Williams, 1957, at pp. 269, 273). Where a person has a right that is a liberty or a privilege, he is under no duty toward either the State or another to refrain from carrying out the act, just as he is under no duty to carry out an act that

 

 

he is free not to do. A right that is a freedom or a liberty cannot impose a duty on another and require him to perform an act that he is free not to do.

„Sometimes a right takes the form of a “liberty” or a “privilege”: in such a case, the duty that we are obliged to uphold is not to interfere with, or disturb, the exercise of the right…‟ (H. H. Cohn, HaMishpat, supra, at p. 512).

Moreover, at p. 513:

„“Basic rights”, or “human rights”, or “civil rights” are rights to which a person is entitled by law, as a human being. Some say that these rights were born with us, or are inherent in us; but whatever may be the case, we are concerned, as stated, not with “natural” rights but with legal rights.‟

Below the freedom to be a parent will be called a „right‟.

Classification of the right to parenthood

7.            The right to be a parent is, by its very nature, essence and characteristics, a natural, innate right, inherent in human beings. It is a liberty that does not entail a legal obligation, either in relations between the State and its citizens, or in relations between spouses. The right not to be a parent is also a liberty. It is the right of the individual to control and plan his life. Indeed, non-parenthood in itself is not the protected value. The protected value in non-parenthood is the liberty, privacy, freewill, self-realization and the right to make intimate decisions without interference. These are protected basic values of supreme importance, from which the liberty not to be coerced into parenthood is derived (see also: CA 451/88 A v. State of Israel [2], at

p. 337; H. Fenwick, Civil Liberties, London, 1993, at p. 295). Regarding freewill as a liberty leads to the conclusion that every person is free to choose and decide whether or not to be a parent, and a person wishing to be a parent cannot coerce another into becoming one in order to become a parent himself. This also means that the State may not impose parenthood on a person, either directly or through the courts. Consequently, I do not accept the position of those who consider the right not to be a parent as a right of less value than the right to be a parent.

The right to be a parent and the right not to be a parent are two rights which, although they are two sides of the same coin, have different characteristics. Each in itself can be found within the framework of civil liberties; the distinction between the two levels of rights does not lie in the one being a positive right and the other a negative right, but in the right to

 

 

parenthood belonging to the group of rights requiring cooperation of another individual in order to achieve it, whereas the right to non-parenthood does not extend beyond the particular individual (see Ch. Gans, „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple‟, supra, and Ch. Gans, „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple: a Reply to Andrei Marmor‟, supra). This distinction affects the question of the limits of proper legal intervention.

Had the right to be a parent been a right in the narrow sense, entailing an obligation, consent ab initio would not theoretically be needed, since when the obligation exists, all that remains is to examine what is the proper relief. Since the right is a liberty that does not entail an obligation but entails an opposing right, and since it requires two persons to achieve it, the person needing cooperation must obtain it from the other by receiving his consent throughout the procedure.

The right to be a parent — when the spouse refuses — requires a coercive, positive judicial act, whereas the right not to be a parent requires no intervention or interference in the freedom of the person who is unwilling to undertake parenthood. Since the „refusing‟ parent has a right not to be a parent, such a coercive order should not be made against him. Realizing the right of someone who wants parenthood by imposing an obligation on someone who does not want it conflicts with the essence of the freedom and deals it a mortal blow.

Non-coercion of parenthood

8.            In the sphere of liberties, the law refrains from forcing someone to do what he is not obliged to do, and this is also the case in other contexts within the sphere of inter-personal relationships. Every person has a right to marry. Nonetheless, no-one disputes that a person to whom a promise of marriage is made and breached will not receive from the court a relief of enforcing the promise. Every person has a right to establish a family and have children. Nonetheless, no-one disputes that the State — directly or  through  the court — may not coerce a person to have children if he does not want to, even if he promised his spouse to do so, and even if the spouse relied on this and maybe even entered into the marriage by relying on this and with an expectation that this is what will happen. Why do we not do this? Not merely because a mandatory injunction cannot compel performance (other than perhaps by way of contempt of court proceedings until the „refuser‟ wants to do it), but because of the fundamental and normative reason for this, namely the refusal of the law to employ coercive measures to realize the wishes of one  of  the  spouses  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  the  other  (Griswold  v.

 

 

Connecticut (1965) [48], at pp. 1688-1689; Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972) [49], at

p. 1038; P. Shifman, „Parent against one‟s will — false representation about use of contraception‟, 18 Mishpahah 1988, at p. 459).

9.            Refraining from forcing parenthood on someone who is not prepared to undertake it is especially important in view of the nature and significance of parenthood. Parenthood involves an inherent restriction on future freedom of choice, by imposing on the parent an obligation that encompasses most aspects of life. Entering into the status of parent involves a substantial change in a person‟s rights and obligations. When a person becomes a parent, the law imposes on him an obligation to care for his child. We are not talking of a mere concern, but of an obligation to place the best interests of the child as his foremost concern. A parent cannot deny the needs of his child merely because it is inconvenient for him to fulfil them. A parent‟s responsibility for his child‟s well-being also has a tortious and criminal aspect. This responsibility embodies the normative expectation that our social values and legal system have of the individual, with respect to his functioning as a parent. The very significant implications deriving from this status necessitate that the decision to be a parent is made only by the person concerned (see also P. Shifman, Family Law in Israel, vol. 2, The Harry Sacher Institute for Research of Legislation and Comparative Law (1989), 174; CA 614/76 A v. B [3], at p. 93; CA 5464/93 A v. B [4]).

There are some who consider the paternity of Daniel Nahmani —should the procedure continue and result in the birth of a child — as merely an economic burden of which he can rid himself. There are some who hold that when Daniel gave his consent to begin the procedure, he need not be consulted again and the procedure may be continued, irrespective of his wishes. This is the opinion of some of my colleagues, as well as Dr Marmor in „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple: a Response to Chaim Gans‟, supra, with which Prof. Gans disagrees in „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple: a Reply to Andrei Marmor‟, supra). Dr Marmor holds that the procedure can be divided into two: the technical stage — when the husband gives over his genetic material — and the „parental‟ stage — the continuation of the procedure to its end. In his view, when the husband gives over his genetic material, the husband‟s role is ended, and this should be sufficient for continuing the procedure without him. His cooperation is not needed for continuing the procedure. Since he is not liable to raise the child that will be born, his right to personal autonomy is not affected. In his opinion, the right of a woman to carry out an abortion derives from an

 

 

unwillingness to  impose on her options that will be very  limited if she becomes a mother in such a way that her right to an autonomous life is nullified. This is not the case — in his opinion — with respect to the husband.

10.          I find it difficult to agree with such theses. I do not accept that the consent of a married couple to the fertilization procedure with a view to parenthood is completed by giving over the genetic material which ends in fertilization. The two decisive stages in the fertilization treatment are: first, in-vitro fertilization of the woman‟s ova with the man‟s sperm; and second, the implanting of these in the body of a surrogate mother. The two stages are different in nature and they are carried out on different dates. The two spouses are partners in all the stages of the procedure, and they should not be regarded as having done their part when they have given over the genetic material. This material is part of its owners and continues to be so even after it has been separated from them. The interest of each of the spouses in the procedure is existential, and it has lifelong implications. I do not think that the husband can be considered merely a technical means for realizing the wife‟s motherhood. Bringing a child into the world without the father‟s consent should not be regarded solely as an economic burden from which he may exempt himself — moreover, under the law he cannot exempt himself from it. A decision to bring a child into the world is a joint decision of supreme importance in the lives of both parents. The great importance of parenthood as a value, the obligation it imposes on both parents, and the expectations that society has of the parents and of each one of them to their children are the factors that should give full weight to the husband‟s right — as well as the wife‟s — not to bring a child into the world against their will. The special status of parenthood in the field of the basic rights of the individual and the burden of obligations that it involves is the source for the principle that parenthood should not be forced upon someone who does not want it.

11.          Recognizing the need for ongoing consent in order to bring a child into the world creates equality, which is a fundamental value in our legal system. Giving the wife the possibility of terminating an unwanted pregnancy, and giving the husband — as well as the wife, if she wishes it — the possibility of stopping the in-vitro fertilization procedure is an expression of this value. The possibility of stopping the procedure is blocked only when a right that takes precedence comes into the picture; this, in the case of pregnancy, is the wife‟s right not to become a mother against her will and her

 

 

right over her body. These two rights give her the right to have an abortion without the husband‟s consent. The wife‟s right over her body derives from the same fundamental values of personal liberties and personal autonomy, which are the basis of a person‟s right not to be a parent against his will. Only when a third factor enters the picture, such as the right of the wife over her body, which takes precedence, does the right not to be a parent give way to it.

The nature of consent

12.          An examination of the issue before us from the perspective of basic rights is an examination of one of the many aspects of this issue, and as I said in the judgment on appeal*:

„… consideration of the question before us from the viewpoint of human rights is insufficient to decide it, for we are not concerned with a couple where one of the spouses wishes to bring children into the world and the other opposes this, and the law does not force itself on the “objector”; we are concerned rather with spouses who have gone a long way together and given their genetic material from which ova were fertilized and put in frozen storage, in order to bring a child into the world with the help of a surrogate mother. Should the husband be forced to continue the procedure even in this situation? I suspect that he should not. The reasoning for this position requires consideration of the nature of the consent of the spouses and the legal regime within which it operates.‟

13.          The fertilization procedure for joint parenthood embodies, by its very nature and as an essential condition, the consent of both spouses. What is the nature of the consent on a crucial, sensitive, and intimate subject such as having a child? Generally, consent is an accord of the wills of two or more persons, which makes their individual wills into a common will. Consents between married spouses can be distinguished into two categories: a general, main and central consent, which is a consent to live together as a couple, and goal-oriented consents for achieving a specific goal within the framework of married life, of which the most important is the consent to bring children into the world. The specific consent is reached within the framework of the main consent, and it is entitled to exist only within that framework and as long as it continues, unless the spouses have decided otherwise. When there is a main consent to a joint relationship, any decision that is of major significance to

 

 

*             Ibid., at p. 503 {20}.

 

 

both parties to the relationship and that derives from that relationship, cannot be made by one of the partners. A consent of a married couple to a procedure leading to parenthood, which is the most important of the goal-oriented consents, requires the procedure to be begun with consent and to be continued with consent. Both spouses will face the consequences of such a consent together. Therefore, someone who agrees to fertilization but does not agree to implantation cannot be bound by his consent to the first stage of the fertilization. Each spouse has the right to withdraw his consent when the marriage has been undermined and the main consent has collapsed. Consent to the in-vitro fertilization procedure — from a theoretical and conceptual perspective — is like consent to the natural procedure of fertilization. Just as someone who has agreed to bring children into the world naturally can withdraw his consent, so too someone who began the in-vitro fertilization process can refuse to agree to continue the procedure or withdraw his consent. I am aware that in the first case the „objector‟ who withdrew his consent cannot be „compelled‟, whereas in the second case there is no such problem, since the fertilized ova are situated outside the bodies of the two spouses; but the question and the answer thereto lie in the normative, theoretical, conceptual sphere and not in the practical sphere. The question is whether it should be done, and not whether it can be done. My answer is that it should not be done; rather, we need the consent of both spouses throughout the procedure.

14.          Admittedly, the right to withdraw the initial consent creates a degree of uncertainty, but this exists in many spheres of married life, and it does not deter people from entering into it. A decision to bring a child into the world by means of in-vitro fertilization is a serious and momentous one. The difficulties and risks involved in this procedure far from guarantee success. The refusal of a spouse to continue the procedure is merely one of the possible risks. A couple starts the procedure against a background of a working marriage, notwithstanding the risks and uncertainty as to the success of their marriage and the success of the procedure. It can be said that a situation in which, after the in-vitro fertilization, there is no right to withdraw on any condition or in any case, may deter spouses from entering into a procedure from which there is no way out, no less that the fear that that the procedure will be stopped as a result of the collapse of the marriage, something that is feared by my colleague Justice Tal.

The consent of the Nahmani couple

 

 

15.          ‟What is the status of the consent that was given; what is its scope, what is its nature? Is it subject to any legal framework, and if so, what is that framework? Was an agreement made between the parties, and if so what is its basis and what are its implications? What are the ramifications of the change of circumstances that occurred subsequently on this agreement? Is the person who gave his consent entitled to revoke it and what is the remedy that can be granted, if any?‟* I answered these questions extensively in the judgment on appeal, where I emphasized  the problematic status  of an undertaking to change personal status, where I said:

„In our case the agreement was made in special circumstances, on an intimate, personal and sensitive matter that lies within the sphere of the human psyche. Notwithstanding, I do not think that this case does not involve any agreement whatsoever. The Nahmani couple expressed consent, determination and resolve with regard to a very serious matter and they took steps to carry out their consent. When two persons continue to give their consent and do not revoke it, their wishes should be respected and the agreement should be acted upon in so far as it concerns matters that they have agreed (provided that they indeed agreed them). Such an agreement — as long as the parties still agree with regard to it — is valid vis-à-vis third parties such as the medical institution or other parties involved in the in-vitro fertilization procedure, and these should respect the joint wishes of the parties (within the framework of the law). Notwithstanding, we are not concerned with an ordinary contract but with an unique contract. It certainly does not fall into the category of “perfect” contracts. Since it has contractual elements, it can be classed among the “weak” contracts. Therefore the legal framework that applies to it will also not be the framework of the laws of contract in the strict and narrow sense.‟†

16.          My colleague Justice Tal holds that we are dealing with an unenforceable extra-contractual agreement, but in his opinion Ruth does not require anything of Daniel, and his consent is not needed for the implantation. Is it really the case that Ruth is making no demands of Daniel?

 

 

 

*             Ibid., at p. 507 {26}.

†             Ibid., at pp. 509-510 {29}.

 

 

I suspect that the opposite is true. She demands that his opinion should not be taken into account, that he should be removed from the picture and that his refusal should be ignored. She demands that she should be allowed use of the genetic material against his will in order to bring a child into the world. She demands that the court should give consent instead of Daniel and instruct the hospital to give her the ova so that she can continue a procedure that will lead to the birth of her and Daniel‟s joint child, without his consent. To this end she asks that his consent to fertilization should be interpreted as consent to bringing a child into the world against his will, even if he will not raise the child.

Against this background, what is the significance of my colleague‟s determination that Ruth does not require anything of Daniel and that his consent is unnecessary at the time of implantation? The significance is that Daniel‟s consent is frozen in time and place, and constitutes a firm resolve at a given moment — the moment of fertilization — exactly as in a regular contract. From this moment onwards — which in our case is the period from the time when the procedure was started until the implantation of the ova — the spouses are „bound‟ by their consent and each can do as he pleases with the other‟s genetic material without the other‟s consent and against his will. This is a rigid and narrow statement, even within the framework of the laws of contract themselves, and all the more so in the special and sensitive

„contract‟ before us, in which the laws of contract should not be applied strictly, but in keeping with the nature, background and circumstances of the relationship. The contractual aspect does not operate in a legal vacuum of its own. It constitutes part of the laws of contract in their wider sense, and it should not be severed from them absolutely. It follows that we must examine the consent of the couple and each one of them and their implications, by using the tools available to us, which we must borrow from the sphere of law that is closest to the matter, namely the contractual sphere in its wider sense, adapted to the sensitive material with which we are dealing. In this framework, the agreement between Ruth and Daniel is a special agreement built on the foundation of a functioning married life. It anticipates a joint future, and the birth of a child wanted by both into the family unit. It is unenforceable and ought not to be enforced in the absence of a joint will of both parties throughout the process.

Agreement, representation and estoppel

17.          In order that the consent should have legal effect, the law makes certain requirements, some formal and some substantive. These requirements

 

 

are not mere obstacles. Underlying them are normative, social and ethical ideals that require the existence of certain elements or a certain form of elements, in order to create a binding legal obligation. They are all needed to create reliability, stability, clarity and certainty and to ensure that the person making the commitment knows what he can expect, and understands the significance of expressing his will. This is the case with every consent, but all the more so with regard to „informed consent‟, which requires awareness of the circumstances in which the consent will operate. The consent required for bringing a child into the world in this way is „informed consent‟ at each stage of the procedure. Consent at the stage of fertilizing the ova cannot be used to infer „informed consent‟ to the continuation of the procedure in circumstances that are totally different to those that  prevailed when the procedure began.

18.          Was there any express or implied consent or promise on the part of Daniel to continue the procedure in any circumstances and under any conditions, and is he estopped or prevented from changing his mind? My answer to these questions is no. Within the framework of the main consent to a joint lifestyle, the Nahmani couple reached a joint decision to bring a child into the world. They began the procedure and carried out the first stage of fertilizing the ova and freezing them. Before the consent had matured and before the joint goal was achieved, the family unit fell apart and the main consent collapsed. From a factual perspective it is clear that, from this stage onwards, there no longer existed the main consent to a joint lifestyle, and there was no consent to bring a child into the world outside this framework. The court is asked to give the goal-oriented consent that never reached fruition an existence of its own, even though the main consent, within which framework it operated, has broken down and no longer exists. I suspect that this should not be done, and without consent to the continuation of the procedure, parenthood should not be forced on Daniel against his will.

19.          The law recognizes the right of a person who gave his consent to change his mind in circumstances that are different from those in which the consent is supposed to be realized. For example, consent to give a child up for adoption, which was given before the child was born, is a consent without awareness of the circumstances that will exist when the adoption will take place. It is specifically for this reason that the law allows the person who gave his consent to change his mind. „If consent was given before the birth of the adoptee, the court may invalidate it for this reason only, namely because of the date when it was given…‟ (CA 577/83 Attorney-General v. A [5], at p.

 

 

484). In this matter also consent may be withdrawn, until a third factor enters the picture — the best interests of the child — which is a higher value that overrides the right to withdraw the consent. In this way the principle that I wish to apply in our case is applied.

20.          Both from a factual and a legal perspective, there was no consent, and certainly no informed consent, on the part of Daniel to continue the procedure in the circumstances of a breakdown of the family unit. It is reasonable that when the couple began the procedure by consent, they assumed that their marriage would continue, and in this framework their joint child would be born. Reality has dealt them a hard blow. The circumstances have changed utterly, and although Daniel created the change —

„We are not sitting in judgment on the acts of Daniel Nahmani in the moral sphere and “punishing” him for his behaviour. These are not the criteria for deciding the question whether he has a right to object to the continuation of the procedure. The relationship between spouses is not static. It is by nature dynamic and subject to crises. The feelings of spouses are not always stable. They may change even without any connection to a complex procedure such as in-vitro fertilization. An initial consent to this procedure is not an informed one in the full sense of the word because of the inability to foresee — emotionally and psychologically — what will happen in the future. Spouses do not always deal successfully with the difficulties in their lives together, especially when they are faced with a procedure such as in this case, with its emotional, physical and economic difficulties and the subjective and objective problems that it involves.‟*

21.          Daniel did not promise Ruth that the procedure would continue whatever the conditions or circumstances, and such a promise cannot be inferred from his consent to begin the procedure when their family life was intact. The learned District Court judge did not reach any finding of fact that Daniel promised Ruth to continue the procedure even without the joint family unit and, indeed the evidence does not show that Daniel made such a promise or representation. The learned judge inferred from the initial consent a continuing and irrevocable consent. As I have explained both in the judgment on appeal and in this opinion, I do not accept this position. It is not required

 

 

*             Ibid., at p. 512 {33}.

 

 

by the facts of the case, it is inconsistent with our experience of life and it is incompatible with recognized and accepted principles of law. What can be seen from the evidence and is plausible from the circumstances is the absence of a promise to bring a child into the world even if the marriage collapsed and the family unit broke up. The absence of such a promise is inherent in the circumstances surrounding the goal-oriented consent to joint parenthood of the couple within the framework of the main consent to married life.

22.          Daniel did not make any representation upon which Ruth could rely, and in practice Ruth did not rely on any representation, and did not begin the procedure on the basis of such a reliance. She did not adversely change her position by relying on any representation. The only representation that can be inferred from the circumstances is a limited representation of consent within the framework of the existing family unit, assuming that it will continue to exist. The procedure began when their family life was functioning, with expectations that it would continue to be so, and that the child that would be born would become a part of it. The expectations proved vain and the main consent, and consequently the goal-oriented consent, no longer exist. An initial consent given to begin the in-vitro fertilization procedure is not a promise to bring a child into the world in any circumstances whatsoever. It is a promise that is limited to the conditions and circumstances in which it is given.

It follows that Ruth‟s expectation that she could bring Daniel‟s child into the world notwithstanding his opposition, against his will and not into a family unit jointly with him is a wish but not an enforceable right; but not every wish of one person imposes an enforceable legal obligation on another; not every desire of one person constitutes a basis for a judicial order against another. Not all walks of life should be controlled by court orders. There are spheres — and marriage and family planning are some of the most obvious — where judicial enforcement halts at the threshold of the litigants. When a couple enter into a marriage, each promises the other that they will live together forever. This promise, which no-one thinks is enforceable, exists on the level of good intentions, expectations, hopes and desires. There is no remedy in the law that can guarantee its existence, nor should there be. The same is true also of a promise for joint parenthood. Enforcing parenthood is not a legitimate option when we are speaking of actions that require the consent of both spouses. As I stated in the judgment on appeal:

„The relationship between spouses should be based on love, friendship,  understanding,  support,  trust  and  consideration.

 

 

Sometimes this relationship collapses, expectations fade, hopes vanish and  dreams are shattered.  Not in  every case can the victim find a remedy for his injuries in court orders, where enforcement is impossible, is improper in view of the circumstances and under the law, and is inconsistent with the basic rights of the individual in our society.‟*

23.          Consent loses its significance only when the fertilized ova have been implanted in the woman‟s body. Then the body of the surrogate mother enters into the picture — and no interference can be allowed to this without her consent. It may be that one day, when science allows even pregnancy to take place outside the woman‟s womb, we will be confronted with a new problem that must be faced. Who can foresee the future? At present, we reach the point of no return only when the ova are implanted in the body of the surrogate mother, when the value of the woman‟s right to protection of her body, control of her body and non-interference with her body takes precedence. The relevant considerations for fixing the point of no return at the latest time and place in the procedure derive from a balance between the conflicting rights and interests. Until the stage of implantation, the value of free choice takes precedence and consent is required. From that moment onwards, rights and interests that override the interests protected by the principle of consent enter the picture. In a natural pregnancy, the point of no return is reached when the pregnancy begins, because from which point onwards the woman does not need her  partner‟s consent to perform an abortion because of her control over her own body and her right that it should not be interfered with. With in-vitro fertilization, this point is reached upon implantation of the ova in the woman‟s body, since then the woman‟s right over her body enters the picture, and this overrides the need for consent to the continuation of the procedure.

The need for consent in different legal systems

24.          Most western countries, Europe, England, the United States, Canada and others, require continuing consent throughout the procedure, for each stage. I discussed this extensively in the judgment on appeal, so I will say nothing more. In all of those countries, each spouse may withdraw consent at any stage of the procedure. In some of the countries, there is legislation to this effect, such as, for example, in England: the Human Fertilization And Embryology Act, 1990 (Schedule 3, sect. 4). Pursuant to this law, effective

 

 

*             Ibid., at p. 522 {48}.

 

 

consent is required, and this incorporates the possibility of a change and withdrawal of consent at any time before use of the fertilized ova. The withdrawal of consent by one of the parties obliges the authority storing the fertilized ova to destroy them. This is also the case in Western Australia: the Human Reproductive Technology Act, 1991 (ss. 22(4) and 26(1)(a)(i)).

In the United States, Canada and other Western countries, the issue is not regulated by legislation, but rather by the recommendations of commissions that were appointed to investigate the issue. In some of these countries — because of the great importance attributed to consent in  such  a  fateful matter — it was recommend that the couple should agree between themselves in advance as to the fate of the ova in the event of a separation, and their agreement would then be honoured (there was no such agreement in our case). The vast majority of these countries give the couple the prerogative of making a joint decision whether to continue the procedure or terminate it, and they require the express consent of both to each stage of the procedure, which will be stopped if one of the parties expresses opposition to its continuation (for the position of legislation and the recommendations of the various commissions in the various countries, see the judgment on appeal).*

The American Medical Association submitted recommendations according to which continuing consent is required, and it did not accept the view according to which consent at the time of fertilization only is sufficient (see: American Medical Association, Board of Trustees Report, JAMA, vol. 263, no. 18, 1990, at p. 2486).

In the surrogacy agreements that are common in the United States, among bodies that deal with them, there is a section that requires the consent of both spouses to implantation in the womb of the surrogate, and the signature of both of them on a surrogacy agreement. This was also the case with the agreement which was supposed to be signed by the Nahmani couple but which was never signed. In a judgment of the United States Federal Court

K.S. v. G.S. (1981) [50], the court expressed the opinion that once consent is given, it is deemed to continue; but the court further held that as soon as the consent is expressly terminated, the procedure cannot continue. The petitioner refers to the judgment in Kass v. Kass (1995) [51], (See New York Law Journal, 23 January 1995), where the written agreement between the parties was interpreted as providing for the continuation of the procedure in the event that the couple separated, and the court honoured this agreement

 

 

*             Ibid., at p. 503 {20}.

 

 

and gave it validity. Here there is no such agreement. Consequently, this decision has no bearing on our case.

In Israel, the issue has not been regulated in direct legislation. The Public Health (In-vitro Fertilization) Regulations, which I considered extensively in the judgment on appeal, require consent of the husband at all stages of the in- vitro fertilization.

The public commission established in Israel to examine the issue of in- vitro fertilization and to submit its recommendations, unanimously recommended that:

„… in the absence of joint and continuing consent, no  use should be made of the fertilized ova that were frozen until the end of the freezing period agreed by the spouses but consent that was given at the beginning of the treatment shall be deemed to continue as long as neither of the spouses revokes it in writing‟ (emphases supplied).

„The Commission considered the possibility that the genetic mother or the genetic father would have no other way of realizing genetic parenthood. But giving permission to have a child in such a situation, without joint consent, means forcing fatherhood or motherhood, both from the legal viewpoint and from the emotional viewpoint, in that there will be a child who is born without their consent. The commission was of the opinion that a man or woman should not be forced to be a father or mother against their will, even if they initially consented to this‟ (see the Report of the Professional Public Commission for Examining the Issue of In-vitro Fertilization (1994), 36).

On 7 March 1996, the Knesset passed the Surrogacy Agreements (Approval of Agreement and Status of the Child) Law. Section 2(1) of this law requires written consent between the surrogate mother and the parents availing themselves of her services. The conditions and the procedure for approving the agreement are set out in the law, which stipulates in section 5(c) that „the approvals committee may reconsider an approval that was given if the facts, circumstances or conditions that served as a basis for its decision have undergone a substantive change, as long as the fertilized ova have not been implanted in the surrogate mother in accordance with the surrogacy agreement‟ (emphasis supplied). The point of no return is the moment of implanting the ova. Until this point, the continuing consent of both partners to the procedure is required. This issue was expressly included on the agenda

 

 

of the Knesset Committee, when the first draft law contained the words „as long as the fertilization has not been carried out in accordance with the agreement, the committee may reconsider…‟ was changed in the law to „as long as the fertilized ova have not been implanted…‟ (see the discussions of the Knesset Labour and Social Affairs Committee on 9 Jan 1996, at p. 14, 17). The aforesaid approach derives from the basic ethical recognition that regards parenthood as a journey taken by two people together — a journey that can only begin by virtue of consent between them, and that can only continue by virtue of continuing consent between them.

25.          In all the countries that require the continuing consent of both spouses, the ova can be destroyed either by joint agreement of the couple or due to the passage of time. In Israel, too, the ova are destroyed after five years (regulation 9 of the Public Health (In-vitro Fertilization) Regulations), unless both spouses request an extension of the period. This is a result of the outlook that regards the consent of both spouses throughout as essential and imperative, and from the outlook that the ova are the „quasi-property‟ of the two owners of the genetic material and they do not have, in themselves, a

„status‟ worthy of protection (see also Gans, „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple‟, supra, at p. 86). Their status is pre-embryonic.  With regard to the status of the ova, as regarded in the western world, in Israel and in Jewish law, I can only refer to what I wrote in the judgment on appeal, and I will not expand on it.*

26.          My colleague Justice Tal sees support for his approach in Jewish law; but it is very questionable whether my colleague‟s position reflects  the approach of all aspects of Jewish law. „Even Jewish law, which imposes a commandment to be fruitful and multiply on the man, but not on the woman (Mishnah, Tractate Yevamot 6, 6 [61]), does not see fit to compel him if he does not fulfil his obligation. The refusal gives the woman a ground for divorce but not a ground for enforcement and coercion (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilechot Ishut (Laws of Marriage), 15, 5, [58]; Rabbi Yosef Karo, Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer, 154, 4 [60]). See the responsum of Rabbi S. Yisraeli, „On Consent and Retraction in Pregnancy and Birth by In- vitro Fertilization‟ in Encyclopaedia of Jewish Medical Law, Dr A. Steinberg ed., vol. 4, p. 28, 41 [62]; ibid., vol. 2, under „In-vitro fertilization‟, p. 115 [62], the responsum of Rabbi Shalom Shalush, „Fertilization in a Surrogate

 

 

 

 

*             Ibid., at p. 519-520 {44-47}.

 

 

Womb‟, Orchot, the magazine of the Haifa Religious Council, no. 39, p. 31 [63] (see also the judgment on appeal).*

Before I end  this opinion,  I would like to associate myself with the remarks of my colleagues Justices Or, Zamir and President Barak. I would also like to add some remarks with regard to what is stated in the opinions of some of my colleagues whose positions are different from mine, and which came to my attention after writing this opinion.

The right to life

27.          My colleagues, Justices Goldberg and Kedmi discussed the biological aspect of parenthood and the transfer of the genetic material from generation to generation. My colleague Justice Türkel granted Ruth Nahmani‟s wish by emphasizing the „right to life‟ and the enormous value of „human life‟. The

„value of life‟ and the „right to life‟ cannot be belittled, for we hold them to be amongst the most exalted and sacred rights, if not the most sacred right of all. But the fertilized ovum is not a living creature. The fertilized ovum is genetic material of both spouses in a pre-embryonic state, frozen soon after fertilization. It is composed of several separate cells, without any distinction between what will become a foetus and what will become a placenta. We are not dealing with preservation of existing life, but with advancing the potential for life. We are not speaking of preserving life that has been created, but with the creation of life ex nihilo. A society in which the individual is entitled to  plan his family and have children, a society  which does not compel someone to create life, not even as a moral injunction (except as a religious injunction), cannot force someone to create life against his will, in the name of the right to life. The creation of life is a totally separate issue from the preservation of existing life. Every enlightened society struggles with the question whether to create life at any cost. Medicine and technology allow for the creation of life by means that are becoming more and more removed from the natural means of creation it. The day may not be far off when it will be possible to replace the mother‟s womb with an artificial one that will carry the foetus and the whole process of creating life can take place in laboratories. The moral questions will continue to reverberate in the air and will become even more acute. Most of the states of the United States and most European countries that venerate the sanctity of life prohibit the creation of life by means of a surrogate mother, for moral, ethical, ideological,   sociological,   medical   and   other   reasons.  Various   bodies,

 

 

*             Ibid., at pp. 500, 506 {15, 24}.

 

 

including the „Israel Women‟s Network‟, regard surrogacy as immoral and encouraging a type of female slavery, which offers the womb for hire. The topic of in-vitro fertilization involves existential questions concerning the nature of life. One cannot find in the sacred and supreme value of life a reason or justification for forcing either of the spouses to create life by means of an in-vitro fertilization procedure; the consent of each of the spouses to the implanting of the frozen ova in the surrogate cannot be waived. The procedure cannot be continued without the consent of the two spouses that donated their genetic material. The sanctity of life has nothing to do with considerations for continuing the fertilization procedure, by coercion, at this early stage prior to the creation of life.

„Justice‟

28.          It is only natural that in the case before us, which has existential, emotional and normative human aspects, opinions are divided and there is no single solution. But recruiting „justice‟ for one view, thereby negating it from the opposing view, is to do an injustice to the opposing view, and possibly even to justice itself.

Man is commanded to pursue justice: „Justice, justice you shall pursue‟ (Deuteronomy 16, 20 [64]); the law strives to do „justice‟; but the difficult and paramount question has always been, what is „justice‟, what is its meaning, what are its characteristics, how is it defined and how is it attained. These questions have occupied the greatest scholars of the Bible, the Talmud, philosophy, literature, law and religion in all generations and cultures. Justice has many aspects and many facets: social, personal, political, national, economic, legal, etc.. Some see in human justice an attempt to imitate divine justice (imitatio Dei); some regard equality as the embodiment of justice. Others regard the dispensing of just law as compliance with the rules that fall within the scope of the „rules of natural justice‟.

The difficulty in defining and discovering justice is discussed by Justice Cohn, HaMishpat, supra, at p. 84:

„… Justice is not a science that can be discovered or defined: it is an attribute of the soul; and the fact that it is beautiful and humane, does not make it easier to define. It can be compared to the beauty of a Beethoven symphony or of a Gothic cathedral that one cannot prove… It is usually the case, for example, that each of the litigants who stands before a judge genuinely feels and believes that justice is on his side; the sense of justice of the

 

 

successful litigant is satisfied, whereas the sense of justice of the losing litigant is severely injured, and he is convinced that an injustice has been done to him… So it can be seen that the human sense of justice cannot serve as a yardstick for an objective party, in addition to the fact that it cannot even be defined or measured. Moreover, one cannot know, and one certainly cannot determine, whether one person‟s sense of justice is more reliable or trustworthy than that of another: from its subjective perspective, each of them is right, but even from an objective point of view, each of them may be right, or partially right.‟

Concerning the many and vague connotations of the term „justice‟, the scholar C.K. Allen says:

„Ever since men have begun to reflect upon their relations with one another and upon the vicissitudes of the human lot, they have been preoccupied with the meaning of justice… I choose at random a miscellany of the adjectives which, in my reading, I have found attached to different kinds of justice — distributive, synallgamatic, natural,  positive,  universal,  particular, written, unwritten, political, social, economic, commutative, recognitive, juridical, sub-juridical, constitutional, administrative, tributary, providential, educative, corporative, national, international, parental.

A very little ingenuity would extend the vocabulary indefinitely. There seems to be no end to this classification and sub- classification and its instructiveness is not always proportionate to its subtlety. There is a danger of the cadaver being so minutely dissected that little of its anatomy is left visible to normal sight‟ (C. K. Allen, Aspects of Justice, London, 1958, at pp. 3-4).

In recent decades, we find scholars that have given up trying to find an exhaustive and uniform definition of the nature of „justice‟. In this regard Ronald Dworkin says:

„In the end, however, political theory can make no contribution to how we govern ourselves except by struggling against all the impulses that drag us back into our own culture, toward generality and some reflective basis for deciding which of our

 

 

traditional distinctions and discriminations are genuine and which spurious, which contribute to the flourishing of the ideals we want, after reflection, to embrace, and which serve only to protect us from the personal costs of that demanding process. We cannot leave justice to convention and anecdote‟ (Ronald Dworkin, A Matter of Principle, Cambridge, 1985, at p. 219) (emphases supplied).

29.          „Justice‟ for one person may be „injustice‟ to another, or an „injustice‟ to society; the exercising of a right by one person may involve a violation of the right of another, which will prevent him from exercising his own right; every litigant believes that justice is on his side, and that feeling stays with him even when he has lost the case, and then he feels that he has suffered an

„injustice‟. Socio-economic „justice‟ in a certain society may be perceived as

„injustice‟ in another society. Is not the repair of a wrong to one person at the expense of another, merely because the first person was harmed and even if he has no right against the other, an „injustice‟ to the other? Is the granting of compensation to a person who was injured, without him having a cause of action to receive relief, by making another  person liable, because he is injured and the other person can pay, doing „justice‟? The law does not require a person who has promised marriage to fulfil his promise, and it does not compel him to do so. The relief granted is compensation. The law does not require a person to have children with his spouse even if he promised to do so and changed his mind. A person who breaks a promise causes disappointment and frustration to the other. His behaviour is not „just‟, but the law will not require him to keep his promise in the name of „justice‟. The law does not intervene when a woman aborts a foetus against the father‟s will: is that „just‟ to him? According to his feeling of frustration, unfairness and loss, it is not just; notwithstanding, the law will prevent the man from interfering and will protect another interest which it regards as preferable; autonomy over the body.

30.          The scholar Hare said that not only do people disagree as to the just solution to a particular problem, but it is possible that there is no completely

„just‟ solution to a particular problem:

„By this I mean not merely that people can disagree about the just solution to a particular dilemma, but that there may be no completely just solution‟ (R. M. Hare, Moral thinking, Oxford, 1981, at p. 158).

 

 

Doing justice in a trial cannot be fully expressed in a formula. It is a complex process of finding a balance between various factors, including equality. The scholar Dias says:

„Justice is not some “thing”, which can be captured in a formula once and for all; it is a process, a complex and shifting balance between many factors including equality. As Freidrich observed “Justice is never given, it is always a task to be achieved”.‟ (Dias, Jurisprudence, supra, at p. 66).

31.          Notwithstanding the difficulty in discovering and defining justice, the desire to do justice is an inner imperative of every judge. The exercising of judicial discretion constitutes an effort to achieve justice. The judge‟s subjective sense of justice guides his judicial discretion to achieve legal justice, which is an integral part of the law. In his aforementioned book, Cohn says at pp. 93-94:

„… One must not distinguish between the nature and purpose of the law and the „legal justice‟ in its application. We have already seen that people are different from one other, also in that each of them has his own sense of justice, and an individual sense of justice is, to some degree or other, a function of individual interests. Should every person exercise his own sense of justice and act accordingly, then I fear that the world would revert to utter chaos. By upholding the law, man makes his contribution towards the existence of the world… This is what we have said: if statute and the law is upheld, social justice will be done, and the purpose of this is merely to foster peace between men.

… Legal justice is always manifested in acts and omissions that comply with the norms that bind everyone and apply equally to everyone…‟ (emphases supplied).

He also says:

„Of the many meanings of justice, which we have already discussed, we have chosen very specific meanings in which we see “justice” that constitutes an integral part of the “law” as we have defined it. This “justice” is consistent, to a large degree, with what Pound termed “the philosophical, political and moral ideas” that — as we have seen — also in his opinion constitute an integral part of the law.‟ (H. H. Cohn, HaMishpat, supra, at p. 83; emphasis supplied).

 

 

32.          Justice, as an abstract concept, is neutral in our case. A finding in favour of Daniel Nahmani is doing an „injustice‟ to Ruth Nahmani, and a finding in her favour is doing an „injustice‟ to him. We must seek „justice‟ that is consistent with the „philosophical, political and moral ideas‟ that are an integral part of the law.

My decision in the matter before us, that the implantation process should not proceed without Daniel‟s consent, is a decision of justice in law. It is not a random or partisan decision. It is not an intuitive decision based merely on subjective feelings and an inner voice. It is a decision based on the values of justice of the legal system, which are incorporated in it and are its very essence: the rights of the individual, personal autonomy, relationships between spouses in the field of fertility, the result of a joint decision which requires two people to carry it out, the establishment refraining from forcing parenthood on someone, the need for cooperation and consent between spouses on a subject hidden in the recesses of the human soul and inherent in the delicate fabric of intimacy and parenthood. The decision that I have reached is the result of a process of various balances between values, rights and desires that conflict with one other. It represents — to the best of my understanding and feeling — the dispensing of legal justice, in its complete and coherent sense. Loyalty to the basic norms, to the fundamental principles of the legal system, to basic human rights, to the liberties of the individual and equality in exercising and realizing these rights and applying the law in its wider sense, will ensure that a just trial that is normative, ethical, principled and worthwhile. „Gut feelings‟ or „subjective feelings‟ are likely to lead us on the path of granting a right to someone who does not have one and forcing the will of one person — by means of the law — on another, so that duties that he does not have will be imposed on him, and this coercion constitutes a violation of his basic rights, which we are mandated to safeguard. All of the aforesaid emphasizes the difficulty inherent in attaching the label of „justice‟ to one of the two possible solutions.

Conclusion

33.          I am aware of Ruth‟s distress and frustration, of which I have been mindful throughout. I am aware that Ruth‟s harm from the non-realization of her parenthood is greater than Daniel‟s harm if parenthood is imposed on him: Ruth‟s contribution to the fertilization involved suffering and effort beyond those involved in Daniel‟s contribution; Daniel left the home, established a new family, achieved parenthood, while for Ruth this is apparently the last chance to realize biological motherhood. Daniel should be

 

 

mindful of this balance and consider whether as a result he ought to consent to allow Ruth to try to realize her aspiration. No-one can, or should, consent in his stead, and he should not be forced to consent by means of a judicial order that will replace his consent. Such a balance does not replace the required consent, and it does not create a legal right capable of judicial enforcement. Such a balance cannot avail us when a right is a liberty without a corresponding duty and when there is no basis for establishing a right to force parenthood on someone against his will.

34.          In summary of my position I will say that, in my opinion, a person has the liberty to be a parent and thereby fulfil a basic human yearning, but he does not have a right that imposes on another a duty to make him a parent, and to make himself a parent. In the absence of mutual consent to bring a child into the world, the right to be a parent — as part of the right of self- realization — cannot limit the autonomy given to another person and the freedom of choice given to him to direct and plan his life. Two people are needed to bring a child into the world, and this implies a need for continuing consent of both of them to achieve this purpose. Without joint consent, a person should not be obliged to continue a procedure that is likely to result in an unwanted parenthood. Consent to begin a procedure of  in-vitro fertilization within the framework of a main agreement for a joint life and joint parenthood cannot be considered sufficient consent or continuing consent, and even if it can be considered as such, each party is entitled to retract it when there is such a drastic change of circumstances as in our case. Consent is required for each stage up to the point of no return, which is the implantation of the ova in the woman‟s body. In the absence of such consent, Daniel cannot be compelled to consent to Ruth‟s aspiration. Daniel did not agreed to bring a child into the world in all conditions, circumstances and frameworks. He made no such promise, made no such representation, and when the framework within which the original consent of the two spouses operated fell apart, the procedure cannot be continued without obtaining Daniel‟s consent or by ignoring his refusal to consent to the continuation of the procedure. Parenthood cannot be forced upon him against his will by means of a judicial order, neither in the name of the law, nor in the name of justice nor in the name of life.

Therefore my opinion remains as before, that the petition should be denied.

 

 

 

Justice Ts. E. Tal

The case of the Nahmani couple is again placed before this court for its decision, pursuant to the decision of President Shamgar, who ruled that a further hearing should be held on the judgment of the Supreme Court in CA 5587/93.*

Let us briefly review the main facts and proceedings of the Nahmani case. The couple married in 1984, and after three years the wife was compelled to undergo a hysterectomy. In 1988 the couple decided to try and have a child by means of in-vitro fertilization of the wife‟s ova with the husband‟s sperm, and implantation of the fertilized genetic material in the womb of a surrogate. Surrogacy was not permitted in Israel at that time, and so they decided to carry out the fertilization stage in Israel and implantation in the United States at a surrogacy centre there. After the fertilization took place, but before the implantation stage was carried out, disputes arose between the couple. The husband left home and went to live with another woman, who became pregnant and bore him a child.

The wife applied to Assuta Hospital, where the fertilized ova were deposited in cold storage, and she asked to receive it in order to carry out the implantation. The hospital refused, because of the husband‟s objection, both in a letter to the hospital and in a letter to the surrogacy centre in the United States. The wife applied to the Haifa District Court, where his honour Justice

H. Ariel ruled that she was entitled to receive the fertilized ova.† Among the

reasons given by the judge, a central role was given to the consent between the spouses, and to the fact that the husband could not withdraw his consent. The husband filed an appeal on the judgment, and the appeal was allowed by majority opinion.

I have once again studied the matter, as well as the remarks of my colleagues both in the appeal and in this proceeding, and I have not changed my opinion,  which was the minority opinion  in  the aforementioned  CA 5587/93.

My opinion was based on the principle that we do not listen to a man who wants to terminate a pregnancy, even when the pregnancy was obtained by deception and fraud, because we do not interfere with a woman‟s body

 

 

*             IsrSC 49(1) 485; [1995-6] IsrLR 1.

†             IsrDC 5754(1) 142.

 

 

against her will. Similarly, a man should not be heard with regard to termination of a fertilization procedure, when such a termination — retroactively — makes the interference in the woman‟s body futile, and her dignity and modesty are violated. Also, the man is estopped from withdrawing his consent, by virtue of the principle of reasonable reliance, when the woman has adversely and irrevocably changed her position. As explained there, estoppel by virtue of reliance is no longer merely a defence argument, but also constitutes a cause of action and a ground for enforcement.

I reaffirm what I wrote there, and I would like to add a few remarks. We do not have any provision in the law according to which we can solve the dispute before us. Even the Surrogacy Agreements (Approval of Agreement and Status of the Child) Law, which recently came into force, contains no provision that regulates a situation like the one before us. The silence of the legislator can be interpreted in several ways. See BAA 663/90 A v. Bar Association Tel-Aviv District Committee [6], at p. 404; HCJ 4267/93, Amitai — Citizens for Good Government v. Prime Minister [7], at p. 457.

It cannot be said that the silence of legislation amounts to a negative arrangement. The issue is too important, problematic and complex for an arrangement to be derived from silence.

It would seem that the silence of statute derives from the disparity that always exists between the rate of development in the fields of science and technology, and the ability of the law to absorb these changes and embody them in legislation. The Supreme Court of Australia described this disparity in Mount Isa Mines Ltd v. Pusey (1970) [46]:

„Law, marching with medicine, but in the rear and limping a little.‟

The law is silent in our case because it is „limping behind medicine‟, and consequently we have before us a field of medical law that has not yet been regulated by the legislator.

Development of the law

A lacuna in the law imposes on the court the duty to develop the law in order to provide a response to cases brought before it. It may not sit idly, as if it were better not to take any positive action. See in this regard J.C. Gray, The Nature and Sources of the Law, New York, 2nd edition, 1948, at p. 302:

 

 

„When a case comes before a court for decision, it may be that nothing can be drawn from the sources heretofore mentioned; there may be no statute, no judicial precedent, no professional opinion, no custom, bearing on the question involved, and yet the court must decide the case somehow; the decision of cases is what courts are for… And I do not know of any system of Law where a judge is held to be justified in refusing to pass upon a controversy because there is no person or book or custom to tell him how to decide it. He must find out for himself; he must determine what the Law ought to be; he must have recourse to the principles of morality.‟

In what manner and with what tools should we develop the law? Prof. Barak distinguishes between different types of legal creation, and in our case, it is important to distinguish between the following two: filling a lacuna and developing the law. In his article, „Types of Legal Creation: Interpretation, Filling a Lacuna and Development of the Law‟, 39 Hapraklit, (1990) 267, 269-270, he said the following:

„The second way in which a judge determines the law is by filling a lacuna… a lacuna exists where a legal norm or legal arrangement is incomplete, and this incompleteness conflicts with the purpose of the norm or the purpose of the arrangement. Just as there exists a gap in a stone wall, where the builder forgot to put in one of the stones needed to complete the wall…

The third way in which a judge determines the law is by developing the law… central to this is the judge‟s activity as a creator of a new legal norm, which is required by the needs of life, other than by interpreting an existing normative text, or creating a new normative text in order to fill a lacuna in an existing normative text.‟

Prof. Barak repeated these remarks in his book Interpretation in Law, vol. 1, The General Theory of Interpretation, Nevo, 1992, at p. 609, where he says:

„Development of the law is a judicial activity, in which framework the judge creates a new norm or declares an existing norm to be invalid… this activity is based on the need to adapt the law to the reality of life. Legal institutions and arrangements,

 

 

which served society in the past, may no longer be consistent with the needs of the present and the future.‟

According to this distinction, the case before us belongs to the field of development of the law, and not the field of filling a lacuna, since there is no defective or inadequate norm before us. Because of the rate at which life has developed, the legislator has not yet addressed all of the questions in the field of fertilization and genetics, and therefore we must create a proper norm to apply to the case before us.

In doing so, we must: a) consider the conflicting interests; b) determine the legitimate expectations of both parties; c) weigh up the proper legal policy considerations.

The conflicting interests

There are two main rights competing with one another: the right to be a parent and the right not to be a parent. However, since there is no provision in the law that applies to the case, it would be more precise to say the interest in being a parent and the interest in not being a parent. What is the nature of these interests? The interest in being a parent is one of the most basic aspirations of man, and needs no explanation. In CA 488/77 A v. Attorney- General [8], at p. 441, it was said:

„In general, a person has no more precious possession than the emotional bond between parents and their natural child, in which they see the fruit of their love, their own flesh and bone, and the succeeding generation that bears their genes.‟

And in CA 451/88 A v. State of Israel [2], at p. 337, it was said:

„The right to parenthood is a basic human right to which everyone is entitled…‟

The Supreme Court of the United States, in Skinner v. Oklahoma (1942) [52], considered the question whether the right to parenthood is a protected constitutional right, and it concluded that the right to parenthood is „one of the basic civil rights of man‟ and that this right is „fundamental to the very existence and survival of the race‟ (ibid., at p. 541).

Against this existential interest lies the opposite interest, not to be a parent, or, to be more precise, not to be a parent against one‟s will. When we come to balance these conflicting interests, we should remember that despite the symmetrical forms of speech, „to be a parent‟ and „not to be a parent‟, these interests are not equal. The interest in parenthood constitutes a basic

 

 

and existential value both for the individual and for the whole of society. On the other hand, there is no inherent value in non-parenthood. The value that is protected in the interest of non-parenthood is the value of privacy, namely the freedom and right of the individual not to suffer interference in his intimate decisions. See in this regard the article of Dr Barak-Erez, „On Symmetry and Neutrality: Reflections on the Nahmani Case‟, supra, at pp. 198-200:

„It is not at all clear whether the right to be a parent and the right not to be a parent should be discussed on the same level merely because they are prima facie symmetrical. In other words, we cannot assume the existence of symmetry between the two rights just because they hold two ends of the cord of parenthood.

As a rule, the right to “something” and the right to “nothing” are not always equal. Is the right to life entirely equivalent to the right to die? Indeed, a moral position whereby every person has a right to live and a right to die, and the two of these are rights of equal weight, is possible. Whoever accepts this outlook will support full recognition of realizing the right to die, even by means of active “euthanasia”. But another, asymmetrical, position is possible. Thus, for instance, the “equivalent” approach to life and death has been rejected in Jewish thought. From CA 506/88 Shefer v. State of Israel we can see the approach of the court that the right to life has a higher status, and therefore, at most, it is possible to recognize passive “euthanasia” (in certain circumstances). In other words, the something and the nothing are not always of equal weight.

… Even were we to regard the right to parenthood and the right not to be a parent merely as derivatives of the autonomy of the will, there would not necessarily be symmetry between them. We do not respect every desire, and not every desire should be respected to the same extent. Moreover, the main criticism is directed against the narrow view of the judgment regarding the right to  parenthood.  Is it correct to  see in it a right that is “derived from the right to self-realization, liberty and dignity”? Is that all that it involves? In my opinion, we can find many other facets to it. The right to be a parent is an independent right, and not just an expression of the autonomy of the private will. Realizing the option of parenthood is not merely a possible way

 

 

of life, but it is rooted in human existence. There are some who will regard it as cure for loneliness; others will use it to deal with the thought of death. Indeed, the choice of refraining from parenthood is a possible way of life, which society and the law must respect. However the choice of parenthood is not just a decision concerning a way of life; it has much greater significance for human existence. It expresses a basic existential need. Moreover, the decision to become a parent also has an element of self-realization, particularly in modern society, which emphasizes self-realization as a value. But the right to parenthood does not derive only from self-realization. The right to life is an independent basic right, and it is not a derivative of the autonomy of the will; the same is true of the right to parenthood. From this perspective, the symmetry created by the judgment between the right to parenthood and a decision (legitimate, in itself) not to be a parent (as an expression of personal freedom) is undermined, or at least requires further consideration.‟

Let us turn to our case. First, we are not speaking of forced parenthood. We are speaking of a person who gave his consent to parenthood, but who wants his consent to be required also during the continuation of the procedure. The interest of society in non-forced parenthood does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that his consent is required over an extended period. The interest in preventing parenthood against a person‟s will is satisfied by requiring a one-time irrevocable consent.

Secondly, for the woman, it can be assumed that that this is her only possibility of realizing her parenthood.

The cumulative weight of these two factors leads to a clear conclusion that the interest of being a parent takes precedence. We can reach the same conclusion by comparing the damage that is likely to be caused by denying the rights. If you take parenthood away from someone, it is as if you have taken away his life. In the Bible we find the desperate cry of our ancestress Rachel, „Give me children, else I die‟ (Genesis 30, 1 [65]). Similarly, from the teachings of the Rabbis we learn that „whoever has no children is considered as a dead person‟ (Bereishit Rabba 79, 9 on Genesis [66]). Similarly, they interpreted the verse in Jeremiah 22, 10 [68]: „“Do not weep for the dead, nor bemoan him; weep indeed for him who goes” — Rabbi Yehuda  said:  for  him  who  goes  without  children‟ (Babylonian  Talmud,

 

 

Tractate Moed Katan 27b [69]). By contrast, denying the interest of non- parenthood amounts to no more than imposing burdens that may not be desirable to that person. Without belittling the weight of these burdens, they are not equivalent to „taking the life‟ of the spouse.

Even in Davis v. Davis [47] the court decided in favour of the husband‟s position, only because at that stage the wife was not asking for the fertilized genetic material for herself, but for another woman. The court said there that had the wife wanted the fertilized material for herself, and had the situation been such that she had no alternative for realizing her right to motherhood, the court inclined to the opinion that the wife‟s right to motherhood should take precedence over the husband‟s right not to become a father.

In summary of this point, I will say that the woman‟s interest in motherhood is greater, and overrides the man‟s opposite interest.

The legitimate expectations of the parties

One of the tasks of a judge, when engaging in judicial legislation, is to realize the legitimate expectations of the parties. When we say „legitimate‟, we do not mean expectations embodied in the law, for if there were a statute or precedent in our case, we would not need to resort to judicial legislation;

„legitimate‟, in the sense of expectations that merit protection according to the system of values accepted by society.

The importance of this task was discussed by Prof. Barak in his article

„Judicial Legislation‟, 13 Mishpatim, 1983, 25, at p. 71:

„…We should refrain… from choosing that option that harms reasonable expectations. The reasons for this are many. Harm to a reasonable expectation harms the sense of justice, disrupts proper social life, harms the public‟s faith in the law, and denies any possibility of planning behaviour.‟

Realization of the parties‟ expectations is important in every sphere of judicial legislation, but it has special importance in our case. The development of fertilization and reproduction techniques requires the law to recognize the importance of the emotional aspect of the persons involved in these techniques. See in this respect A. E. Stumpf, „Redefining Mother: A Legal Matrix For New Reproductive Technologies‟, 96 Yale L. J. (1986-7), 187.

The case before us concerns two spouses who travelled a long distance in each other‟s company. It is true that one cannot know with certainty what the

 

 

spouses originally thought about a situation in which they might separate. But this uncertainty is not characteristic merely of  family  law. The law reconstructs a person‟s intentions in two ways; presumed intention and imputed intention: presumed intention, according to experience of life and common sense, and according to the special circumstances of each case; imputed intention, when there is no way of assessing the presumed intention of the parties, and the law — for its own purposes — attributes to someone an intention without his knowledge, and maybe even against his will.

Our case involves a woman who underwent gynaecological surgery and was forced to undergo complex, invasive and painful procedures in order to extract the ova, in the knowledge that this was almost certainly her last opportunity to bring a child of her own into the world. It is difficult to assume that she would have agreed to undergo these treatments in the knowledge that her husband could change his mind at any time that he wished. It is inconceivable that someone should agree that her last and only glimmer of hope should be dependent on the whim of her spouse, who might change his mind at any time.

It can therefore be said that the presumed intention of the woman was that a change of mind on the part of the man would not affect the procedure that had been begun.

And what is the husband‟s position? He was required at the outset to make a decision to agree to fertilize the ova with his sperm. Can it be presumed that he would have refrained from this had he known that he could not subsequently change his mind? Not necessarily. Husbands do not refrain from having sexual relations merely because their wishes will not be consulted later with regard to an abortion (following CA 413/80 A v. B [9]).

It therefore seems to me that we should assume that the presumed intention of both parties in this case was that neither party has a right to stop the continuation of the procedure.

With regard to „imputed‟ intention, an intention can be imputed for considerations of justice or considerations of policy. The considerations of justice have already been set out above, and we will mention them briefly. Giving a right to the husband to destroy the ova (or to prevent their use — which is the same thing) will deprive the woman of her only chance of having a child, while he has had children by another woman. On the other hand, giving the wife the ability to continue the procedure will impose on him undesired burdens. There is no basis whatsoever for comparing these

 

 

evils. Moreover, we are speaking of a man who gave his consent, and in reliance on this the woman consented to interference in her body and painful treatments, and also adversely and irrevocably changed her position. She did so by relying on a representation that the procedure would continue; thus the criteria for „promissory estoppel‟ were met, as I explained in CA 5587/93.* Now, after all of this, the husband wants to change his mind. Of cases such as this, it is said that „whoever changes course has the disadvantage‟. And when we consider whether to impute to the husband an intention that he could change his mind whenever he wanted, it seems to me undesirable to do so.

Another of the considerations of justice is that neither party should be given an unfair advantage. Saying that, in the absence of express consent, either party may change his mind whenever he wishes, disturbs the equilibrium and equality  between the parties. A need for the continuing consent of both spouses throughout the procedure gives the party wanting the procedure to be stopped a right of veto over the other party. This right leaves the party that wants to continue the procedure entirely at the mercy of the other party, who may consent and change his mind a moment later. This result is unacceptable. Instead, it should be held that in the absence of explicit consent with regard to a case of separation, an intention should be imputed to the parties that no party can change his mind.

In this matter also let us turn to the legal literature concerning Davis v.

Davis [47] for the purpose of comparison and inspiration.

The consideration that the party uninterested in implantation should not be given „control‟ over the other party was discussed in detail in the article of

A.            R. Panitch, „The Davis Dilemma; How to Prevent Battles Over Frozen Preembryos‟, 41 Case W. Res. L. Rev. (1991) 543, 572-573.

„One approach would be to require mutual spousal consent as a prerequisite to implantation of all preembryos created through IVF. This approach would require obtaining consent twice from each spouse — once when the IVF procedure is initiated and again before each implantation.

This rule would also have disadvantages, however. Most significantly it would grant tremendous power to one spouse over the other. It would mean that even though both spouses

 

 

*             Ibid..

 

 

initially consented to having a child through IVF, neither could proceed with certainty that the other would not truncate the process. Such an outcome would surely  frustrate the spouse seeking implantation, who will have invested large financial expense, time, energy, and, in the wife‟s case, physical pain. The required second consent for implantation could become a tool for manipulation and abuse between spouses, especially under circumstances of a pending divorce. Any spouse ultimately denied the chance to have a child through IVF would probably suffer considerable emotional stress‟ (emphases supplied).

After the author considers the advantages and disadvantages of this approach, she reaches the conclusion that the consent given at the time of fertilization should be sufficient, on the basis of the laws of estoppel:

„Fairness considerations require a determination of whether it would be more equitable to allow the spouse who wants to prevent the possibility of a birth to prevail, or instead to allow the spouse who wants to continue the process of procreation to prevail. One fact is of vital importance in making this judgment; the spouse who opposes implantation wanted a child at one time and submitted to the IVF process with that end in mind. The two spouses once agreed on this issue and initiated the IVF procedure in reliance on that mutual wish. Given this background, the greater injustice would be to deny implantation to the spouse who detrimentally relied on the other‟s words and conduct.

Protection against this sort of injustice is recognized by the well established doctrine of estoppel…

The elements of estoppel are satisfied in a dispute such as Davis. The knowing action of the objecting spouse is the undertaking of IVF for the purpose of producing a child. The prejudice to the other spouse consists of money, time and the psychological commitment necessarily expended in pursuing the full procedure. The injury would include not only the time and money spent, but also the last opportunity to have a child‟ (at pp. 574-575; emphases supplied).

 

 

See also B. L. Henderson, „Achieving Consistent Disposition of Frozen Embryos in Marital Dissolution under Florida Law‟, 17 Nova L. Rev. (1992) 549.

The conclusion arising from all of the aforesaid is that in the absence of an express stipulation between the parties concerning the fate of the ova in a case of separation, it should be presumed that their intention was that one party would be unable to stop the procedure against the will of the party interested in the implantation. And if their intention cannot be presumed, this intention should be imputed to them. According to weighty considerations of justice, the right of reliance and legitimate expectations, these expectations should be fulfilled without the need for continuing consent in order to continue the procedure once the fertilization was carried out by consent.

Policy considerations

Besides the abovementioned considerations, there are additional policy considerations according to which it should be held that consent of the parties only at the time of fertilization is sufficient.

First, legal stability and legal certainty demand that the period of time during which the consent of the parties is required should be reduced to a minimum. Apart from the two spouses, additional parties and bodies are involved in the procedure, including the surrogate mother and the medical institution. Allowing the possibility of unilateral cancellation is likely to increase the number of cases in which there are fluctuations and reversals, and it will make it more difficult to carry out the procedure.

This consideration has been mentioned in the context of adoption, and it was said that the court should restrict the number of cases where parents are allowed to withdraw their consent. In CA 623/80 A v. Attorney-General [10], at p. 77, Justice Shamgar said:

„… The results of the described approach, as established in Israel, are also dictated by logic and life experience: it will be very difficult to complete the adoption of a minor if,  even though the parents gave their consent, it would be necessary to fear or expect, each morning of the months that necessarily pass between the parents giving their consent and the granting of the adoption order, that perhaps the natural parents will suddenly change their minds, of their own initiative or through the influence of others, whatever their considerations or reasons may be.‟

 

 

Another consideration is that we should seek for an arrangement that will encourage couples that are unable to conceive naturally, to make use of methods of artificial insemination, and we should refrain from an arrangement that is likely to deter and prevent couples from using such methods. The determination that each party can change his mind whenever he so desires will certainly serve as a deterrent. This is true of both spouses, but especially of the woman who must undergo long and complex treatments. This is especially so when, as in the case before us, a single and last opportunity is involved.

On the other hand, there is no reason to believe that a determination that consent at the time of fertilization is irreversible will serve as a deterrent. The couple will consider all the factors before carrying out the fertilization, in the knowledge that they are irrevocably bound by their consent, unless the change of heart is a joint one. We have already pointed out above that the inability of husbands to demand that their wives have abortions does not constitute a deterrent to starting the process.

Considerations of proper legal policy, together with the ethical considerations and considerations of justice enumerated above, all combine to point to a clear and unequivocal conclusion: we should reaffirm the result reached by the District Court, and order the hospital to allow the woman to carry out the continuation of the treatment required for the purpose of surrogacy.

The right to abort

We can compare the question in this case to a similar issue, namely the issue of abortions.

The right of the woman, in certain circumstances, to abort a pregnancy is recognized in our legal system, even though there is public debate as to the grounds that justify an abortion, as reflected in statute (see chapter 10, article 2, of the Penal Law, 5737-1977). Exercising this right may harm the interests of the man; notwithstanding, it has been established that there is no need for his consent, and he even does not have any standing before the „abortions committee‟ under section 316(a) of the Penal Law (see CA 413/80 A v. B [9]).

In an article devoted to our case, Prof. Chaim Gans sought to reach the conclusion that:

„I said, that if women have the right to abort at the beginning of their pregnancy on the basis of their right to control their lives, Daniel Nahmani ought to have a right to stop the proceedings

 

 

leading to surrogacy of the ova impregnated with his sperm. Since I have shown that women have such a right, Nahmani also has such a right‟ (Gans, „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple‟, supra, at p. 91).

However, the conclusion reached by Gans does not stand up to scrutiny. The preference that the law gives to the woman to decide about an abortion, while discriminating against the man and despite his objection, derives solely from the fact that we are speaking of a decision concerning her body. The woman alone carries the embryo, and therefore the decision to abort is hers alone. The symmetrical analogy regarding a similar right for the man is merely an imaginary and spurious analogy.

In an article that was published after the decision in Roe v. Wade (1973) [53], which developed the right of abortion, it was said that:

„Allowing women the exclusive right to decide whether the child should be born may discriminate against men, but at some point the law must recognize that there are differences between men  and  women,  and   must   reflect   those   differences‟ (R. A. Gilbert, „Abortion: The Father‟s Rights‟, 24 Cin. L. Rev. (1973) 443).

Indeed, the Supreme Court of the United States so held in Planned Parenthood v. Danforth (1976) [54], at p. 71:

„We recognize, of course, that when a woman, with the approval of her physician, but without the approval of her husband, decides to terminate her pregnancy, it could be said that she is acting unilaterally. The obvious fact is that when the wife and the husband disagree on this decision, the view of only one of the two marriage partners can prevail. Inasmuch as it is the woman who physically bears the child and who is the more directly and immediately affected by the pregnancy, as between the two, the balance weighs in her favor‟ (emphasis supplied).

Even under our law the principle that the husband has no right to oppose the abortion derives from the same reasons. The learned Prof. Shifman summarized the matter as follows:

„The main emphasis on the woman‟s right to control her body has led to the man having no standing in decisions regarding the termination of pregnancy. Thus it has been held in Israel, following similar rulings in the United States and Britain, that

 

 

the man is not entitled to prevent the woman from terminating her pregnancy, just as he is not entitled to demand that she abort if she wishes to continue the pregnancy. The woman‟s decision to terminate her pregnancy may harm the man‟s expectations of being a father, i.e., of the birth of a child originating in their joint genetic material, whose creation was, perhaps, the result of their joint decision. If the man is married to the woman, the woman‟s decision to abort might constitute a breach of legitimate expectations created by the marriage, which is conceived as a framework whose purposes include the bringing of children into the world.

Nonetheless, these considerations do not give the man, even if he is married to the woman, a right equal to hers in making the decision concerning termination of the pregnancy. The woman‟s preference derives from her interests in control over her body. These interests give her absolute discretion whether to initiate a termination of a pregnancy or not‟ (Shifman, Family Law in Israel, vol. 2, at p. 213).

It follows that, were it not for the decisive factor — the embryo being part of the woman‟s body, or in the words of the Rabbis: „An embryo is an organic part of its mother‟ — the woman would not have a right to destroy the embryo against the wishes of her spouse. Therefore, the logical conclusion from the laws of abortion is the opposite of the one that Gans sought to deduce. When not speaking of interference in her body, the woman is not entitled to destroy the embryo without her spouse‟s consent; in exactly the same way, the man is not entitled to destroy the ova against the woman‟s wishes (and is not preventing the use of them the same as destroying them?).

We should decide that the husband is not entitled to destroy the ova against the wife‟s wishes. On the contrary, the wife is entitled to continue the implantation procedure, notwithstanding the husband‟s opposition.

Equality

A substantial part of the majority opinion in CA 5587/93,* the subject of this hearing, was devoted to the principle of equality between the sexes. This is a fundamental legal principle, and therefore we must consider whether the solution proposed here stands up to the test of equality. In other words, do the

 

 

 

*             Ibid..

 

 

considerations and principles proposed hitherto remain unchanged in the opposite case, where the woman is the one who wishes to destroy the fertilized genetic material, and the husband is the one who wishes to continue the implantation process in the womb of a surrogate mother?

Admittedly, there was someone who argued that the advantage that the law gives the woman in the laws of abortion also exists in disputes over the fate of fertilized ova. However, as has been explained above, this position cannot be accepted. The woman‟s advantage in the laws of abortion derives solely from the fact that the embryo is a „part of its mother‟, and where this factor does not exist, there is no reason to depart from the principle of equality.

The answer to our question is clear and unequivocal. In the „opposite‟ case, when the man wishes to continue the procedure by means of another surrogate mother, the woman cannot object. The same considerations apply to the same extent, and it should be held that consent given at the time of fertilization is sufficient, and therefore the husband is entitled to continue the procedure even against the wife‟s wishes, and it need not be said, when this is his only opportunity to bring children into the world. The considerations of justice and proper legal policy then work in favour of the husband:

„There are several forms which a disagreement between progenitors could take. The woman may want the embryo to be brought to term, and the man may want the embryo terminated. In that case, it would seem appropriate for the woman to be allowed to gestate the embryo. The Supreme Court‟s abortion and contraception decisions have indicated that the right of procreation is the right of an individual which does not require the agreement of the individual‟s partner. In particular, the woman has been held to have a right to abort without the husband‟s consent and the right not to abort over the wish of the husband that she abort.

But what if the positions were reversed and the woman wished to terminate the embryo and her male partner wished to have it brought to term? When an embryo conceived naturally is developing within a woman during the first two trimesters, it is clear that the woman‟s decision whether or not to terminate it takes precedence over the desires of the man who provided the sperm… it is at least arguable that the man‟s wishes should be honored when the embryo‟s continued existence need not be

 

 

balanced against the physical and psychological needs of the woman carrying it. The man clearly would not have the right to force the female progenitor to gestate the embryo, but there seems to be no reason not to give him custody of the embryo for gestation in a surrogate mother‟ (L. B. Andrews, „The Legal Status of the Embryo‟, 32 Loy. L. Rev. (1986-87) 357, 406-407).

It follows that the proposed solution stands up to the test of equality and does not discriminate at all between the sexes. On the contrary, it limits the discrimination between the sexes in the laws of abortion merely to those cases where it is relevant, i.e., where the woman‟s autonomy over her body is concerned. But in the field of in-vitro fertilization absolute equality should be applied, and it should be held that the party interested in the implantation of the ova is entitled to do this, notwithstanding the opposition of the spouse.

Jewish heritage

There is no doubt that the fundamental principles of our legal system, according to the Foundations of Justice Law, 5740-1980, include Jewish heritage (see A. Barak, Interpretation in Law, vol. 1, The General Theory of Interpretation supra, at p. 616). Notwithstanding his criticism of the Foundations of Justice Law, Prof. Barak says that the arrangement prescribed therein is preferable to the arrangement that preceded the statute. In his words, „an arrangement that refers to Jewish heritage, which is our heritage, is preferable to an arrangement that refers to a foreign heritage‟ (ibid.).

It should be pointed out that reference to Jewish heritage comes after defining the legal question that requires decision, and the inspiration comes within the framework of this question. In our case, we have defined the question as follows: how should we balance between the value of parenthood and the value of non-parenthood?

Our heritage regards parenthood and having children as one of the highest values. In the Bible, we see that man was blessed:

„And God blessed them and God said to them: be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it…‟ (Genesis 1, 28 [65]).

This value is emphasized many times in the sayings of the Rabbis, and we will limit ourselves to one reference from the Mishnah (Gittin 4, 5 [69]): „The world was created only for being fruitful and multiplying, as it is said (Isaiah 45, 18): “He did not create it empty, he made it to be inhabited”.‟

 

 

It need not be said that non-parenthood is not one of the values of Jewish heritage. On the contrary, we find among the sayings of the Rabbis that:

„It has been taught: Rabbi Eliezer says: whoever does not engage in the commandment of being fruitful and multiplying is as if he spills blood‟ (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Yevamot 63b [70]).

The Rabbis also explained in the Talmud (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot 10a [71]), with regard to Isaiah‟s prophecy to King Hezekiah (II Kings 20, 1 [72]): „Give instructions to your house for you are dying and you shall not live‟ that he would die in this world, and he would not have life in the world to come, because he had not engaged in the commandment of being fruitful and multiplying.

In relations between spouses, Jewish law holds that the husband has an obligation to his wife, to help her bring children in to the world. Admittedly, this obligation is not enforceable, but a lack of enforcement is not relevant in our case, since the question of enforcement does not arise at all. The husband is liable to help, and he most certainly is not permitted to sabotage the process. In the judgment in CA 5587/93,* I cited the source for the existence of this obligation, which is in the Talmud (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Yevamot 65b [70]), to which I refer.

Conclusion

The outcome of this case stems from its beginning. In his decision to hold a further hearing, President Shamgar said that:

„I think, with all due respect, that the questions that arose in Civil Appeal 5587/93 were examined thoroughly, comprehensively and in an illuminating manner, both in the majority opinion and the minority opinion. But the matter is novel and original, and without doubt of special importance in our world which is changing its appearance from a scientific and social perspective.‟

Now, after considering the issues in breadth and depth, it can be seen that the „novelty‟ of the matter did indeed justify a further hearing. It is the nature of a novel and original issue that one cannot understand it fully without revision and additional study.

 

 

 

*             Ibid..

 

 

After such study, I have reached the conclusion that ideally decisions concerning fertilized ova should be made by both spouses and with the consent of both. However, where there is no consent between the parties, as in the case before us, the spouse wishing to continue with the implantation procedure should be allowed to do so, notwithstanding the opposition of the other spouse.

 

Justice D. Dorner

1.            In this dispute between Ruth Nahmani (hereafter — the wife) and her husband Daniel Nahmani (hereafter — the husband) over the fate of their joint genetic material — the fertilized ova — the wife‟s right, in my opinion, take precedence.

The facts

2.            The couple married about twelve years ago. Like most couples, they wanted children. But the wife contracted a dangerous illness, and she was compelled to undergo a hysterectomy. Nevertheless, the couple did not give up their hope of children, and they decided to try in-vitro fertilization. The wife agreed that during the surgery to remove her womb, the surgeon would not harm her ovaries, and he would move them aside in such a way that they would not be damaged by the radiation that was to follow. By doing this, the wife — who fully consulted her husband in her decision — endangered her health.

The surgery was successful. The couple began to search for a „surrogate‟ mother in whom the ova, which would be taken from the wife and fertilized with the husband‟s sperm, could be implanted. But this search failed. The couple discovered that in view of the Public Health (In-vitro Fertilization) Regulations, 5747-1987, it was prohibited to implant fertilized ova in the womb of a „surrogate‟. For lack of any other option, the couple decided to carry out the whole procedure in the United States. For this purpose they flew to the United States and even succeeded, with considerable effort, in raising approximately 30,000 dollars. However, they soon discovered that this amount fell far short of the amount required. This economic obstacle left them with only one possibility. The couple began a legal battle. Their plan was that the fertilization should take place in Israel, whereas the implantation and „surrogacy‟ stages should take place in the United States. When they tried to carry out their plan, Assuta hospital made the fertility treatment conditional on the consent of the Ministry of Health. When this consent was

 

 

not given, the couple petitioned the High Court of Justice. After more than three years, in the middle of 1991, the battle ended. The Ministry of Health agreed to the petitioners‟ plan, and the consent was given the force of a judgment.

Immediately following this, the couple began to carry out their plan. Over eight months, the wife underwent a series of difficult medical procedures, in which ova were removed from her body. Eleven of these were successfully fertilized with the husband‟s sperm, and they were frozen for the purpose of their future implantation. Throughout this entire period, the couple went through the procedure together and the husband supported, encouraged and helped his wife. At the same time, the couple began the procedures for making a contract with a „surrogacy‟ institute in the United States. At the end of January 1992, the wife and the husband signed an agreement with the institute, which dealt with the financial aspects of the procedure. The couple also made payments necessary for the procedure.

While the spouses were at the crucial stage of the procedure, in March 1992 — two months after signing the agreement with the „surrogacy‟ institute — the husband decided to leave home and to move in with his girlfriend. A daughter was also born. He refused to give his consent to the continuation of the procedure and to the implantation of the fertilized ova. The wife has no practical possibility of repeating the procedure.

3.            On the basis of these facts, my colleague Justice Strasberg-Cohen held, in paragraph 33 of her opinion, that there is no doubt that in the balance of harm, the harm to Ruth from not realizing her parenthood is greater than the harm to Daniel if parenthood is forced on him. It would appear, therefore, that even the majority in the judgment that is the subject of this further hearing (hereafter — the Nahmani appeal) do not dispute that in this case the scales of justice in the struggle between the parties are tipped in favour of the wife. But the conclusion of Justice Strasberg-Cohen is that „we should not consider only the specific case before us, and sympathy and understanding for Ruth Nahmani‟s aspiration is insufficient for giving rise to a legal remedy to her problem‟ (paragraph 4), and that there is no proper basis that gives the court power to force parenthood on a person against his will (paragraph 33).

Even Prof. David Hed, who teaches the philosophy of morality at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, reached the conclusion that in this case a rift exists between the moral duty and the legal duty. He said the following in a newspaper interview:

 

 

„He [the husband] agreed to in-vitro fertilization with his wife. This decision required her to undergo painful treatments that endangered her health, treatments that also gave her great expectations. The price that she paid for the fertility treatment was immeasurably higher than the price that he paid, and this fact imposes on him a moral duty to let her complete the procedure, even if he lives apart from her. That is, so to speak, the price of the divorce. True, the price is enormous, but from a moral perspective I would expect him to bear it. In addition, her chance of having a child, if this ovum is not fertilized, is low… [nonetheless] the law cannot oblige  a  person to be a father against his will… since half of the genetic material of that ovum is his‟ (square parentheses supplied) (Hebrew University of Jerusalem Graduate Newspaper, 1996, 26).

The question that arises before us is whether the husband‟s right not to be a parent, based on his „ownership‟ of half of the genetic material of the ova fertilized with his sperm, really takes precedence over the right of Ruth, who also contributed half of the genetic material of these ova, to be a parent.

4.            Indeed, not every moral duty is a duty in law. But the law must lead to a just result. Prof. Dworkin, who denies the existence of judicial discretion, believes that the court should decide difficult cases on the basis of principles, morality and justice. He wrote as follows:

„I call a “principle” a standard that is to be observed… because it is a requirement of justice or fairness or some other dimension of morality‟ (R. Dworkin, Taking Rights Seriously, London, 1979, at p. 22).

Even according to the approach that advocates the existence of judicial discretion, legal norms must be interpreted on the basis of the principles of morality, justice and human rights. In cases where fundamental principles conflict with one other, the conflict will be resolved by a proper balance between the conflicting values. See Barak, Interpretation in Law, vol. 1, The General Theory of Interpretation, supra, at p. 301. See also D. Lyons, Moral Aspects of Legal Theory, Essays on Law, Justice and Political Responsibility, Cambridge, 1993, at pp. 64-101.

Referring to the relationship between justice and law, Cohn wrote in

HaMishpat, supra, at p. 83:

 

 

„… The law must include an inventory of standards that take their place when other sources of law are insufficient. This does not necessarily concern considerations “beyond the letter of the law”. It would be more accurate to say that justice is a subset of the law, one of its limbs. It falls within the raw material available to the judge when he comes to determine the “law”; and subject to the supremacy of legislation, it influences — and it must influence — not only the creation of the “law” as part of the general law, but also the dispensing of justice between litigants.‟

5.            The aspiration to do justice lies at the basis of the law. This was already discussed by Aristotle, when he wrote:

τὸ γὰρ ἁμάρτημα οὐκ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ οὐδ᾽ ἐν τῷ νομοθέτῃ ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τῇ φύσει τοῦ πράγματός ἐστιν... ὅταν οὖν λέγῃ μὲν ὁ νόμος καθόλου, συμβῇ δ᾽ ἐπὶ τούτου παρὰ τὸ καθόλου, τότε ὀρθῶς ἔχει, ᾗ παραλείπει ὁ νομοθέτης καὶ ἥμαρτεν ἁπλῶς εἰπών, ἐπανορθοῦν τὸ ἐλλειφθέν... διὸ δίκαιον μέν ἐστι, καὶ βέλτιόν τινος δικαίου, οὐ τοῦ ἁπλῶς δὲ ἀλλὰ τοῦ διὰ τὸ ἁπλῶς ἁμαρτήματος.

„… for the error is not in the law nor in the legislator, but in the nature of the case: … Whenever at all events the law speaks in a generality, and thereafter a case arises which is an exception to the generality, it is then right, where the legislator, by speaking in a generality, makes an omission or an error, to correct the omission… Therefore it [equity] is just and better than some justice, not better than the generality, but better than the error resulting from the generality‟ (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, 5, 10, translated by the editor).

Aristotle solved the dilemma by holding that when equity is done by the judge in a case that comes before him, this is a part of justice, even if this is not expressly stipulated in statute.

Sometimes, when it turns out that the law does not achieve justice, the law is changed or adapted to the circumstances that have arisen, in a way that a just outcome is obtained. Thus, for example, the English rules of equity were developed as a result of the need to soften the rigidity of the rules of the common law, which in certain cases led to unjust results. The rules of equity

 

 

allowed a degree of flexibility in implementing the rules of the common law while taking account of the circumstances of each specific case, and they gave relief that was unavailable under the common law.

The doctrine of estoppel is associated with the rules of equity. This doctrine was intended to prevent an unjust result that would apparently be required by the law, by estopping litigants, in certain circumstances, from making in the court legal and factual arguments that are in  themselves correct. See H. G. Hanbury & R. H. Mausty, Modern Equity, London, 13th ed., by J. E. Martin, 1989, at pp. 5-51; G. Spencer Bower and A. K. Turner, The Law Relating To Estoppel By Representation, London, 3rd ed., 1977, at p. 4.

The rules of equity also exist in Jewish law sources. Justice Elon discussed this in HCJ 702/81 Mintzer v. Bar Association Central Committee [11], at p. 18:

„… the principled approach of Jewish law regarding the need for fixed and stable criteria and standards as a rule did not prevent it from requiring the judge trying a case to endeavour to find a solution for an exceptional case, if and when such a solution was required according to the criteria of justice…‟

Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher (Arba‟ah Turim, Hoshen Mishpat 1 [73]) cited the saying of the Rabbis (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat 10a [74]) that

„any  judge  who  judges  according  to  the  absolute  truth…‟.  This  was interpreted by Rabbi Yehoshua Falk as meaning:

„Their intention in saying the absolute truth was that one should judge the matter according to the time and place truthfully, and one should not always rule according to the strict law of the Torah, for sometimes the judge should rule beyond the letter of the law according to the time and the matter; and when he does not do this, even though he judges truly, it is not the absolute truth. In this vein the Rabbis said (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Bava Metzia, 30b) “Jerusalem was only destroyed because they based their rulings on the law of the Torah and not beyond the letter of the law”.‟ (Rabbi Yehoshua ben Alexander HaCohen Falk, Drisha, on Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher, Arba‟ah Turim, Hoshen Mishpat 1, 2 [75]).

The close relationship between the law and justice also finds expression in our case-law. In FH 22/73 Ben-Shahar v. Mahlav [12], at p. 96, it was held —

 

 

contrary to the law in England and the United States — that a litigant should be exempted from complying with his undertaking under a consent judgment, as long as he is in a condition of helplessness. This is what Justice Berinson wrote:

„In Israel, perhaps more than with any other people, law and justice are synonyms, and the concept of just law is very deeply rooted in the nation‟s conscience…

Counsel for the petitioner also referred to the well-known expression that “hard cases make bad law”, since, according to him, in this case, in order to grant relief to the respondent who is in distress, the court innovated a far-reaching rule giving it discretionary power far beyond what courts have appropriated for themselves hitherto, or what has been given to them under any legislation. To this a reply can be made in the words of Lord Blackburn in River Wear Commissioners v. Adamson (1877) 2 App. Cas. 743, 770, that “this is a bad law making hard cases”. I cannot believe that our law is so bad that it cannot help a respondent in great distress that befell him after judgment was given.‟

And in his remarks when retiring from the judiciary, Justice Berinson emphasized:

„… The law and justice are one, if you make proper use and interpretation of the law. Law is law if it is just law… and I have always found that justice is within reach if you wholeheartedly wish to reach it…‟ („Remarks made by Justice Berinson on his Retirement from the Judiciary‟, 8 Mishpatim (1977) 3, 5).

See also I. Zamir, „In Honour of Justice Zvi Berinson‟, 2 Mishpat Umimshal (1994) 325, 327-330.

6.            The issue before us arises because of scientific advances. Human biology, on one hand, and the right of a person to control his body, on the other hand, had hitherto established clear limits for the rights of husband and wife. Until the stage of pregnancy, each of the spouses is free to engage in sexual relations for the purpose of procreation or to refuse to engage in such relations, but from that stage on, the right of the wife carrying the embryo in her womb overrides the right of the husband, in so far as this concerns the relationship between them, and the decision to continue the pregnancy or terminate  it  is  hers,  and  the  husband —  unlike  the  statutory  committee

 

 

empowered to approve the termination of pregnancy — is not entitled to force his will on her. See sections 314-316 of the Penal Law; CA 413/80 A v. B [9], at p. 67.

Scientific-technological advances today allow couples that cannot have children naturally to bring children into the world. The ability of the spouses to interfere in the procreation process, which is being carried out with innovative methods, to influence it and even to stop it has increased. In consequence, the position of the law and its involvement in the disputes surrounding the  use of the  new procreation techniques are sought  more frequently. New areas have even been created where the intervention of the law is required.

The legal issues that are arising are new and fundamental. They involve many principles and factors, from which we must, in a careful process of evaluation, ascertain the correct and fair rules that should be applied. In the words of Justice Witkon in CA 461/62 Zim Israeli Shipping Co. Ltd v. Maziar [13], at p. 1337 {138}:

„… As with most problems in law and in life in general, it is not the choice between good and bad that makes our decision difficult. The difficulty is in choosing between various considerations, all of which are good and deserving of attention, but which conflict with one other, and we must determine which will take precedence.‟

Had the matter before us been governed by an established rule of law, the court would be obliged to interpret it in a way consistent with other principles of the legal system and consistent with the demands of justice. When no such rule exists, the principles of law and justice can operate together to establish the appropriate rule.

7.            In the case before us, we need to balance between the right to be a parent and the right not to be a parent. Today, in cases where couples require a „surrogate‟ mother who will carry their embryo in her womb, the balance is achieved within the framework of the Surrogacy Agreements (Approval of Agreement and Status of the Child) Law (hereafter — „the Agreements Law‟). The Agreements Law restricts the couple‟s autonomy and allows a

„surrogate‟ to be used only if a written agreement is made between the woman intended to carry the embryo and the prospective parents, and that agreement is approved by the Statutory Committee (section 2(1) of the Agreements Law).

 

 

A „surrogacy‟ agreement is therefore not absolutely binding. An agreement made under the Agreements Law is not an ordinary contract. As long as the fertilized ovum has not been implanted in the body of the woman intended to carry the embryos, she is entitled, and the two spouses (jointly) are entitled, to be released from the agreement. Even the statutory committee may stop the fertility procedure as long as the ovum has not been implanted. Nonetheless, neither of the spouses — without the consent of the other — has the power to prevent the implantation after the ovum has been fertilized. Stopping the procedure at this stage requires approval of the statutory committee.

8.            The Agreements Law, which, as aforesaid, was enacted only recently, does not apply to the case before us. The parties also did not make a formal agreement between them. But this has no significance, since, in my opinion, even according to the legal position before the Agreements Law, an agreement with regard to having children is not a contract. Couples are presumed not to be interested in applying the law of contracts to matters of this kind. This presumption has not been rebutted in our case. In any event, even were it proved that the parties had such an intention, they still did not have the power to give the agreement between them the force of a contract, since making a contract to have children is contrary to public policy. Therefore, the contract is void under sections 30 and 31 of the Contracts (General Part) Law, 5733-1973. Note that there is nothing improper in the purpose of the agreement — bringing children into the world — or the means of carrying out the agreement. The impropriety lies in the application of the law of contracts to the agreement, which is contrary to public policy. See and compare D. Freedman, N. Cohen, Contracts, Aviram, vol. 1, 1991, at p. 326;

A. Bendor, „The Law of Political Agreements‟, 3 Mishpat Umimshal (1995) 297, 316.

However, the fact that an agreement to have children is not a contract does not entirely negate the legal significance of the agreement or even of a representation with regard to consent. This is because, within the framework of balancing between the rights of the parties, there are reasons to take into account also the existence of an agreement between them or the existence of a representation with regard to consent. An agreement, like a representation, may lead to expectations and even reliance. These must be taken into account among the other factors affecting the balance. Cf. A. Barak, „Protected Human Rights and Private Law‟, Klinghoffer Book on Public Law (The

 

 

Harry  and  Michael  Sacher  Institute  for  Research  of  Legislation  and Comparative Law), I. Zamir ed., 1993) 163, 169.

It would seem that this principle also applies today with regard to the discretion of the committee acting under the Agreements Law to prevent implantation of a fertilized ovum in the body of a „surrogate‟. We may assume that in many cases the committee will consider the matter at the request of one of the spouses. By exercising the discretion given to it, the committee will take into account, inter alia, any expectation or reliance that the agreement created in the other spouse.

9.            In a conflict between the right of the husband and the right of the wife, the two have equal status with regard to their relationship to the fertilized ova, which contains their joint genetic material. Moreover, I do not think that we should distinguish between a man and a woman with regard to their yearning for parenthood. The proper balance between the rights of the two is therefore unaffected by the sex of the spouse who wants the ova be implanted, or of the spouse opposing this.

One can conceive of three main ways of balancing between the rights of the spouses after the woman‟s ovum has been fertilized with the man‟s sperm and they do not agree upon its implantation in the womb of a „surrogate‟ mother. These are as follows:

The first way, which was the majority opinion in the Nahmani appeal, is to prefer always the spouse who does not want to be a parent. This absolute preference is based on the principle of the autonomy of the individual, which rejects the coercion of parenthood. According to this principle, an agreement to bring children into the world should be regarded as a weak agreement, whose existence — until the implantation of the ova — is conditional on the consent of both spouses. Enforcement of such an agreement will violate a basic human right, and therefore is contrary to public policy. This position has some support in one of two judgments in the United States that considered the issue before us. In Davis v. Davis [47], where the judgment was given by the Supreme Court of the State of Tennessee, it was held that, as a rule, the right not to be a parent should be preferred. Nonetheless, it was held that this rule would not apply in a case where preference of the right not to be a parent would deprive the other spouse absolutely and finally of the possibility of being a parent. Justice Daughtrey wrote as follows, at p. 604:

„Ordinarily,  the  party  wishing  to  avoid  procreation  should prevail,   assuming   that   the   other   party   has   a   reasonable

 

 

possibility of achieving parenthood by means other than the use of the preembryos in question. If no other reasonable alternatives exist, then the argument in favor of using the preembryos to achieve pregnancy should be considered…

… the rule does not contemplate the creation of an automatic veto…‟.

The second way, upon which the approach of my colleague, Justice Kedmi, is based, supports a preference, in all circumstances, of the right to parenthood. This approach is based on the outlook that the point of no-return is not implantation of the ovum in the body of the „surrogate‟, but fertilization of the ovum, which is what creates a new entity. This approach has support in the second American ruling that exists on the question before us, Kass v. Kass [51], which was given by a trial court in the State of New York. In this judgment it was held that a stipulation in an agreement made by the spouses, which said that if they did not reach agreement on how to deal with the fertilized ova they would be used for research, should not be regarded as a waiver by the woman of her right to parenthood. The court disagreed with the ruling in Davis v. Davis, and it held that there was no basis for distinguishing between in-vitro fertilization of an ovum and fertilization of the ovum in the body of the woman, and in both cases, once fertilization has occurred, the husband cannot impose a veto on the continuation of the procedure. Justice Roncallo wrote as follows:

„In my opinion there is no legal, ethical or logical reason why an in vitro fertilization should give rise to additional rights on the part of the husband. From a propositional standpoint it matters little whether the ovum/sperm union takes place in the private darkness of a fallopian tube or the public glare of a petri dish. Fertilization is fertilization and fertilization of the ovum is the inception of the reproductive process. Biological life exists from that moment forward… To deny a husband rights while an embryo develops in the womb and grant a right to destroy while it is in a hospital freezer is to favor situs over substance.‟

The third way, which my colleague Justice Tal advocates, is to balance the rights of the specific parties. In my opinion, this is the correct way, because balancing rights on an abstract level may lead to unjust results. This was discussed by Justice Holmes of the Supreme Court of the United States in Lochner v. New York (1905) [55], at p. 547:

 

 

„General propositions do not decide concrete cases. The decision will depend on a judgment or intuition more subtle than any articulate major premise.‟

Of course, even a balancing of this kind is not an ad hoc balancing without any guiding principles, but it is made on the basis of rules that are applied to the special circumstances of each case.

This method of balancing — according to which, in our case, the woman‟s right is preferable — was proposed also in three articles written as a result of the Nahmani appeal. See Marmor, „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple: a Response to Chaim Gans‟, supra; Barak-Erez, „On Symmetry and Neutrality: Reflections on the Nahmani Case‟, supra; S. Davidov-Motola, „A Feminist Judgment? A Further Aspect of the Nahmani Case‟, 20 Iyunei Mishpat (1996) 221.

10.          Freedom in it fullest sense is not merely freedom from external interference of the government or others. It also includes a person‟s ability to direct his lifestyle, to realize his basic desires, and to choose from a variety of possibilities by exercising discretion. In human society, one of the strongest expressions of an aspiration without which many will not regard themselves as free in the fullest sense of the word is the aspiration to parenthood. We are not speaking merely of  a natural-biological need. We are speaking of a freedom which, in human society, symbolizes the uniqueness of man. „Any person who does not have children is considered as a dead person‟ said Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Nedarim, 64b [76]). Indeed, whether man or woman, most people regard having children as an existential necessity that gives meaning to their lives.

11.          Against this basic right, which constitutes a central element in the definition of humanity, we must consider the right not to be a parent. The basis of the right not to be a parent is the individual‟s autonomy not to suffer interference of the government in his privacy. This was discussed by Justice Brennan in Eisenstadt v. Baird [49], at p. 453:

„If the right of privacy means anything, it is the right of the individual, married or single, to be free from unwarranted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the decision whether to bear or beget a child.‟

In the conflict of rights before us we are not speaking of relations between the individual and the government, but of relations within the framework of the family unit. Although the autonomy of the individual is also recognized

 

 

within the framework of the family, it seems to me that the right of privacy from the government is in general of greater weight than the right of privacy in the family. In the case before us, the husband does not even insist on his right for reasons of principle that oppose bringing children into the world. After all, he has a daughter from another woman, and he wanted that daughter. His argument is against a parenthood specifically with regard to an embryo created in the fertility procedure that the parties underwent. Moreover, the husband has declared that his objection to parenthood does not derive from a fear of the personal and financial burdens involved. Therefore, the interest not to be liable for personal and financial obligations towards a child born against the parent‟s wishes, which might be a relevant consideration when balancing the interests as a rule, is not relevant in this case.

What, then, is the importance of the freedom expressed in a person‟s knowing that he does not have in the world a child that he does not want? It seems to me that for both men and women this freedom is regarded as limited, conditional, and in essence secondary compared to the right to have children and to create the next generation.

In so far as a man is concerned, once a woman has been impregnated by a man, he has no power to force her to have an abortion even when he is not interested in a child. In so far as a woman is concerned, as a rule she is not entitled to have an abortion. Abortion is permitted only on the basis of a permit from a statutory committee given according to a closed list of grounds. The mere fact that the woman does not want a child is not one of the reasons on the list. A fundamental principle, which applies to both women and men, is therefore that once a woman becomes pregnant, neither she nor her spouse have a right not to be parents.

Another basic principle is that the right of a man or a woman to be a parent does not override the right of the spouses to control over their body, and it does not impose on them positive duties to participate in a procedure that may lead to parenthood.

Subject to these fundamental principles, the balance between the rights of the spouses will be made in each case by taking into account the current stage of the procedure, the representations made by the spouses, the expectations raised by the representations and any reliance on them, and the alternatives that exist for realizing the right of parenthood. I will discuss these considerations in this order.

 

 

12.          The current stage of the procedure: The more advanced the stage of the fertilization procedure, the greater the weight of the right to be a parent. As aforesaid, the right to be a parent and the right not to be a parent are subject to a person‟s right over his body, and in no case can one spouse be compelled to undergo a physical act to realize the right of the other spouse. The situation is different in circumstances where the realization of the right to be a parent does not involve a violation of the other spouse over his body. In our case, it can be said that the right to be a parent has begun the journey from theory to practice, and it is not merely a yearning. On the other hand, the ovum has not yet been implanted, and there is no absolute obstacle to terminating the procedure.

13.          Representations, expectations and reliances: Estoppel by representation prevents a party from denying a representation that he made to another party, if that party relied on the representation reasonably and in good faith and in consequence adversely changed his position. In Israeli law, the doctrine of estoppel — which we received from English law — can be regarded as a facet of the principle of good faith, which is a basic principle in our legal system. See LCA 4298/92 Ezra v. Tel-Mond Local Council [14]. In this regard, the following remarks were written in a review of the judgment in Davis v. Davis:

„… the doctrine of reliance should be applied to resolve a dispute between the gamete providers. The consistent application of a reliance-based theory of contract law to enforce promises to reproduce through IVF will enable IVF participants to asset control over their reproductive choices by enabling them to anticipate their rights and duties, and to know with reasonable certainty that their expectations will be enforced by the courts.‟ (C. D. Ahmen, Comment, „Disputes Over Frozen Embryos: Who Wins, Who Loses, and How Do We Decide?‟ 24 Creighton L. R. (1990-91) 1299, 1302, 1303).

Nonetheless, in my view, the decision between the rights of the parties is not be based on estoppel alone. Representations made by one spouse to another (including their making an agreement) may be a factor in the balance between the rights of the parties, when they created reliances and sometimes even mere expectations. A similar position was adopted in another article reviewing the judgment in Davis v. Davis [47], where it was written:

„One fact is of vital importance in making this judgment: the spouse who opposes implantation wanted a child at one time and

 

 

submitted to the IVF process with that end in mind… the greater injustice would be to deny implantation to the spouse who detrimentally relied on the other‟s words and conduct‟ (Panitch,

„The Davis Dilemma; How to Prevent Battles Over Frozen Preembryos‟, supra, at p. 547).

In our case, as a result of the husband‟s consent to the procedure, including his encouraging the wife to undergo the limited surgery and the fertilization, the wife underwent difficult fertility treatment with his sperm and did not need, for example, an anonymous sperm donation. In his article

„The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple: a Response to Chaim Gans‟,

supra, Dr. Marmor discusses this, at p. 445:

„By agreeing to begin the fertility and surrogacy procedures, and even more by his conduct during the initial stages of the procedure, there is no doubt that Daniel Nahmani made a representation towards his wife, from which she could conclude that he had no intention of stopping them; there is also no doubt that as a result of this representation, and relying on it reasonably and in good faith, Ruth adversely changed her position, by beginning the procedures with him (and not, as aforesaid, with an anonymous sperm donation).‟

Similar comments were written by Dr Barak-Erez, „On Symmetry and Neutrality: Reflections on the Nahmani Case‟, supra, at p. 215, and Ms Davidov-Motola, „A Feminist Judgment? A Further Aspect of the Nahmani Case‟, supra, at p. 299.

This adverse change in the wife‟s position is a major consideration in the balance of interests between the spouses, even if it has not been proved that the husband wanted to become the father of the wife‟s child even if they separate.

14.          Possible Alternatives: A case of refusal to continue a fertility procedure when the spouse can perform it with another partner is not the same as a case where refusal will doom the other spouse to childlessness. The fewer the alternatives available to the spouse wishing to become a parent, the greater the need to protect his right to parenthood, even at the expense of trespassing on the rights of the other spouse. As stated, this was the approach of the court in Davis v. Davis [47]. Prof. Robertson adopted a similar approach:

 

 

„If the right to reproduce and the right to reproduction are in conflict, favoring reproduction is not unreasonable when there is no alternative way for one party to reproduce‟ (J. A. Robertson,

„Prior Agreements for Disposition Of Frozen Embryos‟, 51 Ohio St. L. J. (1990) 407, 420).

This consideration in our case has an additional weight of justice, since the spouse who is not interested in continuing the procedure — the husband — has been blessed with a daughter of his own in another family that he has established.

15.          In our case, the basic principles and considerations which I have mentioned therefore lead to a preference of the wife to be a parent over the right of the husband not to be a parent. As stated, I do not believe that women and men attach different degrees of importance to having children. Therefore, were the positions reversed and were the man, in similar circumstances, to want to continue the procedure and were the woman to refuse, the result I have reached — namely, allowing the implantation of the frozen ova in the womb of a „surrogate‟ mother — would not be different.

I have read the opinion of my colleague Justice Goldberg, and I agree with his remarks (except for what he says in paragraph 5 of his opinion with regard to the scope of the powers of the committee acting under the Agreements Law, a question that does not need to be decided in this case).

My opinion, therefore, is that the petition should be granted, the judgment in the Nahmani appeal should be cancelled, and the judgment of the District Court should be reinstated.

 
full text (continued): 

Justice E. Goldberg

1.            The process of creating man was, in the past, solely governed by the forces of nature. Conception was the result of intimate acts, which were entirely in the realm of the privacy of the individual. Medical-technological advances have  changed the methods of creation, and  made  inroads into nature‟s sole dominion over the secret of creation. Against this background the dispute between the Nahmani couple has arisen and come knocking at the doors of the court. This dispute does not essentially fall within the framework of an existing legal norm. It cannot be fitted into the legal frameworks of a contract or quasi-contract. It lies entirely in the realm of emotion, morality, sociology and philosophy. This explains the normative void and the inability

 

 

of accepted legal rules to provide a solution to the dispute. But since the case has arrived on the threshold of the court, it cannot avoid deciding it.

2.            In the dispute before us a positive right and a negative right are opposed to one another. Ruth Nahmani (hereafter — Ruth) wishes to exercise her positive right  to be a parent, whereas Daniel Nahmani (hereafter — Daniel) insists on his negative right not to be a parent. The right to be a parent is based on the autonomy of the will that respects, inter alia, the choice of the individual to establish a family unit. The other side of the coin, as stated, is the right not to be a parent, which is also based on the autonomy of the will that respects the desire of the individual to control the course of his life and his commitments.

Both of the aforesaid rights have their source in the right to liberty. As Thomas Hobbes said: „A free man is he that… is not hindered to do what he has a will to‟ (Hobbes, The Leviathan, ch. 21). The scholar Isaiah Berlin discussed the positive meaning of this concept in his essay „Two concepts of liberty‟:

„The “positive” sense of the word “liberty” derives from the wish on the part of the individual to be his own master. I wish my life and decisions to depend on myself, not on external forces of whatever kind. I wish to be the instrument of my own, not of other men‟s, acts of will. I wish to be a subject, not an object; to be moved by reasons, by conscious purposes, which are my own, not by causes which affect me, as it were, from outside‟ (I. Berlin, Two Concepts of Liberty, 1958).

Indeed, there is a strong connection between the right of liberty, and its derivative the autonomy of the will, and human dignity. This was discussed by President Barak in Interpretation in Law, vol. 3, Constitutional Interpretation, Nevo, 1994, at p. 426, where he says

„A central component of human dignity is the freedom of will of the individual. Human dignity is expressed in the freedom of choice of the individual and his power to develop his personality and to decide his fate.‟

The right to be a parent and the right not to be a parent therefore derive their existence from the same basic values of liberty and human dignity, which are now protected in the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty.

Even though the basic laws may be used to determine criteria for exercising judicial discretion, which would serve as „a workshop for a new,

 

 

concrete law, according to the changing needs of life‟ (A. Barak, „Judicial Case-law and Social Reality: The Connection with Basic Principles‟, The Sussman Book, Daf-Hen, 1984, 71, 85), this path is, in my opinion, unavailable to us in this case, where two rights of equal value and status compete with one another.

3.            What are the legal tools that a court will use to make a decision in this position of „stalemate‟ between the rights, when the right to be a parent and the right not to be a parent are mutually exclusive, and a clear decision is required in the dispute, in the absence of a compromise path that will bridge between them.

4.            In so far as termination of a pregnancy is concerned, this involves an incursion into the woman‟s body, and her freedom over her body implies a duty to obtain her consent before such an incursion. It is „the basic right of every person to protect his body from an unwanted incursion, not merely because of the physical discomfort, but mainly because of the invasion of his privacy, his unique existence and the foundation of his being‟ (Davidov- Motola, „A Feminist Judgment? A Further Aspect of the Nahmani Case‟, supra, at p. 234). The need for the consent of the woman to terminate the pregnancy, which is derived, as stated, from the value of the woman‟s liberty over her body, gives her a „right of veto‟ over the pregnancy. This conclusion, in deliberations about the termination of pregnancy, makes it unnecessary to decide whether the woman‟s right to be a parent overrides the man‟s right not to be a parent. This is not so in our case, when realizing Ruth‟s right to be a parent does not require an invasive incursion into Daniel‟s body, just as realization of his own right not to be a parent does not require an incursion into Ruth‟s body. It follows that there is no basis for drawing an analogy in our case from the case-law relating to the right of abortion.

5.            Until recently the legislator refrained from regulating the sensitive and complex question of fertilization and surrogacy in legislation. The first direct legislation in this sensitive field has now been introduced in the Surrogacy Agreements (Approval of Agreement and Status of the Child) Law (hereafter — the Law). It should be emphasized that the Law does not apply directly to the case of the Nahmani couple, who did not, from the outset, follow the path that it outlines. Nonetheless, we should consider whether the position adopted by the legislator can serve as a source of inspiration for solving the dispute before us.

The Law focuses mainly on the relationship between prospective parents and a surrogate mother. It  stipulates several conditions for implanting a

 

 

fertilized ovum in the body of a surrogate mother, which include, as stated in section 2(1) of the Law, the need for „a written agreement between a surrogate mother and prospective parents, which has been approved by an approvals committee pursuant to the provisions of this law‟. Section 5(c) of the Law provides that:

„The approvals committee is entitled to reconsider an approval that it gave if a significant change has occurred in the facts, circumstances or conditions that underlay its decision, as long as the fertilized ovum has not been implanted in the surrogate mother in accordance with the surrogacy agreement.‟

As can be seen from the deliberations of the Knesset‟s Welfare Committee (on 9 January 1996), this section was mainly intended for cases where it is discovered, after approval of the agreement, that the surrogate mother has contracted an illness that affects her ability to bring a healthy child into the world. During the deliberation it was said:

„With regard to the question of withdrawing from an agreement before implantation: the authority of the committee is merely to approve an agreement. The committee does not need to approve a withdrawal from, or a breach of, an agreement. An agreement is an agreement like any other agreement… [the] committee is not supposed to give approval for one side to withdraw from the agreement. What we have provided in sub-section (c) refers only to one situation: the committee gave approval and afterwards it was informed that a change occurred which could cast doubt on the approval that it gave. It can be presumed that it gave approval on the basis of the assumption that the surrogate mother was healthy, and afterwards the surrogate mother contracted AIDS or another disease that may affect her ability to bring a healthy child into the world. This is the situation in which the committee will be entitled to reconsider the matter, and, if it sees fit, to cancel the approval that it gave. If, as a result of a dispute between the parties, they decide to cancel the agreement, or one party decides that he no longer wishes it… for this the committee is not needed. It is not a court and it will not adjudicate legal disputes‟ (at page 17).

If a danger arises to the welfare of the unborn child, the tendency to push the „point of no return‟ as far back in time as possible is obvious. On the other hand, there is an obvious fear of establishing the „point of no return‟

 

 

after the implantation of the ovum, when cancelling the approval of the agreement involves intrusive interference in the body of the surrogate mother. The proper balance between the welfare of the child and the liberty of the surrogate mother is what led to establishing the „point of no return‟ at the implantation of the ovum. This point of balance does not necessarily reflect the proper point of when an internal dispute arises between the prospective parents, and the decision then, as stated, is between the right to be a parent which conflicts with the right not to be a parent. The solution to such a dispute cannot be derived from the Law, which refers even a dispute between the prospective parents and the surrogate mother to the court.

6.            The possibility of „involving‟ the fertilized ovum in the dispute in order to decide the matter, namely „that one should not allow the birth of children where there is a dispute‟ (see the Report of the Professional Public Commission for Examining the Issue of In-vitro Fertilization (1994), at page

36) is also, in my opinion, improper.

Certainly, one cannot deny that it is preferable for a child to grow up in a warm and loving home, where the parents behave with emotional and economic responsibility towards him. But can it be said that, where the

„father‟ is uninterested in facing his parental responsibility, destruction of the ovum is preferable to it being allowed to develop into a child? In this regard, the rhetorical questions of Prof. Shifman with regard to the best interests of the child in an one-parent family are relevant, by way of analogy:

„… With artificial insemination we are concerned with planning to bring an unborn child into the world in order to realize peoples‟ expectations of becoming parents. Can it be said categorically that such a child would be better off not being born than being born? Will the child‟s situation necessarily be so wretched, merely because he is born into a single-parent family, that we have a duty ab initio to prevent his being brought into the world?‟ (Shifman, Family Law in Israel, supra, vol. 2, at p. 156).

The answer to the question whether destruction is preferable to existence lies in the expanses of philosophy and the depths of morality, and the court is clearly unable to provide an answer. In this context it has been said that:

„Existing rules of court do not incorporate the hidden world, and we cannot find in them an answer to the existence of the right not  to  be  born  that  the  child  claims.  The  abstract  ethical

 

 

approach concerning the nature of creation and life, which is determined according to the critic‟s outlook on life, is insufficient for the creation of a criterion for the existence of the legal right. The crux of the problem before us concerning the “nature” of non-existence lies entirely in the field of speculation about the secrets of creation and not in the field of practical law…

… Since the theory raised by the child with regard to his right to non-existence does not lie in the field of human criticism, as long as the legislator has not established such a right, even the “reasonable man” (on whom we frequently rely) will not help us, since the secrets of the universe and the mysteries of every living thing are hidden from him also. Therefore we cannot provide an answer as to the existence or non-existence of a right not to exist in rational terms of the “reasonable man”, when we are concerned with a decision in a world of ethics in which the concept of “rationality” has no part‟ (CA 518/82 Zaitsov v. Shaul [15], at pp. 127-128).

7.            The sub-classification of the conflicting rights in our case into rights not to be harmed (negative rights) that „do not impose a duty on another, except for the demand to refrain from violating this freedom (or liberty)‟ (Barak, Interpretation in Law, vol. 1, The General Theory of Interpretation, supra, at p. 362) and positive rights, which „are rights that have a corresponding duty of another (usually the State) to act to protect them…‟ (Barak, ibid., at p. 364), also does not further us in solving the dispute. The question whether the State has a duty to help an individual to realize his desire to be a parent does not arise at all in this case. But whether or not such a duty exists cannot decide the interpersonal dispute between the spouses. Defining the right of the individual as positive vis-à-vis the State cannot, in itself, be of decisive weight in the conflict between the right of that individual and the right of another individual, whereas classifying Ruth‟s right as positive vis-à-vis Daniel‟s right is impossible as long as we have not first decided the question whether the initial agreement of the spouses to begin the in-vitro fertilization procedure also includes the power to continue the procedure until its completion. If we say that the consent of each spouse is required for each stage, then it follows that Daniel should be regarded as enjoying  a  „right  of  veto‟,  and  it  becomes  unnecessary  to  classify  the

 

 

conflicting rights. By contrast, if Daniel‟s consent is not required for implantation of the ova, there is no basis for saying, as we have already explained, that his liberty takes precedence over Ruth‟s liberty.

8.            The Nahmani  couple did  not think of determining expressly what would happen to the ova if their marriage broke down. In so far as Ruth‟s expectations are concerned, it is hard to determine that she actually ruled out the possibility that her right to be a parent would be realized within the framework of a one-parent family, if the marriage should break down. With regard to Daniel‟s expectations, it can be said, on the one hand, that he took part in the in-vitro fertilization process only in order to establish a family home together with Ruth. The threat of childlessness did not hang over his head, and he knew that he could fulfil his aspiration to be a parent even if he separated from her. But on the other hand, is it clear that this would also have been his position had the „officious bystander‟ troubled him at that time to consider the question of the fate of the ova, should he become infertile for any reason and his relationship with Ruth deteriorate? Is it not more reasonable to assume that his answer would be that in such a case the procedure should continue?

The couple‟s silence should be interpreted as a repression of the possibility that the marriage would break down. This pessimistic scenario is contrary to the spirit of union implied by the very decision to travel together along the hazardous road of the in-vitro fertilization procedure. In my opinion, at that time the couple‟s horizon extended only as far as the possibility of joint parenthood. They did not consider the possibility of continuing the procedure and the single parenthood of one of them, should they separate from one other. Attempting to fill this lacuna will not, in my opinion, be successful. It cannot be established that when the ova were fertilized, the couple mutually discounted the possibility of single parenthood, just as it cannot be established that their consent to fertilization of the ovum incorporated consent of both of them to single parenthood.

9.            Application of the rule that prohibits harming someone without his consent is also not without its difficulties. The answer to the question whether a status quo has been adversely affected requires a determination as to what the status quo is. If we say that the status quo is the procedure in its entirety, then Daniel is the one seeking to change the status quo in that he wants to stop the procedure, thereby adversely affecting Ruth‟s position, in that she will lose the experience of parenthood. If we say that the procedure should be divided into stages, then it is Ruth who wishes to change the status

 

 

quo by trying to move on to the next stage of the procedure — the stage of implanting the ova —thereby changing the status quo for Daniel, who will become a father against his will. The answer to the question whether the initial consent includes agreement to the entire procedure cannot be  no merely because moving from one stage to another adversely affects Daniel, when we have already established that refraining from moving from one stage to another adversely affects Ruth. This problem of the scope of the initial consent cannot be solved by an abstract analysis of rights. Such an analysis involves a circular argument, in the sense that classifying Ruth‟s right vis-à-vis Daniel as a „positive‟ right can only be done after determining the scope of the original consent.

10.          We can summarize thus far as follows: we are dealing with a normative lacuna. Resorting to the basic principles of the legal system does not provide a solution, for if we limit ourselves to a preliminary classification of the rights, then we are dealing with an internal conflict between two derivatives of the same right, the right to dignity and liberty. Because the type of basic value being harmed is identical, the scales are balanced. The sub- classification of the conflicting rights as „negative‟ rights and „positive‟ rights also does not help solve the conflict. Defining the right of an individual as positive vis-à-vis the State cannot, in itself, be decisive in a conflict between the right of an individual and the right of another individual. Classifying Ruth‟s right as positive vis-à-vis Daniel‟s right requires a prior determination of the question whether the initial consent to the procedure has the strength to move the process on to its conclusion. If the consent of both spouses is required for each stage of the procedure, then Daniel has a „right of veto‟, and holding Ruth‟s right to be conditional on Daniel‟s consent makes it superfluous to classify the conflicting rights. If Daniel‟s consent to the implantation of the ova is not required, there is no basis for saying that Ruth‟s liberty is inferior to his.

11.          In the absence of any legal norm, which is either a rule or a standard (for the difference between the two, see M. Mautner, „Rules and Standards: Comments on the Jurisprudence of Israel‟s New Civil Code‟, 17 Mishpatim (1988) 321, at p. 325), the court must „formulate its own criterion‟ (see G. Tedeschi, „The Problem of Lacunae and section 46 of the Palestine Order In Council‟, Research in Israeli Law, Newman, 2nd ed., 1959, 132, at p. 180). The court must (unwillingly) carry out a legislative function that does not apply existing legal norms, but creates a norm based on the general principles of the legal system.

 

 

Note that we are not speaking of filling a lacuna in an existing legal norm, which requires the application of the Foundations of Justice Law. Indeed, in my opinion there exists no legislative arrangement that we can use to solve the dispute, and we are certainly not speaking of an incomplete arrangement that the court would be justified in filling. We are dealing with a need for creation ex nihilo — by filling an extra-legislative lacuna through creating a norm which is required not by a defective norm but by a total „legislative silence‟.

12.          Since, in my opinion, we have no „conventional‟ tools to solve the dispute, we must search for an alternative to these, which is founded on a basic value that governs our legal system. A fitting basic value is justice.

Justice is the essence of Israeli law. It is the abstract ideal to which the legal system aspires. It —

„… expresses the ideal arrangement vis-à-vis the law as a system of interpersonal rules. It is the ethical yardstick of the law‟ (I. Englard, Introduction to Jurisprudence, Yahalom, 1991, at p. 42).

Legislation also contains many provisions in which justice has been translated from a supreme principle governing the legal system into a specific legal norm. Thus, for example, the fundamental principles clause enshrined in section 1 of the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, states that „Basic human rights… will be honoured in the spirit of the principles in the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel‟, according to which the State of Israel is to be founded, inter alia, on the principle of justice.

When deciding a dispute between the citizen and the government, the court is empowered not to grant relief to an injured party even when he has a cause of action, if it thinks it just to do so. In this spirit, section 15(c) of the Basic Law: Administration of Justice states that the Supreme Court, sitting as a high court of justice, „shall hear matters in which it sees a need to grant equitable relief and which are not within the jurisdiction of another court or tribunal‟.

The branches of private law are based on justice. In the law of contracts, justice and fairness play a major part. Section 31 of the Contracts (General Part) Law empowers the court to exempt a party to an illegal contract from the duty of restitution „if it thinks it just to do so‟. Section 14(b) of the Contracts (General Part) Law authorizes the court to void a contract in which there was a mistake unknown to the other party „if it thinks it just to do so‟.

 

 

Section 3(4) of the Contracts (Remedies for Breach of Contract) Law, 5731- 1970, does not allow the remedy of enforcement when „enforcement of the contract is unjust in the circumstances of the case‟. Justice makes its mark also in the other branches of private law. In the law of torts, the contributory payments between joint tortfeasors are determined according to criteria „of justice and equity‟ (section 84 of the Torts Ordinance [New Version]). Justice naturally governs the laws of unjust enrichment. Section 2 of the Unjust Enrichment Law, 5739-1979, states that the court may exempt a beneficiary from restitution if it thinks there are circumstances that „make restitution unjust‟. The principles of justice can also be found in property law. Section 132(a) of the Tenant‟s Protection Law [Consolidated Version], 5732-1972, provides that „notwithstanding the existence of a ground for eviction, the court may refuse to give a judgment ordering eviction if it is persuaded that in the circumstances of the case it would be unjust to give it‟. Section 10 of the Land Law, 5729-1969, and section 10 of the Immovable Property Law, 5731-1971, provide that the court may order the severance of joint ownership of a property notwithstanding that the parties contracted out of the right to sue for severance of the joint ownership, if „it is just in the circumstances of the case‟. Even in the field of family law justice has a place. Section 9 of the Family Law (Maintenance) Amendment Law, 5719-1959, provides that „the court may, if it thinks it just and equitable to do so, exempt someone from an obligation of maintenance…‟.

In the procedural sphere, the legislator instructed the judge sitting on the bench to fill a lacuna in the field of procedure in the way that seems to him just in the circumstances of the case. Section 3 of the Criminal Procedure Law [Consolidated Version], 5742-1982, states that „in any matter of procedure where there is no provision in legislation, the court shall act in a manner it considers best for doing justice‟. In the same vein, see also section 33 of the Labour Court Law, 5729-1969; section 22 of the Administrative Courts Law, 5752-1992; and regulation 524 of the Civil Procedure Regulations, 5744-1984.

In the Foundations of Justice Law, the „principles of freedom, justice, equity and peace of Jewish heritage‟ were determined as supplementary legal sources where there is a lacuna.

This survey does not purport to exhaust all the cases where the aspiration for justice is reflected in Israeli legislation. It merely serves to show that there are cases where the legislator stipulated a just solution to be a goal in itself, wherever he saw justice as a fitting mechanism for a solution, even though

 

 

the court must then interpret the value of justice in accordance with its meaning in that piece of legislation, and in the specific context.

13.          The aspiration for a just solution influences judicial discretion, and it serves as a guide for the judge searching for a way to decide a conflict. It has been said that „the task of translating legislation into an act of justice is entrusted to the judge, and thus he is given the ultimate opportunity of doing justice between the parties‟ (CA 398/65 Rimon v. Trustee in bankruptcy of Shepsals [16], at p. 408). Indeed, this aspiration cannot bring about creation ex nihilo. Where the law, which dictates a certain outcome, departs from justice, the court may not assume a discretion that has not been given to it. But where the judge has been granted discretion, then „the law and justice, whose paths often diverge, meet at the convergence of judicial discretion‟ (Barak, Interpretation in Law, supra, vol. 1, at p. 194). The judge on the bench committed himself to aspire to this convergence when he swore to

„judge justly‟. This was well expressed by President Barak when he said:

„In my opinion, justice has an additional normative force that we can call a “residual” force, which is the following: assuming that in the initial balancing the scales are balanced, and the various considerations, including the considerations of justice, balance once another, then the judge faces a true dilemma. The discretion is his. The different values, including the value of justice, conflict with one another, and are equally balanced. How will the judge exercise his discretion in such a case? He is not entitled to toss a coin, even though by doing so he would realize the value of judicial neutrality and a lack of judicial bias. How shall he solve the problem that confronts him? He must exercise his discretion in a way that will provide the solution he thinks best. But what is this solution?

Different judges may have a different approach in this area. In my opinion, the best solution is the just solution. Indeed, when all criteria have been exhausted and no solution has been found, the judge should aspire to the most just solution‟ (A. Barak, „On Law, Judging and Justice‟, 27 Mishpatim (1996) 1, at p. 7).

14.          It follows that, in the absence of another criterion for solving the dispute, the court has the power, and it is also obliged, to provide the best solution, which is the just solution, not by interpreting this value in specific legislation, but as a value in itself.

 

 

A just legal determination, based on the judge‟s sense of justice, is albeit not a neutral determination. But it is also not arbitrary. Although it is the judge‟s feeling that ultimately tips the scales, nonetheless, before the judge listens to the dictates of the sense of justice, he undergoes a process of reasoning, consciously and subconsciously, in which all the circumstances are considered, and different values are balanced.

15.          When every decision in a dispute between two individuals will harm one of them, the just solution is the solution that is „the lesser of two evils‟, and as has been said in this respect, „the “balance of convenience” of which the courts speak is a balance of justice‟ (CA 214/89 Avneri v. Shapira [17], at

p. 870). Therefore, it is proper to consider whether the harm to Ruth, should she be prohibited from using the ova, is greater than the harm that Daniel will suffer if he becomes a parent against his will, or vice versa.

When examining the harm to Ruth, it should be remembered that the biological aspect of parenthood, namely the transfer of the genetic material from one generation to another, has great importance from an emotional viewpoint. Therefore it is clear why „Ruth insists on her right to be a mother of children who will be her children in the biological sense‟ (Marmor, „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani couple: A Response to Haim Gans‟, supra, at pp. 448-449). The individual‟s aspiration to realize biological parenthood emanates from the source of human existence. The parental experience is considered the essence of life, in the sense of „Give me children, else I die‟ (Genesis 30, 1 [65]). This was discussed by Professor Shifman who said:

„Man‟s desire to have children, and in this way to ensure continuity for himself after his death, no less than the hoped for satisfaction from raising children in his lifetime, is  without doubt a basic psychological fact‟ (Shipman, Family Law in Israel, supra, vol. 2, at p. 151).

In this regard, the remarks of Daphna Barak-Erez are also relevant:

„Realizing the option of parenthood is not merely a possible way of life, but it is rooted in human existence. There are some who will regard it as cure for loneliness; others will use it to deal with the thought of death… It expresses a basic existential need‟ (Barak-Erez, „On Symmetry and Neutrality: Reflections on the Nahmani Case‟, supra, at p. 200).

Losing the opportunity of biological parenthood is, in effect, missing out on the opportunity for self-realization in the family sphere.

 

 

We must adopt this premise — namely that the biological aspect of parenthood has great importance — also when examining the harm to Daniel. Coerced biological parenthood, like the deprivation of biological parenthood, involves emotional harm. There is no doubt that Daniel will suffer a feeling of distress from knowing of the existence of a child, whom he does not want, that carries his genetic material. It is therefore clear why Daniel „also insists on his right not to be connected, even if only biologically, with a parenthood that he does not want‟ (Marmor, „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple: a Response to Chaim Gans‟, supra, at p. 449).

16.          Indeed, Daniel will suffer more than just emotional harm. The status of parenthood involves many duties, including in the economic sphere. But the practical duties involved in the status of parenthood cannot tip the scales in Daniel‟s favour. Since the couple has separated, Daniel‟s main obligations towards the child who will be born are in the economic sphere. His economic harm resulting from the duty of maintenance that he bears can be mitigated by making the use of the ova conditional upon an undertaking on the part of Ruth to indemnify him, and the date of realizing this undertaking will be subject to the principles developed in case-law relating to divorce agreements (see FH 4/82 Kut v. Kut [18]). In these circumstances, the reversible nature of the economic damage that Daniel will suffer deprives it of decisive force.

17.          Here we come to the hardest question of all, whether Ruth‟s suffering as a childless woman against her will is preferable to Daniel‟s suffering as a parent against his will, when the scales for weighing the force of these emotional injuries have not yet been created. On the altar of justice, we can sacrifice the expectations of whoever was not entitled to rely on the other‟s consent. But justice demands that we do not, retroactively, undermine the position of someone who was entitled to rely on a representation of another.

The reasonableness of Ruth‟s reliance on Daniel‟s consent to begin the procedure jointly must necessarily be considered together with the question of the existence of other possibilities available to her for realizing her desire to be a parent, other than implantation of the fertilized ova. The fact is that at the time the ova were removed, Ruth did not have any reasonable alternative. From a medical viewpoint, it is not possible to freeze an ovum that is not fertilized (see the aforementioned Report of the Professional Public Commission for Examining the Issue of In-vitro Fertilization, at p. 118), and from a legal and emotional viewpoint, Ruth was inhibited, as a married woman, from freezing an ovum fertilized with the sperm of another, especially when her husband was not infertile. The possibility of separating

 

 

from Daniel and fertilizing an ovum with the sperm of another man was also not reasonable. The callousness emanating from this possibility is contrary to the spirit of intimacy implied by the decision to walk together along the hazardous path of the in-vitro fertilization procedure. Moreover, when the dispute broke out and Daniel objected to the implantation of the ova, Ruth was no longer able, from a physiological viewpoint, to undergo another fertilization procedure, since her medical condition resulted in her losing her fertility and her ability to bring children into the world.

In such circumstances, Ruth‟s reliance on Daniel‟s initial consent should be regarded as reasonable. This reasonability of her reliance on the path that she and Daniel chose to pursue require, in this case, the just conclusion that there is no going back, and whoever wishes to make a change is at a disadvantage.

I would therefore grant the petition.

 

Justice Y. Kedmi

I have studied the illuminating opinions of my colleagues, Justice Strasberg-Cohen and Justice Tal, and I support the conclusion reached by Justice Tal. The following, in brief, are the reasons underlying my decision:

1.            Indeed, it is a basic human right — for men and women — to choose whether to be a parent or not; and a mere contractual obligation must give way before this right. Nonetheless, it is not an absolute right, nor even an equal right. When a woman becomes pregnant, her spouse may no longer go back on his choice and force her to undergo an abortion, whereas the woman is entitled to terminate the pregnancy, by virtue of her „prevailing‟ right to the integrity of her body.

2.            The practical question that requires a decision in this case is whether, even in so far as in-vitro fertilization is concerned, the „point of no return‟ from the decision to realize the right to parenthood is the time of fertilization (as the equivalent of the time of conception), or whether this point is pushed back over time to the moment when the fertilized ovum is implanted in the body of the surrogate mother (so that only from this stage onwards, the woman‟s right to the integrity of her body prevails, and the right not to be a parent yields to it).

3.            (a) Were we speaking of such circumstances, of a conflict between the right to parenthood (or not to be a parent) and the right to the integrity of the

 

 

body of the „pregnant‟ woman only, then the answer required under the current legal position to the aforesaid practical question would be yes. In other words, as long as the fertilized ovum has not been implanted in the body of the surrogate mother, the right not to be a parent prevails, and each of the spouses is entitled to turn the clock back and demand the destruction of the fertilized ovum.

(b)          However, in my opinion, one should not, in this context, ignore the fact that „fertilization of the ovum‟ is not merely one of the stages in the development of the embryo, but it is the act that „creates‟ it and turns the ovum and the sperm into a new „entity‟, consisting of the two entities that created it and that can no longer be separated. Just as the sperm and the ovum have been assimilated into one other and become one, so the rights of the man and his spouse — the „owners‟ of the ovum and the sperm — have assimilated into one another and become a „joint right‟ in so far as the fate of the fertilized ovum is concerned. This „joint right‟ is identical in its nature and status to the parental right that each of its creators had, with one difference: each of the owners of the right has a right of veto over a decision by the other, so that only a „joint decision‟ can be carried out and enforced.

(c)           In order to remove doubt, I should clarify:

(1)          Before the date of the actual fertilization, each of the spouses can change his decision to be a parent, and his basic right not to be a parent prevails over the contractual right of his partner to demand performance of the agreement made between them in this regard. This is the position only until fertilization; this is so because the fertilization changes the position, and creates new circumstances that do not allow „going back‟ and returning to the original position. Until fertilization, each of the spouses can be given back what is „his‟: the man can be given back his sperm and the woman can be given back her ovum. But after fertilization, restitution is impossible, as this involves an injury to the right of the other over his share.

(2)          After the fertilization, the man and the woman continue to control jointly — and only jointly — the fate of the fertilized ovum, until it is implanted in the body of the surrogate mother; on implantation, the surrogate mother acquires the basic right to the integrity of her body, as if she had

„conceived‟ naturally, and her right takes precedence over the joint right of the couple to the fertilized ovum.

(3)          Fertilization of an ovum — whether inside or outside the body of a woman — amounts to a „fait accompli‟ from which there is no return, if only

 

Justice Y. Kedmi

 

for the simple reason that the original position can no longer be restored and what the man and woman concerned invested of themselves in the „new entity‟ — the fertilized ovum — cannot be returned. It is true that we can turn the clock back by destroying the „fertilized ovum‟. But since it is no longer possible to separate the sperm from the ovum, the spouse wishing to withdraw and to destroy his „contribution‟ to the fertilized ovum does not have a right to destroy also the „contribution‟ of the other. Destruction of the fertilized ovum requires the consent of both spouses, and each of them has a right of veto over the other‟s decision.

In these circumstances, a spouse‟s right to change his mind and „not to be a parent‟ is, after fertilization, opposed by the „strengthened‟ right of the other spouse to complete the procedure of bringing the child into the world and

„becoming a parent‟. The act of fertilization sets the „right of changing one‟s mind‟ against the „right to complete the procedure‟; in my opinion, in view of the new situation that has been created, the „right of changing one‟s mind‟ is of lesser force than the „right to complete the procedure‟ that has just been created.

The new reality created by fertilization of the ovum therefore changes the balance of rights: the right „not to be a parent‟, which was weakened by the fertilization agreement, is now opposed by the right „to be a parent‟, which has been strengthened by the right „to complete the procedure‟ created by the fertilization.

4.            (a) This is similar (but not identical, of course) to two people who agreed to create a work of art together, which requires „firing‟ in a kiln to be preserved; after the work has been completed and all that is left is to put it in the kiln, one of the two changes his mind and wants to prevent his companion from putting the work in the kiln, thereby causing it to be destroyed. According to my opinion, it is inconceivable that after the joint work has been completed, one of the partners will be entitled to destroy it against the wishes of the other partner who wants to complete the creation process. It may be that each of the partners will retain a right to change his mind as long as the work has not been completed. But when the work has been completed, each of the partners has an identical rights with regard to its „fate‟; and the right of the person wishing to preserve it overrides the right of the one who wants to destroy it.

(b) Bringing the work of art to the stage of processing in the kiln is equivalent, if we like, to the fertilization of the ovum, which is the first and decisive stage in the development of the child; just as the right of the partner

 

 

wishing to complete the „creation‟ of the work of art overrides the other‟s right to destroy it, so too the right of the spouse wishing to complete the process of bringing the child into the world overrides the right of the one wishing to destroy the fertilized ovum.

 

Justice Y. Türkel

1.            In this difficult case, I choose life; the life — in the metaphorical sense — of Ruth Nahmani, and the „life‟ — or the potential for life — of the fertilized ova.

2.            When I considered the matter, I had before me the opinions of my colleagues, Justice Goldberg, Justice Kedmi, Justice Strasberg-Cohen, Justice Tal and Justice Dorner, who considered every aspect and facet of the subject under discussion so well that no aspect was left for me to elucidate or illuminate. I would add, therefore, but a small embellishment of my own, a few of the reasons for my decision.

3.            Elsewhere I have said:

„The enormous progress that has occurred in our times in all the fields of science and technology (and mainly the advances in medicine and the development of medical technology) have created problems that were unknown to us … and have made problems that we did know more difficult. The classic story of those two persons walking in the desert where only one of them has a flask of water — a flask capable of keeping only one of them alive — has changed from a theoretical Talmudic proposition into a very painful and pressing reality, and the question it raises has become a relevant issue demanding a solution. This progress has erased the clear boundaries and blurred the well-used paths trodden by the scientist, the doctor and the jurist, and defined areas have become unbounded and awesome expanses. Tension, and maybe even a rift, has been created between the achievements of science and medicine and the values that have been developed over the course of human history‟ („Tikkun Halev‟, 40 Hapraklit (1992), 34).

In these unbounded and awesome expanses, the law has no power to set our course. Like my colleague, Justice Goldberg, I too believe that  the dispute before us —

 

 

„… does not essentially fall within the framework of an existing legal norm. It cannot be fitted into the legal frameworks of a contract or quasi-contract. It lies entirely in the realm of emotion, morality, sociology and philosophy. This explains the normative void and the inability of accepted legal rules to provide a solution to the dispute.‟

The answer will be found, therefore, in the inner world of values of each of us. I would even not hesitate to say that it is permitted to be found in the wealth of emotions in the heart of each of us.

The main question to be decided in this dispute is which of the rights is preferable: the right to be a parent or the right not to be a parent, or, if you wish, as my colleague Justice Strasberg-Cohen further clarified the question:

„is it possible, because of the great importance of parenthood, to force parenthood on someone who does not want it, and to use the machinery of the legal system to achieve such coercion?‟

4.            The majority opinion in the appeal was, in essence, that recognizing the autonomous will of the individual requires us to prefer the right of the spouse who does not wish to be a parent. I disagree with this. In my opinion, once the act of in-vitro fertilization has occurred, the positive right to be a parent prevails, as a rule, over the negative right not to be a parent. I will explain my main reasons.

The modern social and legal view recognizes the autonomous will of the individual. From this are derived the prima facie conflicting rights of being a parent and not being a parent (see, in this regard, the interesting analyses of the issue in the articles of Gans, „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple‟, supra; Marmor, „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple: a Response to Chaim Gans‟, supra; Gans, „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple: a Reply to Andrei Marmor‟, supra; Barak-Erez, „On Symmetry and Neutrality: Reflections on the Nahmani Case‟, supra; Davidov-Motola, „A Feminist Judgment? A Further Aspect of the Nahmani Case‟, supra, cited in my colleagues‟ opinions). Indeed, according to the remarks of Yosef Raz, cited in the articles of Prof. Gans and Dr Marmor: „An autonomous person is a person who writes the story of his life on his own‟. However, to use this analogy, is there really symmetry between the rights of each of the spouses to write the story of his life on his own?

In my view, there is no symmetry between the rights, despite the „external‟ similarity between them, and the right to be a parent should not be viewed

 

 

simply as a derivative of the autonomy of the will, a counterpart of the right not to be a parent. However, even if we view the two rights as derivatives in this way, they are not of equal value and status, as if existence and destruction were equal to each other and as if they were the symbols 1 and 0 in the binary code of a computer (I accept the remarks made by Dr Barak- Erez in this respect, in her article „On Symmetry and Neutrality: Reflections on the Nahmani Case‟, supra, that were cited in the opinion of Justice Tal).

5.            It seems to me that no one would disagree that the right to life is a basic right that has been sanctified in Jewish history and the history of mankind in general:

„Judaism has always exalted and glorified the enormous value of human life. Jewish law is not a philosophical system of opinions and beliefs but a law of life — of life and for the sake of life‟ (in the words of the honourable Justice Silberg in Zim Israeli Shipping Co. Ltd v. Maziar [13], at p. 1333 {132}).

This has been the case since antiquity.

Alongside the right to life, as understood in Jewish sources, additional rights were created that were deemed equal to it, and without which human life is meaningless. This we can learn, for example, from the law of the person who kills negligently, who is condemned to flee to one of the cities of refuge „that he may live‟ (Deuteronomy 4, 42; 19, 2-5 [64]), and if he is a student then „his rabbi is exiled with him‟ and if he is a rabbi then „his school is exiled with him‟. The reason for this is: „that the Bible says “and he shall live” — do for him whatever is necessary so that he may live, and the life of those who have wisdom and those who seek it without the study of the Torah is considered as death‟ (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Makkot, 10a [77]; Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilechot Rotzeah uShemirat Nefesh (Laws of Homicide and Preservation of Life), 7, 1 [78]). Even the right to be a parent should be regarded in this way. Alongside the right to life — which is the right to a full and meaningful life — or as a part of it, the right to be a parent is also worthy of recognition as an independent basic human right and not merely as a derivative of the autonomy of the will.

The cry of our ancestress Rachel, „Give me children, else I die‟, (Genesis 30, 1 [65]), mentioned by my colleague Justice Tal in his opinion, the silent cry of Hannah „speaking in her heart, only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard‟ (I Samuel 1, 13 [79]) and praying „for this child‟ (I Samuel 1, 27 [79]) and countless other cases in our literature and that of other nations are a

 

 

striking expression of the force of the yearning for a child, which is unrivalled in its intensity. This yearning encompasses man‟s will to continue, through his descendants, the physical and spiritual existence of himself, his family and also his people. It reflects his aspiration to realize himself and even to fulfil his dreams that have not yet been realized. It contains his love for his descendants, those who have been born and those as yet unborn; a love of „would that I had died in your stead‟ (II Samuel 19, 1), which overrides a person‟s desire for his own life, and also a yearning that holds out hope for comfort and consolation in his loneliness, old age and on his death bed. It has been said that „When your parent dies, you have lost your past… When your child dies, you have lost your future‟ (Dr Elliot Luby, quoted in

H. S. Shiff, The Bereaved Parent, 1978). The child is the future and his existence gives the lives of most people special meaning, and perhaps their main meaning.

In my view, the ethical weight of this right is immeasurably greater than the weight of the right not to be a parent, which is the right not to be burdened with the emotional, moral and economic burdens that parenthood imposes. Doing „ethical justice‟ (HCJ 200/83 Wathad v. Minister of Finance [19], at p. 121) compels us to prefer the former right to the latter.

6.            However, even if we regard the right not to be a parent as equal to the right to be a parent, there is another fact that tips the scales in favour of the latter right: the life potential of the fertilized ova. Here I would like to emphasize that I do not intend to adopt any position on the difficult philosophical questions: when does life begin? When does a person become entitled to a moral status? From what moment in his development does his life become sacred and protected as a natural right? The biological sense as contrasted with the moral sense of human existence; or to express an opinion about the different approaches on these issues, including the  legal conclusions that can be derived therefrom (see in this regard the lectures of Prof. D. Hed, Medical Ethics, in the chapter „Embryos as Humans‟, Ministry of Defence, 1990, at p. 51 et seq.). These and other associated questions, such as the right of abortion, in the context of this case have been discussed by Prof. Gans, „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple‟, 18 Tel-Aviv Uni.

L. Rev., 1994, at p. 86 and by Dr Marmor, „The Frozen Embryos of the Nahmani Couple: a Response to Chaim Gans‟, 19 Tel-Aviv Uni. L. Rev., 1995, at p. 437, where ultimately they reached different conclusions.

As stated, I do not intend to adopt a position on the different approaches. I also do not know whether it is at all possible to ascribe to the fertilized ova

 

 

an interest to be born, which merits moral recognition, and whether it prevails over the interest of Daniel Nahmani. However my moral sense leads me to the conclusion that the very existence of this life potential, whatever its weight, tips the scales in Ruth Nahmani‟s favour.

7.            I intended to be brief and I fear that I have overstepped the mark. After writing my opinion, I saw the opinions of my colleagues Justices Bach, Or, Mazza and Zamir, as well as additions and corrections to the opinions written before my opinion. I will also add another small embellishment to some of their remarks.

8.            Justice Zamir distinguishes between law and justice:

„My Maker is the law… my inclination is justice.‟

He also says that „it happens to a judge that the law and justice struggle within him, each pulling in different directions, and he cannot reconcile one with the other‟ (paragraph 1 of his opinion). According to him, it is possible to distinguish between the two and thereby also to find the path that should be followed:

„The court must seek its path in order to reach this norm… Jurisprudence guides it on its way and gives it tools in order to determine the law…

… From a practical viewpoint, and maybe even from a theoretical viewpoint, it is inconceivable that the court will not find a legal norm somewhere along this path. In any case, the court is not entitled to say, before it has traversed the whole length of this path, that there is no legal norm in the matter under consideration, and therefore it is entitled to decide that matter according to justice‟ (paragraph 4 of his opinion).

Justice Or made similar remarks in paragraph 13 of his opinion:

„It [the court] must ascertain the law and decide accordingly… When I reached the conclusion that there is a legal solution to this problem, as I have sought to clarify above, this solution should apply in our case, even if its result is inconsistent with Ruth‟s expectations, and the situation in which she finds herself arouses sympathy.‟

In my opinion, in a matter as difficult and complex as the one before us, which involves and combines moral, social, philosophical and legal questions that cannot be separated from one another and that raise strong emotions, it is

 

 

impossible to distinguish between the dictates of the „law‟ and the „justice‟ of the judge. The one is bound up in the other. The one stems from the other. Their existence is interconnected, like fire in a coal.

It should also be said that some believe that a decision according to the

„law‟ is an „objective‟ decision, that should be discovered and revealed in the way outlined by jurisprudence. By contrast, a decision according to „justice‟, as described by Justice Zamir, is like a decision of a person „searching for the proper path, wandering…‟ — it is analogous to a subjective decision — each person according to the spirit within him. In my opinion, even a decision according to the „law‟, in the case before us, is essentially a subjective-value decision, each judge according to the tune played on the harp hanging above his window (see: „a harp was suspended above David‟s bed, and when midnight arrived, a north wind came and blew on it, and it played on its own‟, Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, 3b [71]). Objectivity, in a case like ours, as the historian Peter Novick said in his book That Noble Dream: The Objectivity Question & the American Historical Profession, Cambridge, 1993), is a myth and nothing more.

9.            At the end of his decision, Justice Zamir candidly says the following:

„In this case, I have not tried to take a shortcut. I have followed the main road, although it was arduous, and have reached this conclusion: between Ruth and Daniel, the law is on Daniel‟s side. I suppose that another path could have been chosen among the paths of the law, and that perhaps a different result could have been reached by that path. However, the important point in my opinion is that the court must follow one of the paths of the law. I concede that had I seen that the path was leading me to a result of injustice, I would have stopped along the way and sought out another path, from among the abundance of legal rules, that might lead me to a just result. Moreover, even at the end of the path I am still ready and prepared to look and see whether I have reached an unjust result. For if so, I am prepared to retrace my steps and start the journey over again in an attempt to reach a more just result. But have I really, in the result that I have reached, not dispensed just law?‟

In a similar vein, Justice Tal also said in the appeal that is the subject of this further hearing:

 

 

„But there is not always only one legal solution. Sometimes different potential solutions compete with one another. This is particularly the case with a painful human problem like the one before us. And where there is such a competition, we should, in my opinion, prefer the solution that appears to be more just.‟

See also paragraphs 3 and 4 of the opinion of Justice Bach; paragraphs 11 and 12 of the opinion of Justice Goldberg; paragraph 21 of the opinion of Justice Mazza; paragraph 6 of the opinion of Justice Dorner.

After all this, I wonder what is the point in trying to weigh the competing values in the scales of the law, or in trying to follow „one of the paths of the law‟, when the weight of the values changes according to the person applying the law, when it is possible to choose between several paths and when one path may even lead to different results. Even in the opinions of those of my colleagues who are of my opinion, more than one „legal path‟ is presented whereby  one  may  reach  the  result  that  they  reached,  which  is  no  less

„legalistic‟ than the paths followed by those who disagree with them. If this is the case, what did those who followed this path achieve thereby?

10.          Moreover, if there is indeed more than one „legal path‟, how does one choose between the different paths and the different destinations to which each path leads? Is this choice also dictated by „the law‟? In complex issues, like the one before us, there is no legal geometry that necessitates unequivocal results. Unlike my colleagues who think this, I cannot point to one solution, or to a „more correct‟ solution, that can be applied in the case before us. The opinions before us illustrate well how different values can be put in place of each variable in the chosen formula. Instead of the findings on which judges espousing one  viewpoint rely, one  can reach the  opposite findings. Instead of the finding that there is no agreement between the parties, one can reach the opposite finding. Instead of the rule that contracts should be honoured, one can rely on the rule in section 30 of the Contracts (General Part) Law, according to which there are contracts that are void because they are contrary to public policy. Instead of the balance between (positive and negative) liberties, a balance can be made between (general and specific) rights. Legal geometry allows both the one and the other. There is no single solution, no single path and no single „law‟ (see M. Mautner, The Decline of Formalism and the Rise of Values in Israeli Law, Ma‟agalei Da‟at, 1993, at pp. 13-23; G. L. Coleman and B. Leiter, „Determinacy, Objectivity and Authority‟, 18 Iyunei Mishpat 1994, 309; R. M. Cover, Justice Accused, New Haven, 1975). In such a chaotic legal world, if we may call it that, the judge

 

 

needs an external, extra-legal norm — call it what you will — in order to choose between the range of solutions that „the law‟ allows. If so, it would appear that in resorting directly to „justice‟ no greater „shortcut‟ was made that the one taken by the minority-opinion judges in this further hearing when they chose, for example, the legal rule that „where there is no representation, there is no argument of estoppel‟ (paragraph 16 of the opinion by Justice Zamir).

This is what we have been saying. When there is no legal determinism (as the scholar Cover calls it in Justice Accused) with regard to the case, requiring one outcome, there is, in my opinion, no reason to try to follow ab initio the „path of law”, which has no advantage over the „path of justice‟.

11.          Furthermore, a solution that depends upon an external authority that is

„forced‟ on the judge (see the analysis of „the can not argument‟ in Cover‟s book Justice Accused) is a tempting solution, but that is not the position here. The case before us is one of those difficult cases where the judge alone must bear, on his own shoulders, full personal responsibility for his decision, without relying on the support of another authority, because of the absence of any norm that regulates the issue (in this regard, see also R. W. Gordon,

„Critical Legal Histories‟, 36 Stan. L. Rev. (1984) 57).

I have no hesitation in saying that the result I have reached is not merely the result of legal analysis but also of intuition and internal feeling (see my article, „Tikkun Halev‟, 40 Hapraklit (1992), 34, at p. 41). I think that in a special case like the one under discussion there is nothing wrong in this. As President A. Barak wrote in his book Judicial Discretion, Papyrus, 1987, at p. 197:

„Indeed, intuition plays a role in judicial discretion. The judge is a human creature, and intuition plays an important role in the activity of every person.‟

Ultimately, in a case such as this, every path towards a solution passes through an intersection of value judgments, and it makes no difference whether we call it the path of the law, or the path of justice. In HCJ 4712/96 Meretz Democratic Israel Party v. Jerusalem District Commissioner of Police [20], I said, at p. 835:

„Not every dispute, even if it is justiciable, has a legal solution; and not every legal solution, even if there is one, is the true solution of every dispute.‟

 

 

The case before us is an example of a justiciable dispute, which the court is obliged to decide, but which has no „pure‟ legal solution, and it is doubtful whether it has a true solution.

12.          I will permit myself to quote additional remarks that I said elsewhere:

„Like the prophet, the judge seeks to find a path among all these, for the public and for himself. He enters the hidden parts of the orchard, with a torch in his hand — his small torch — and all its paths  are  hazardous,  deep  abysses   and   tall   mountains (C. N. Bialik, „He looked and was injured‟).

What is justice, what is equity, what is liberty, what criteria will he adopt to measure these? When will he wield the iron sword of justice and when he act gently with the full measure of compassion?… When will he apply the standard of truth? And when will he apply the standard of stability?

Between all of these, as between poles of many magnets, the judge tries to find his way. In his hand he holds a measure of law, with innumerable half-measures. In every case he judges himself, in every case, consciously and unconsciously, he decides the law and the characteristics of the law, both in his image and likeness, and in the image and likeness to which he aspires…‟ (Y. Türkel, „Humility, Awe and Love‟, 23 The Judicial Authority — Israeli Judges Circular (5756), 12).

We carry a heavy burden of responsibility on our shoulders. The light that guides us is neither the light of the sun nor the light of the stars, which are the property of all. It is merely the light of the small torch in the hand of each one of us, lighting up the way.

13.          I began my remarks by saying that I choose life; I intended thereby to hint also at something else. According to my approach, the justice done and radiated by the court must be human justice, which is not only the result of logical analysis, but which must also flow from the depths of the heart. A decision in favour of Ruth Nahmani is, in my opinion, such a decision. Indeed, the human approach was also in the minds of those holding the majority opinion in the appeal, who did not ignore the yearning of Ruth Nahmani for motherhood, but nonetheless they reached a conclusion different from mine. These matters follow after the heart, and my heart has led me to the conclusion that I have reached. For these reasons, and for some of the

 

 

reasons of my colleagues, Justice Bach, Justice Goldberg, Justice Mazza, Justice Kedmi, Justice Tal and Justice Dorner, I will join myself with them.

In my opinion, the petition should be granted.

 

Justice G. Bach

1.            After studying the judgment of this court in CA 5587/93,* the subject of this further hearing,  the arguments of the parties, the opinion of my esteemed colleague, Justice Strasberg-Cohen, which supports the majority opinion in the aforementioned judgment, namely the position of the respondent, Mr Daniel Nahmani, as well as the opinions of my esteemed colleagues, Justices Tal, Kedmi, Goldberg, Dorner and Türkel, who propose that we grant the application of Mrs Ruth Nahmani to reverse the original judgment and to accept the dissenting opinion in the original judgment, I have reached the opinion that I must join with the opinions of my five colleagues and support Ruth‟s position with regard to the problem that we must decide.

2.            This is not a conclusion that I have reached lightly. As can be seen from the opinions of my colleagues, who also had difficulty in deciding the issue under discussion, I too have experienced many serious reservations in this matter.

We have here a situation in which not only can we understand the feelings of each of the litigants, but each of them is also entitled to a large measure of sympathy.

Sympathy for the situation in which Ruth finds herself stands out in the opinion of all the judges. Even my esteemed colleague, Justice Strasberg- Cohen, emphasizes this, and she also agrees with the assessment that the emotional suffering caused to Ruth as a result of denying the right of parenthood exceeds that which will be caused to Daniel if the parenthood will nonetheless be realized.

But even the dilemma in which Daniel finds himself is deserving of understanding and empathy. It is hard to find fault with him when he is not interested in having a child jointly with a woman after their family unit has split, and he has since begun a relationship with another partner and intends to develop a family life with her and with their children only. Even if Daniel

 

 

 

*             IsrSC 49(1) 485; [1995-6] IsrLR 1.

 

 

does not emphasize the economic factor in raising the child, this factor nonetheless exists. The child‟s right to economic support will not be prejudiced even as a result of Ruth‟s promise that she, for her part, will not make any financial claims. But the emphasis is placed without doubt on the emotional, psychological and family factor, and we can understand Daniel‟s objection to the creation of the additional dependence that is expected if a child is indeed born from these parents.

For this reason, I have difficulty in agreeing with that part of the reasoning of my esteemed colleague, Justice Kedmi, in which he compares the position of the litigants in our case to a case in which two people have agreed „to create a work of art together, which requires “firing” in a kiln to be preserved; after the work has been completed and all that is left is to put it in the kiln, one of the two changes his mind and wants to prevent his companion from putting the work in the kiln, thereby causing it to be destroyed‟. In my opinion the two cases are not similar. One cannot compare the preservation of a work of art, whatever the value and reputation involved in its ownership may be, with the change of status involved in parenthood, and with the emotional baggage and material and moral obligations that arise when a person becomes a parent.

In other words: in my opinion, I cannot decide this appeal because of a clear disapproval of the behaviour of one of the parties to the dispute.

3.            I also believe that a solution will not be found to the problem that we are considering by relying on specific legislation, or the interpretation of such legislation. The Surrogacy Agreements (Approval of Agreement and Status of the Child) Law is albeit relevant to the case, but it gives no real answer to the difficulty before us. Admittedly section 5(c) of that law does stipulate that the approvals committee may reconsider an approval that it gave „… as long as the ovum has not been implanted‟, but I share the view that this provision refers mainly to the relationship between the prospective parents and the surrogate mother, and does not determine the period in which one of the prospective parents still has a „right of veto‟ over completion of the parenthood procedure.

A study of the laws of contract also cannot help to provide a proper solution. We are not dealing here with an ordinary contract that can be enforced, or with a contract where an attempt to enforce it is doomed to failure.

 

 

But these factors are insufficient to exempt us from the duty of deciding this difficult question.

4.            Here I agree with the opinion of my colleagues, who believe that in the situation before us, where there is no express statute that can guide us, we must avail ourselves of our sense of justice, and make our ruling according to what seems to us to be more just, in view of all the circumstances of the case before us. I expressed my view as to finding a just solution in the absence of legislation that dictates an express solution, in my opinion in CA 499/81 Odeh v. Haduri [21], at pp. 739-740.  My opinion  in that judgment  was admittedly in the minority, but my remarks regarding the issue of considerations of justice remain unchanged. I wrote there, inter alia:

„It is clear to us all that the application of the provisions of statute to the specific facts of a particular case does not always lead to a result that satisfies our sense of justice. There are many cases — some would say too many — in which the court is compelled by statute or by case-law, established in authorities that bind it, to make decisions whose outcome in practice conflicts with the rules of logic and reasonableness and is outrageous from the viewpoint of the sense of justice that beats in the heart of the judge.

This is mainly the result of the fact that even the most talented legislator does not foresee all the situations that may arise; life is more diverse than even the richest imagination of the parliamentary draftsman. And as for the judge, he is unable to depart from the clear language of the statute or from sacred case- law rules, lest he cause chaos and uncertainty with regard to the legal position on a specific issue, and thereby public crisis, which is worse even than the injustice caused to one of the parties in a particular case.

But awareness of the fact that such situations cannot entirely be prevented does not need to lead us to the conclusion that we must resign ourselves to this phenomenon, and that we are exempt from making maximum efforts to minimize the cases in which such a conflict arises between application of the statute and the requirements of justice.‟

And further on, at p. 740:

 

 

„Lord Denning, in his book The Road To Justice, London, 1955, discussed the approach of many jurists, who make a clear distinction between the law and its principles and the demands of justice, and who believe that the legal system should engage in interpreting the existing law only, and not look for ways to make it more just. Lord Denning writes, on p. 2:

“Lawyers with this cast of thought draw a clear and absolute line between law and morals, or what is nearly the  same  thing, between law  and justice. Judges and advocates are, to their minds, not concerned with the morality or justice of the law but only with the interpretation of it and its enforcement…

This is a great mistake. It overlooks the reason why people obey the law”.‟

Justice Strasberg-Cohen doubts the effectiveness of this test as a decisive factor. She points to the difficulty in determining what is the just solution and what is the unjust path. What seems just in the eyes of one observer may appear an outrageous injustice in the eyes of another.

This difficulty exists, but it is not the only one confronting the judge. When a judge must decide the question what is reasonable behaviour or reasonable care, or how the reasonable person would react in a given situation, these questions may have different and conflicting answers, and such are even given by different judges. Therefore on these issues there are majority and minority opinions, and sometimes the decisions of judges are reversed by higher courts. None of this prevents the court from deciding such questions. The judge must decide in accordance with his logic, life experience and conscience, and where there are differences of opinion, as there are in this case, the majority opinion is decisive.

As to the legitimacy of considerations of justice, let it be said that this factor constitutes an element in many statutes, which were cited in the opinion of my esteemed colleague, Justice Goldberg, such as section 31 of the Contracts (General Part) Law, which empowers the court to exempt a party to an illegal contract from the duty of restitution „if it thinks it just to do so‟, or section 3(4) of the Contracts (Remedies for Breach of Contract) Law, which allows non-enforcement of a contract when „enforcement of the contract is unjust in the circumstances of the case‟, or section 132(a) of the

 

 

Tenant‟s  Protection  Law  [Consolidated  Version],  according  to  which,

„notwithstanding the existence of a ground for eviction, the court may refuse to give a judgment requiring eviction if it is persuaded that in the circumstances of the case it would not be just to give it‟.

First and foremost in this context we should mention section 15(c) of the Basic Law: Administration of Justice, according to which the Supreme Court, when sitting as the High Court of Justice, shall „hear cases in which it thinks it necessary to grant relief for the sake of justice…‟

In each of those cases, there are differences of opinion on the questions whether justice requires or justifies the intervention of the court, and on the side of which party justice lies. But this is insufficient to prevent us from stating our position on the subject, even if the matter often involves serious reservations.

This consideration  has  therefore been, in this unique case, a guiding principle for me.

5.            I have already said that I feel a large degree of sympathy for the two adversaries in this tragic dispute. But ultimately, when I consider the facts of this special case as a whole and I try to weigh them in the scales of justice, I feel, like my five colleagues mentioned above, that Ruth‟s right is weightier and will tip the scales in her favour.

I reach this conclusion on the basis of the cumulative weight of the following considerations and facts:

(a)          Not only did Ruth and Daniel agree to bring a child into the world by this method of fertilizing the ova and availing themselves of a surrogate mother, but they went to the extent of realizing this plan. Daniel contributed his sperm and caused the fertilization of the ova with full consent.

(b)          The procedure adopted involved serious physical suffering for Ruth. Because of her state of health, this even involved a risk to her life.

(c)           Originally, Ruth could have achieved the same result with the sperm of another man, but she preferred the partnership with Daniel for obvious reasons, by relying on his full consent to the joint plan.

(d)          Ruth is no longer capable of repeating this attempt, because of her age and her state of health. Consequently, this is her only and last chance for her to realize her brave aspiration of parenthood.

(e)          By contrast, Daniel, who has become a parent, can experience this wonderful experience in the future.

 

 

(f)           Were we to encounter the opposite situation, i.e., a situation where the man was incapable of fathering children, and his only chance to become a parent would be by implanting the ovum of his spouse, fertilized by him in her body, in a surrogate mother, then I think it would be right to reach the same conclusion, whereby the woman who provided the ovum should not be allowed to oppose the completion of the process.

(g)          It should be noted that, in view of the need to consider all the relevant facts as a whole, my conclusion in this appeal might have been different, had it transpired, for example, that Daniel had found out that it was intended to implant the fertilized ovum in the body of a surrogate mother suffering from a terrible disease, or had it suddenly been discovered that because of the rare blood types of Daniel and Ruth, there existed a danger, from a genetic viewpoint, to the health or physical integrity of the foetus. But in the absence of such exceptional circumstances, the requirements of justice demand that Daniel should not be allowed to frustrate the completion of the procedure under discussion, merely for the reason that, in the meantime, there has been a change in his desire of being a father.

(h)          The fact that, in certain circumstances, we recognize the right of a woman to terminate her pregnancy by means of an abortion, and that the man cannot compel her to continue the course of the pregnancy or to terminate it, makes no contribution towards solving the present problem. The decisive factor with regard to the question of abortions concerns the fact that the embryo is a part of the mother‟s body, and therefore the mother has control over the embryo‟s fate.

(i)            My esteemed colleagues have extensively discussed the right and liberty of every person to achieve parenthood, and about the corresponding right and liberty of a person not to become a parent against his will.

My esteemed colleague, Justice Strasberg-Cohen, writes:

„Realizing the right of someone who wants parenthood by imposing an obligation on someone who does not want it conflicts with the essence of the freedom [i.e., the freedom of someone who is not prepared to undertake parenthood] and deals it a mortal blow‟ (parentheses supplied).

This might have been the position had the intention been to impose an obligation on the respondent to further the realization of parenthood. But no such demand is currently being made of Daniel. The active contribution required of him in this matter has already been performed by him, of his own

 

 

free will, in the past, before there was a change in his position. Today, no-one wishes to impose on him an obligation to do anything, and he is merely denied the right to frustrate Ruth‟s ability to make use of her ova, which were fertilized previously by the respondent‟s sperm with his full consent.

Justice Strasberg-Cohen does not agree with this approach. In her opinion, Ruth is demanding of Daniel acts that are of significance. My colleague says as follows:

„Is it really the case that Ruth is making no demands of Daniel? I suspect that the opposite is true. She demands that his opinion should not be taken into account, that he should be removed from the picture and that his refusal should be ignored. She demands that she should be allowed use of the genetic material against his will in order to bring a child into the world. She demands that the court should give consent instead of Daniel and instruct the hospital to give her the ova so that she can continue a procedure that will lead to the birth of her and Daniel‟s joint child, without his consent. To this end she asks that his consent to fertilization should be interpreted as consent to bringing a child into the world against his will, even if he will not raise the child.‟

In so far as these remarks indicate the serious dilemma in which Daniel Nahmani currently finds himself, I can only agree with them, and I have emphasized this in my remarks above. But this cannot obscure the practical and basic difference between imposing a duty on someone to perform an active deed to further parenthood, against his will, and not recognizing his right to do something that is intended to prevent his spouse from completing her realization of parenthood.

In other words: were the court now to be asked to order the respondent to cooperate actively with the continuation of the fertilization procedure, by contributing sperm or by participating in any medical tests or treatments, or by making payments to a surrogate mother or to other parties for procedures that have not yet been carried out, then there would be a basis to  the argument that making such an order would infringe upon a protected liberty of the respondent. But this is not the position in our case. Daniel is not currently being asked by Ruth to do anything, but he is seeking to prevent the hospital, by means of an active instruction on his part, from delivering the fertilized ova to the applicant, and he is seeking in this way to frustrate the

 

 

realization of the parenthood that was planned in the past by the two spouses jointly.

I have, in the meantime, had the opportunity of reading also the opinion of my esteemed colleague, Justice Zamir. With the intention of showing that, even after the husband consented to the fertilization of the ovum and the completion of the acts required for this end, of his own free will, the husband is still required to perform a positive act with regard to the additional steps connected with the implantation of the ova, Justice Zamir refers mainly to the Public Health (In-vitro Fertilization) Regulations (hereafter — the regulations). Under regulation 14 of those regulations, the husband‟s consent is required for any act involved in in-vitro fertilization of the woman, and under regulation 9 of the regulations, the consent of both the wife and the husband is required to extend the freezing of the ovum beyond five years.

These provisions are insufficient to obscure the major difference between imposing a duty on someone to carry out a positive act and a decision that merely neutralizes the opposition of that party to the act of the other party. With regard to what is stated in regulation 14 of the regulations, I am of the opinion that Daniel should be regarded as someone who not only agreed to the in-vitro fertilization, but even carried out all the acts required on his part to realize the fertilization. And with regard to what is stated in regulation 9 of the regulations, I will make two observations:

(1)          The problem concerning an extension of the freezing of the ovum in excess of five years was created only because Daniel refused to agree to the ova being delivered to Ruth, and as a result of the protracted legal proceedings, of which the current proceeding, it is to be hoped, is the last. In these circumstances, a decision by the court, which will invalidate Daniel‟s objection, should not be regarded as forcing Daniel to perform a positive act against his will, thereby violating one of his basic liberties.

(2)          In any case, when the court decides to accept Ruth‟s claim, according to the opinion formed by a majority of the judges on this panel of the court, the meaning of this is that the court is deciding, instead of the husband, to consent to implantation of the ovum, and it is instructing the hospital to deliver the fertilized ovum to Ruth in order to continue the activity required for carrying out the implantation. Again, Daniel is not required to take any tangible step as a result of this judgment. The power is now being transferred to Ruth to take, on her own, all the steps required for completion of the procedure involved in the implantation of the fertilized ovum.

 

 

(j)           In these circumstances, it is my opinion that the respondent‟s right to carry out an act to undermine the procedure must yield before the right of the applicant to realize her right to parenthood. On this issue, my colleague Justice Strasberg-Cohen writes:

„The law does not require a person to have children with his spouse even if he promised to do so and changed his mind. A person who breaks a promise causes disappointment and frustration to the other. His behaviour is not “just”, but the law will not require him to keep his promise in the name of “justice”.‟

But, in my opinion, we must distinguish between someone‟s spoken promise to have children with his spouse, and such a promise which, from his point of view, has already been carried out by fertilization of the wife‟s ova, with all the associated circumstances in the present case.

(k)          In this regard, I will not repeat the citations of judgments and learned opinions that were cited by my esteemed colleagues Justices Tal and Dorner, which point to the factor of estoppel that exists in the present circumstances, at least from the moral perspective. In order to illustrate the principle which seems to me persuasive, I will merely cite once again a short passage from the aforementioned article of Panitch, „The Davis Dilemma; How to Prevent Battles Over Frozen Preembryos‟, 41 Case W. Res. L. Rev. (1991) 543, at

p. 574, upon which Justice Tal relies:

„One fact is of vital importance in making this judgment; the spouse who opposes implantation wanted a child at one time and submitted to the IVF process with that end in mind. The two spouses once agreed on this issue and initiated the IVF procedure in reliance on that mutual wish. Given this background, the greater injustice would be to deny implantation to the spouse who detrimentally relied on the other‟s words and conduct.

Protection against this sort of injustice is recognized by the well established doctrine of estoppel…‟

(l)            To all of these we must add another consideration, which was also discussed by my esteemed colleague, Justice Türkel, that preferring the position of Ruth involves the possibility of granting life and bringing a living person into our world. Even were the scales of justice balanced (and this is not the case), even this thought would have tipped the scales.

 

 

6.            Conclusion:

For the reasons set out above, I share the view of my five colleagues, who think that Ruth‟s application in this further hearing should be granted, and that it should be held that she is entitled to continue her efforts to bring about the birth of a child by implanting the fertilized ova in the body of a surrogate mother.

 

Justice E. Mazza

Ruth Nahmani wants to become a mother, and justice is on her side. Daniel Nahmani does not want to be a parent of joint children with Ruth, and justice is on his side too. But the justice on Ruth‟s side is greater than that on Daniel‟s side, and the law is therefore on Ruth‟s side.

Deciding between rights

Are the right to be a parent and the right not to be a parent two facets of the same right? This is not an easy question. But even is we assume that the answer to this question is yes — i.e., that we are dealing with „opposing‟ rights — we cannot easily prefer one to the other. Possibly the intensity of the rights is equal and possibility it is not equal; deciding this question requires a value judgment (see D. Barak-Erez, „On Symmetry and Neutrality: Reflections on the Nahmani Case‟, 20 Tel-Aviv Uni. L. Rev. (1996), 197, at pp. 198-200). Indeed, not always do the positive right and its opposing negative right have the same status. Thus, for example, the right to speak and the right to remain silent are not necessarily equal rights. When the positive and negative aspects of the same right conflict with one another, a judicial determination is required. Sometimes there is no escaping a value judgment that determines the rank of the competing rights and accords them different statuses. Thus, for example, it was held (in CA 506/88 Shefer v. State of Israel [22]) that the right to die is not equal to the right to live. It seems to me that in our case we are not required to make such a value judgment of this kind. A decision in favour of Ruth‟s right to parenthood is not contingent on a determination that the right to be a parent, in itself, is stronger than the right not to be a parent. The reason for this is that in our case there is a clear and major gap, not between the inherent weight of the conflicting rights as such, but rather in the intensity of the manifestation of each of them in the circumstances of the specific case. It follows that, while the right to be a parent is manifested here in one of its strongest forms, the right not to be a parent is manifested here in a form that is relatively weak. Indeed, a just

 

 

decision in the matter of the Nahmani couple must be based on a proper balance between their conflicting rights. But this balance cannot be based merely on a feeling of justice. It must be made with an objective criterion. The criterion required, in the absence of a recognized legal norm that regulates the issue, is the doctrine of rights. As with any decision based on a comparison between conflicting rights, our decision will also be a value judgment. But in the circumstances of the case, as I have already said, we can exempt ourselves from the value judgment between the conflicting rights as such (as in Shefer v. State of Israel), and it is sufficient for us to compare the relative intensity of the rights as manifested and expressed in the concrete dispute. As a premise we can therefore assume that Daniel‟s basic right not to be a father to Ruth‟s children is equal to Ruth‟s right to be a mother to these children. However even with a premise that assumes the existence of absolute equality in the intensity of the conflicting rights, Daniel‟s case is weaker.

„Fundamental‟ rights, „general‟ rights and „specific‟ rights

3.            The term „right‟ has different meanings. In the discussion below we will seek to recommend a distinction between the following three meanings:

„fundamental‟ right, „general‟ right and „specific‟ right. A „fundamental‟ right reflects the norm and constitutes a part of the legal system. A „general‟ right is the right of a specific person to have the „fundamental right. A

„specific‟ right is the right of a person to a certain application of his general right. Take, for example, the freedom of speech. There is, in our legal system, a basic right of freedom of speech. This right, whose existence reflects the constitutional norm underlying it, is a fundamental right to the freedom of speech. The right given to the individual to express himself as he wishes is a general right of freedom of speech. It is „general‟ in that it gives the individual the fundamental right in principle. However, the right of the individual to a particular application of his right to freedom of speech, such as his right to express a particular idea or to do so in a particular way (by publishing an article, orally, etc.) is a specific right. As distinct from his having the general right, which derives from the fundamental right, his right to a particular implementation of the general right constitutes a „specific‟ right.

The distinction between a „general‟ right and a „specific‟ right focuses on two aspects of the right: the object to which the right relates, and the interest that is protected by the right. A right is general if the object of the right is the person having the right himself, and the protected interest is the very existence  of  the  fundamental  right  for  the  person  having  the  right.  By

 

 

contrast, if the object of the right is one of those objects with regard to which it is possible to implement a particular general right, and the interest protected by the right is the implementation of the said general right vis-à-vis that object, then the right is specific. For example: someone who opposes any restriction of his freedom of movement is in practice insisting that the fundamental right of freedom of movement applies to him too; his demand is for a general right of freedom of movement. By contrast, someone seeking to be released from a restriction preventing him from entering a specific place is seeking a specific freedom of movement, and the same is also true of someone seeking permission to leave the country. Note that a specific right does not need to relate to one specific object, but may relate also to a specific group of objects, as distinct from objects not included in that group. Thus, for example, a person who demands to be given the right to leave the country is asking for himself a specific right of freedom of movement, even though exercising the right may be expressed by travelling to several countries. All foreign countries to which he may wish to travel constitute potential objects for the exercise of his specific right. Travelling to other places that are inside the country, even though these are also possible objects for exercising the right of freedom of movement, are not objects for exercising the specific right of leaving the country. On the other hand, for someone asking to be released from arrest or from another restriction imposed on his freedom of movement, so that he may travel to specific places inside the country, only the places to which he wishes to travel will constitute objects for the exercise of the specific right of freedom of movement inside the country.

A comparison with the accepted distinction between absolute rights and relative rights

4.            I would like to emphasize that our distinction between a general right and a specific right is different from the accepted distinction in our legal system between an „absolute‟ right and a „relative‟ right. The distinction between an absolute right and a relative right focuses on the weight of the right, whereas the distinction between a general right and a specific right focuses on other questions: identification of the object to which the right relates and defining the interest which the right is intended to protect. Note that even the distinction between a general right and a specific right may influence the weight given to that right. But the weight of the right is not one of the characteristics of this distinction. The characteristics of this distinction are the identification of the object to which the right relates and defining the interest protected by it.

 

 

The distinction between an absolute right and a relative right combines a theoretical approach and a practical approach, which are like two distinctions existing alongside one another. The premise for the theoretical approach is definitional: an absolute right is a right that is protected absolutely against infringement, whereas a relative right may yield to conflicting interests and considerations. Professor Dworkin says that whoever has an opinion that a right is absolute is bound to hold that the right must always exist, and there can be no justification for restricting it (see R. M. Dworkin, Taking Rights Seriously, supra, at p. 92). The theoretical approach guiding the case-law of this court holds that the rights recognized in our legal system are never

„absolute‟, but are always „relative‟. This is the case with regard to the right of freedom of speech (HCJ 73/53 Kol HaAm Co. Ltd v. Minister of Interior [23], at page 879 {99}); the right of holding a demonstration and procession (HCJ 153/83 Levy v. Southern District Commissioner of Police [24], at p. 399

{115}); the right of assembly and demonstration (HCJ 292/83 Temple Mount Faithful v. Jerusalem District Commissioner of Police [25], at p. 454); the right of a journalist to refuse to answer a question regarding the source of his information (MApp 298/86 Citrin v. Tel-Aviv District Disciplinary Tribunal of Bar Association [26], at p. 347); the freedom of occupation (CA 496/88 Henfeld v. Ramat Hasharon Sports Association [27], at p. 721); the right to receive information (HCJ 1601/90 Shalit v. Peres [28], at p. 366 {223}); the right of being heard (HCJ 4112/90 Association of Civil Rights in Israel v. Southern Commander [29], at p. 638); and the right of a suspect to meet with a lawyer (HCJ 3412/91 Sufian v. IDF Commander in Gaza Strip [30], at p. 848).

The practical approach deals with determining the weight of a particular right. According to this approach, the weight of a right is never determined by the actual recognition of the right‟s existence, but derives from the balance between it and the interests competing with it in a particular situation. The meaning of this is that the weight of any right cannot be expressed by indicating its place on any scale. All that can be said is that, in one or other set of specific circumstances, the right prevails over, or gives way to, a conflicting interest. In practice, the practical approach deals with relative rights, and in this way it realizes the ideological approach. It assumes a premise that we should not recognize a right as „absolute‟ (i.e., as reflecting an objective value that is absolutely independent of other values). Thus it provides an independent yardstick for distinguishing between „absolute‟ rights (in the primal-hypothetical sense) and „relative‟ rights, which alone

 

 

have a practical legal significance. Case-law also contains reference to the distinction between absolute rights and relative rights in this sense (see, mainly: CA 105/92 Re‟em Contracting Engineers Ltd v. Upper Nazareth Municipality [31], at p. 205; CA 2266/93 A v. B [32], at p. 266; cf. also what is stated in HCJ 753/87 Borstein v. Minister of Interior [33], at p. 474, and HCJ 721/94 El-Al Israel Airlines Ltd v. Danielowitz [34], at p. 760 {488}. In its operation, the practical approach proves the correctness of the ideological approach, and works jointly with it: in the absence of a „moral‟ possibility of determining the weight of any right in objective-absolute values, the necessary conclusion is that no right is absolute and that all rights  are relative.

5.            We have discussed the distinction between general rights and specific rights. If we wish to describe these rights in terms familiar to us from the field of distinguishing between absolute rights and relative rights, we will quickly discover that general rights and  specific rights are both relative rights. Someone claiming a general right of freedom of speech does not claim that his right must prevail over every conflicting right. The difference between him and someone claiming a specific right of freedom of speech is merely that the first demands a right to say anything that he wants to say, whereas the second demands that he be allowed to say something specific. But both of these have only a relative right, whose weight is determined by the existence of conflicting interests. The right is relative also in the sense of the practical approach. The weight of the right of freedom of speech is not fixed and absolute in either case, but it is determined in relation to other values that conflict with it. This conclusion also passes the definition test, that an absolute right is a right that must never be harmed. At any rate, for our purposes, both a general right and a specific right will always be (in the words of Dworkin in Taking Rights Seriously, supra, at p. 92) „less than absolute‟.

A comparison with other accepted distinctions

6.            Additional distinctions are recognized in jurisprudence with regard to rights. Hohfeld‟s distinction between a   „right in the strict sense‟ and a

„liberty‟, a „power‟ and an „immunity‟ is well-known. In our case, it is important to distinguish between a right in the strict sense and a liberty. Hohfeld characterizes rights according to the relationship between them inter se and between them and the existence of duties: the existence of a right in the strict sense, for a specific person with regard to a specific object, means the existence of a corresponding duty for someone else with regard to that

 

 

object, whereas the existence of a liberty for a specific person with regard to a specific object means the absence of a duty for that person with regard to that  object  (W. N. Hohfeld,  Fundamental  Legal  Conceptions,  1919,  at

p. 1923). In the terms of this distinction, both the general right and the specific right can be either a right in the strict sense or a liberty. It is possible, therefore, to speak of the general right of freedom of movement, which is a liberty, as well as of a person‟s specific right to go out of his home, which also is a liberty; and by contrast, it is possible to speak of an employee‟s general right to receive his wages on time, which is a right in the strict sense, and of that employee‟s specific right to receive his wages for the month of May at the beginning of June, which is also a right in the strict sense.

7.            Professor Dworkin (in Taking Rights Seriously, supra, at p. 93) distinguishes between an „abstract‟ right and a „concrete‟ right. According to this distinction, a concrete right is a determination concerning the real entitlement of a person to act in a certain way in a particular situation, whereas an abstract right is the actual idea according to which a certain right ought to be given preference. Thus, for example, the declaration that everyone has a right of freedom of occupation merely expresses an abstract right; but when the court determines that a specific person is entitled to establish a business that will compete with the business of his former employer, despite his contractual undertaking not to do this, the court is ruling that the person has a concrete right to realize his freedom of occupation in this specific way. If we try to characterize the general right and the specific right in terms of the distinction between the abstract right and the concrete right, we will find that both of them — both the general right and the specific right — are abstract rights. It need not be said that the general right does not determine that there is an entitlement to act in a certain way in a particular situation. However even the specific right does not do this: it too merely outlines the principles that lead to a concrete decision, but it does not, in itself, embody a decision. The decision must be made separately. In reaching it, the court must take account of the existence of the specific right, but it is likely and entitled to take into account also the existence of contradictory interests and additional considerations.

8.            Of particular importance for our case is the comparison with several distinctions made by Professor Raz (see: J. Raz, „On the Nature of Rights‟,

93 Mind (1984) 194). His first distinction is between   „core‟ rights and

„derivative‟ rights. Raz says that sometimes the justification for recognizing a right derives from another right. He calls rights, whose justification derives

 

 

from another right, „derivative‟ rights, whereas he calls the rights that are not derivative „core‟ rights. However, Raz emphasizes, not every right that from a logical viewpoint has its source in another right is a derivative right; for a right to be considered „derivative‟, there must be a justification relationship between it and the core right. In other words, it is the core right that justifies recognition of the existence of the derivative right (ibid., at p. 197). In the absence of a justification relationship, there is no basis for the distinction. Consider a person who bought a house containing several apartments. His right of ownership in a particular apartment in that house derives from his right of ownership in the whole building; and since the justification for his right of ownership in the apartment derives from his right of ownership in the whole house, the right of ownership in the apartment is a derivative right. By contrast, consider a person who bought all the apartments in the house, but who did so in separate transactions: one apartment after another. He too, at the end of the process, has become the owner of the whole house. Despite this, it cannot be said that his right of ownership in a particular apartment in that building derives from his right of ownership in the whole building, since in this case the justification relationship works in the opposite direction: his ownership of the whole house derives from his ownership of each apartment in this house.

A general right always incorporates the specific right. But the relationship between a general right and a specific right does not require a justification relationship. It follows that a specific right cannot always be regarded as a derivative right, within the meaning of this term in Raz‟s distinction. In addition, the condition of the unidirectional derivation is unimportant here. Therefore, it is unavoidable that a general right is created as a result of the existence of several specific rights. The example of the owner of the house, who is also the owner of the apartments in the house, emphasized to us the distinction between a core right and a derivative right. But for the distinction between a general right and a specific right, we do not attribute any importance to the question which of the rights came into existence first. The general right will incorporate all the specific rights even if these came into existence, one by one, before it.

9.            In his article „On the Nature of Rights‟, supra, Raz refers to the nature of the relationship between a „right‟ and a „duty‟. He disagrees with Hohfeld‟s   assertion   concerning   the   existence   of   a   relationship   of

„correspondence‟ between rights and duties. In his opinion, the relationship between rights and duties is also a relationship of „justification‟, and not one

 

 

of correspondence. One person‟s right constitutes a basis that makes it possible to justify imposing a duty on another person, if the weight of the opposing considerations does not outweigh them (ibid., at p. 199). Further on, Raz distinguishes between a „general‟ right and a „particular‟ right. A general right means that a certain person has a right, but it does not necessarily follow from this right that another person has a duty. In every set of circumstances we must consider the fact that there is an opposing right and the considerations that conflict with the realization of the right in those circumstances. If this set of considerations leads to the conclusion that the right should be realized, then we will say that in these circumstances there is a particular right, which is accompanied by a duty of another person. The general right is the basis upon which, in appropriate circumstances, particular rights are founded (ibid., at p. 211).

Notwithstanding the similarity in the terms, it seems to me that there is an important difference between Raz‟s distinction (general right as compared with a particular right) and the distinction proposed by us: a general right as opposed to a specific right. To the best of my understanding, Raz‟s intention in the term „particular right‟ is similar to Dworkin‟s intention in the term

„concrete right‟, namely — this is an assertion as to the existence of a de facto entitlement. This assertion means that the general right overrides the opposing interests, and it should be realized. This is not the case according to our distinction: a specific right — like a general right — can be denied by virtue of the greater strength of conflicting interests. The existence of a specific right is not the end of the matter, but merely one consideration in the equation which serves as the basis for the decision. Moreover, a general right (according to our definition) includes many specific rights, some of which may never be exercised in practice, because of the existence of conflicting considerations. This classification is incompatible with Raz‟s approach: he defines as particular rights only those specific rights that ultimately have been realized, whereas specific rights that have not been realized, in his view, are not rights at all (see ibid., at p. 211).

10.          Another distinction of Professor Raz is between a „morally fundamental right‟ and a right that is not such. What justifies the existence of a right, according to Raz, is the interest that the right is intended to protect (see ibid., at p. 195). If the interest of the person having the right is in his actually having the right, and it does not derive from any other interest, then the right is „basic‟ (ibid., at p. 214). It follows that a right that is not basic is of two kinds: a right that derives from a basic right, and a right whose

 

 

justification derives from other or additional interests, apart from the interest of the person having the right in his actually realizing the right.

Professor Raz‟s definition of a basic right is similar, from the viewpoint of the structure of the definition, to our definition of a general right: as we said, a right is general, if the interest that it is intended to protect is the very existence of a fundamental right for a person who has the right. However, despite the similarity in wording, there is no similarity in meaning. First, Raz‟s definition refers to a person‟s interest in his having that right, and it can be any right. By contrast, our definition of a general right in based on a person‟s interest in his having the fundamental right. Second, Raz‟s theory is based on the concept of interest, and when he defines a right as „basic‟, his intention is to distinguish between this right and other rights on the level of the interest that justifies the existence of the right. Our distinction between a general right and a specific right does not focus on the interest in the existence of the right, but in identifying the object: is the object the person having the right, or is it one of those objects vis-à-vis whom the person having the right is likely to implement his right. A person claiming a general right is making a claim with regard to himself: he is demanding for himself the fundamental right. A person claiming a specific right is making a claim with regard to objects that are extrinsic to himself: he is seeking to apply his general right to (one or more) objects from amongst the objects to which it can be applied.

Restrictions on rights

11.          We have reviewed some of the better-known ways of distinguishing between rights. This review is certainly not complete, but I think that it should be sufficient to clarify somewhat the uniqueness of the method proposed by us for distinguishing between a general right and a specific right. We will seek, below, to rely on this distinction, but first let us consider briefly also the classification of restrictions on rights. This too will be required for our case, since the balance between conflicting rights is based, inter alia, also on the definition of the nature of the restriction that each of the rights imposes on the conflicting right.

The recognized restrictions are of several types. We will follow our method and assert that the main classification of the restrictions — like the main  classification  of  the  rights —  is  into    „fundamental‟  restrictions,

„general‟ restrictions and „specific‟ restrictions. The first type need not trouble us: a fundamental restriction is a restriction imposed by law on a fundamental right, and like the right to which it applies it is part of the law,

 

 

from which the general and specific rights are derived. By its nature the restriction may be general or specific. It is general when it relates to a general right. It is specific when it relates to a specific right. That it is fundamental merely identifies the normative source of the restriction; in other words, that its application derives from the law. But balancing and deciding between conflicting rights are only required for general restrictions and specific restrictions. The normative source, from which the imposition of the restriction (whether general or specific) is derived, makes no difference: the source may be a fundamental restriction — i.e., a prohibition prescribed by the law — and it may derive from another binding norm: a court order, an agreement or another legal relationship. The classification of the restriction as general or specific derives from its content. A general restriction, which can relate only to a general right, deprives the person who has the right of the ability of making any use of his right; thereby it de facto negates the very existence of the right. A specific restriction may be imposed on a general right or on a specific right. Its imposition prevents the person who has the right from implementing his (general) right only with regard to some of the potential objects. It should be said that the overwhelming majority of fundamental restrictions are specific. The right of freedom of movement is limited by the road traffic laws, the criminal prohibition against trespass and laws regulating leaving and entering the country. These are specific restrictions, subject to which the (fundamental or general) right of freedom of movement is retained. Even the restrictions on the right of freedom of speech are specific, and subject to the prohibition of libel and laws whose purpose it to protect essential interests such as protecting State security and maintaining public order, the general right is retained.

12.          For the purpose of our deliberation we would like also to classify two additional   types   of   restrictions,   which   are   derived   from   the   main classification: a „de facto general‟ restriction and a „quasi-general‟ restriction.

A „de-facto general‟ restriction is a restriction that prima facie can be classified as specific, or which ostensibly appears to be specific, whereas it is, de facto, general. Take, for example, the case of the prisoner imprisoned in his cell. Someone looking at him is liable to receive the impression that the restriction on his freedom of movement is specific, because it prevents him merely from leaving his cell, whereas all other movement is ostensibly permitted to him. But clearly presenting the nature of the restriction in this way distorts the reality. The real restriction imposed on the prisoner is not limited to a prohibition against leaving his cell, but it includes all the possible

 

 

expressions of freedom of movement outside the walls of the cell: the prisoner cannot go home, he cannot walk in the city streets, he cannot travel to another city, or leave the country. Indeed, at this moment the only restriction imposed on his freedom of movement is a specific restriction (preventing him leaving the cell) but this specific restriction places on his freedom of movement a general restriction. The restriction on the freedom of movement of that prisoner is therefore a „de facto general‟ restriction, and a restriction of this type is equivalent, as its consequences require, to a general restriction.

I am aware that attempting to classify a de facto general restriction as a special type of restriction is not without difficulties from a theoretical perspective. Someone will say, justifiably, that the restriction on the freedom of movement of a prisoner is, essentially, a general restriction. On the other hand, it may possibly be argued that a sentence of imprisonment for a very short period (e.g., one day) imposes only a specific restriction on the freedom of movement. These potential objections do not worry me. The classification of a de facto general restriction is not intended to add to the main classification of general and specific restrictions, or to subtract from the validity of either of these types. The sole purpose of this classification is to provide a diagnostic for deciding borderline cases. In other words, even when according to the basic definition we should, or can, classify a restriction on a right as a specific restriction, but its consequences are like those of a general restriction, then for the purposes of deciding a dispute, we should treat it as a general restriction. Note that the definition of a restriction as a de facto general one may be of use not only in cases where there the difficulty in classifying the restriction as general or specific derives from the factual circumstances of a particular situation, but also in cases that give rise to a theoretical dispute with regard to the normative classification of the restriction. Take, for example, the restriction embodied in the prohibition against incitement to racism. Some will say  that we are dealing  with a specific restriction on the freedom of speech, since subject to the prohibition against incitement to racism, the right is retained. Others will say that we are dealing with a general restriction, which means that the „right‟ of freedom of racist speech has been utterly excluded from the fundamental right of freedom of speech. For the purposes of a practical decision, this theoretical argument may be resolved by adopting the definition according to which the restriction against racist speech is a de facto general one: this means that even if it is found that there is a theoretical justification for including it in the

 

 

category of specific restrictions, for the purposes of the decision it should be treated as a general restriction. In summary, since its de facto consequences are the same as the consequences of a general restriction, it should be treated de facto as a general restriction.

13.          The classification of a quasi-general restriction seeks to establish an intermediate level, situated between the general restriction and the specific restriction. This classification will be appropriate in a case where the restriction imposed on the person having the right albeit leaves him potential ways of realizing his right, but from his point of view all the possibilities that the restriction leaves him are very unattractive, either because realizing them involves special risks, great inconvenience or an investment of huge resources, or because the way in which they allow him to realize the right is substantially different from the way in which the person having the right would have wanted to realize it had it not been for the restriction. From a technical-formal viewpoint, the restriction imposed on the person having the right is merely a specific restriction, since in theory he retains the possibility of realizing the right; but from a substantive-functional perspective, such a restriction is closer to a general restriction. The fact that all the possibilities of exercising his right are unattractive gives the person having the right a negative incentive to realize his right, and also very substantially reduces the chance that he will succeed in realizing it de facto. In such circumstances, the restriction on the right is „quasi-general‟, and a quasi-general restriction should also be treated as a general restriction.

It should be noted that a quasi-general restriction is substantively different from a de facto general restriction. Consider the right to eat, which is one of the derivatives of the human right to preserve his physical existence. If a person is deprived of all food, the restriction on his right to eat is general. If he is deprived only of one type of food, but that type is the only food available, the restriction is de facto general. But if he is offered to eat rotten food, which has a bad taste and little or no nutritional value, and he is deprived of any other food, then the restriction on his right is „quasi-general‟.

The extent of the violation of the right

14.          On the basis of these principles, we would like to lay down some basic premises for the extent of the anticipated violation of a person‟s right as a result of restrictions imposed on his right.

Our first premise is that imposing a general restriction on any right will violate that right more than imposing a specific restriction on it. The reason

 

 

for this is simple and obvious: a general restriction ipso facto includes all the possible specific restrictions. Thus, for example, a general restriction on someone‟s freedom of occupation means that he is prohibited from engaging in any occupation whatsoever. Such a restriction will violate his general right of freedom of occupation more than a specific restriction that will prohibit him from engaging in a specific profession or vocation, but will not restrict his right to engage in other professions or vocations. Note that not all specific restrictions on a particular right are of equal status. Imposing a specific restriction on a particular right may violate that right more than imposing another specific restriction on that right. But both of these will violate that right less than if a general restriction had been imposed on it. Thus, for example, an order prohibiting a resident of Haifa from entering the municipal boundaries of Tel-Aviv imposes a specific  restriction on his freedom of movement. But the violation caused by such an order to the person‟s freedom of movement will be less than that caused by an order prohibiting him from leaving the municipal boundaries of Haifa, which also imposes a specific restriction. However, even the violation caused by an order of the latter type is still more moderate than that caused by an order which prohibits the person from leaving his home and imposes a general restriction (or at least a de facto general restriction) on his freedom of movement.

The second premise is that the violation of a right that derives from imposing a de facto general restriction on it will be, in most cases, equal to the violation caused to the person having the right as a result of imposing a general restriction. A de facto general restriction does not leave the person having the right with a real possibility and a de facto ability to realize his right. The practical result of a de facto general restriction classifies the violation of the right as equivalent to the violation of a general restriction. That is usually the case, but there may be exceptions, since, although the results are the same, the type of restriction may indicate a difference in attitude to the protected social value. The very imposition of a general restriction may sometimes indicate a relative decrease in the value of the protected right. Thus, for example, the prohibition against incitement to racism (assuming that it is a general restriction) indicates a negative social attitude towards the existence of the freedom of racist speech. Even imposing a de facto general restriction may sometimes indicate a decrease in the value of the protected right (once again, consider the prohibition against incitement to racism, against the background of the assumption that the restriction it incorporates is not general but de facto general). But imposing a de facto

 

 

general restriction (as distinct from imposing a general restriction)  may derive also from circumstantial constraints, and it will not always indicate a decrease in the value of the right. Subject to this qualification, which requires caution in special cases, it can be established that a de facto general restriction violates the right to the same extent as the violation deriving from imposing a general restriction on that right.

Our third premise proposes that imposing a quasi-general restriction on a right violates that right less than imposing a general restriction or a de facto general restriction. The reason for this is clear: imposing a quasi-general restriction does not prevent realization of the right. By contrast, the violation to the right caused by a quasi-general restriction cannot be estimated as if it were a specific restriction. It has already been explained that a quasi-general restriction makes it difficult to realize the right to a greater extent than a specific restriction. It follows from this that even its violation of the right on which the restriction is imposed is greater than that caused as a result of imposing a specific restriction.

Classification of the competing rights in the Nahmani case

15.          Ruth Nahmani wants to be a mother. Her right to realize her desire derives from the fundamental right, and it follows that her right is a general right. But Ruth is also claiming a specific right. Ruth is focusing her struggle on the ova fertilized with her husband‟s sperm. She claims that she has no other ways in which to realize her desire to be a mother. The fertilized ova — her and Daniel‟s joint genetic material — are the object vis-à-vis which Ruth wishes to realize her specific right. Daniel Nahmani does not deny Ruth‟s general right to be a mother. Notwithstanding, he wishes to prevent her from realizing this right by using ova fertilized with his sperm. The restriction that he wishes to impose on Ruth‟s right to parenthood is, prima facie, a specific restriction. According to him, Ruth may realize her right to parenthood in any way she sees fit, provided that she does not make use of those ova. But is this restriction, which Daniel wishes to impose on Ruth‟s right, really — as it seems — only a specific restriction? In order to answer this question, we must consider the two other methods, apart from using the fertilized ova, that it is argued against Ruth are still available to her for realizing her aspiration and her right to be a mother: another in-vitro fertilization, and adoption. Consideration of the circumstances leads to the conclusion that neither of these two methods is an available alternative that reduces the extent of the anticipated violation from the restriction that Daniel wishes to impose on Ruth‟s right.

 

 

The possibility of another in-vitro fertilization is vague. First, it is not at all clear whether, from a medical perspective, this option indeed exists. It may be that the chance of this attempt succeeding is negligible, or will involve an unreasonable risk to Ruth‟s health. Second, as long as Ruth is bound to Daniel by marriage, fertilization with the sperm of another man may make the children bastards.* Third, in order to carry out the additional in- vitro fertilization, Ruth will again have to undergo great physical and emotional suffering. It follows that even if the option of in-vitro fertilization exists, it is clearly an unattractive option. Even the option of adopting a child, or children, does not offer a solution that Ruth can accept. First, it is questionable whether, according to the accepted order of precedence, Ruth is entitled to adopt a child. In this regard, we must not ignore Ruth‟s age and her stated intention of raising her children alone (and we do not express here any opinion as to the correctness or justification of the order of priorities accepted by the competent authorities). Second — and  this  is  the  main point — adoption does not fulfil Ruth‟s desire and right to be a biological parent. It follows that this option also is clearly unattractive.

It transpires that of the three methods available to Ruth for realizing her general right to be a mother — using the fertilized ova, resorting to a new in- vitro fertilization procedure and submitting an adoption application — only the first method gives Ruth a possibility that can be regarded as a real one, whereas the other two methods are clearly unattractive. It follows that the restriction that Daniel wants us to impose on Ruth‟s right, even though prima facie it is only a specific restriction, is in fact a quasi-general limitation.

16.          Daniel Nahmani does not insist on his general right not to be a father. Had this been his position, we would have had to decide which of the restrictions on the rights of the spouses is more severe: the quasi-general restriction on Ruth‟s right  to  be  a mother,  or  the general restriction on Daniel‟s right not to be a father. But Daniel does not base his case on his general right not to be a father. On the contrary, Daniel has already willingly become a father, together with his new partner. The implication is that he does not object to the very idea of being a father, but he wishes not to be the father of the specific children that may develop from the fertilized ova which are the subject of the dispute. The right not to be a parent, for which he is

 

 

 

*             Editor‟s note: the Hebrew term is mamzerim. The significance of this status under Jewish law is that a mamzer is not permitted to marry within the Jewish community: see Deuteronomy 23, 3.

 

 

fighting, is expressed here in a specific right: the right not to be a parent of these specific children. The restriction that Ruth wishes to impose on Daniel‟s right, not to be a parent against his will to her children, is also a specific limitation.

Deciding between the rights

17.          Deciding between Daniel‟s right and Ruth‟s right is not simple. A decision in Ruth‟s favour restricts Daniel‟s right not to be a father, since this decision forces him to be a father of children whom he does not want to father. A decision in Daniel‟s favour restricts Ruth‟s right to be a mother, since after such a decision all the options that remain to her for realizing her right to become a mother are, from her viewpoint, slight or very unattractive. Both restrictions are serious, but they are not equal. A decision in favour of Ruth imposes on Daniel‟s right not to be father a specific restriction, whereas a decision in favour of Daniel imposes on Ruth‟s right to be a mother a quasi- general restriction.

We have already explained that, as a rule, imposing a quasi-general restriction on any right violates that right more than imposing a specific restriction. In other words, a quasi-general restriction is more serious than a specific restriction. Admittedly, it does not necessarily follow from this that in every case where the court is faced with conflicting rights (whether they are opposing rights or whether they are different rights), it is sufficient for it to base the findings that must be balanced on this premise. When the rights are not equivalent, the premise may be false. Thus, for instance, in a situation where there is a difference between the inherent weight of the conflicting rights, it is possible that a balance between them will require a determination that a violation caused by imposing a quasi-general restriction on an insignificant right of one person is less serious than the violation involved in imposing a specific restriction on an important right of another person. It follows that a classification of the restricting causing the violation — as general, de facto general, quasi-general or specific — is merely one of the factors affecting the determination of the extent of the violation; when determining the extent of the violation — as required for making the balancing — we must take account not only of the classification of each of the restrictions violating the rights, but also of the „absolute‟ inherent weight of each of the violated rights. However, it is not always necessary to define exactly the absolute inherent weight of the conflicting rights in order to determine whether imposing a specific restriction on one of them is preferable to imposing a quasi-general restriction on the other, or vice versa.

 

 

In many cases we will be able to adopt the balancing formula outlined in our premise, even without a determination as to the strength of each of the conflicting rights. This is the case, for example, when it is clear that the inherent weight of the two rights is equal, or almost equal. In such a case, it is correct to adopt the premise that imposing a quasi-general restriction on one of the rights will harm the person who has that right more severely than the harm caused to the person who has the opposing right as a result of imposing a specific restriction on his right. But this rule is valid and logical not only for deciding between equivalent rights. This rule will also apply when the rights are not of equal weight, but it is clear that the right which is subject to the more severe restriction — even if not preferable to the opposing right — is certainly not inferior to it.

18.          These rules lead me to a decision in the case of the Nahmani couple. I accept that a person has a right not to be a parent against his will. This right is not stronger that a person‟s right to be a parent. It may be equal to it, or the latter may be stronger; but I have no doubt that the former right is not stronger. In the present case, the restriction that Daniel wishes to impose on Ruth‟s right to be a mother is a quasi-general restriction. The restriction that Ruth wishes to impose on Daniel‟s right not to be a father against his will is a specific restriction. Since we are required to make a decision, we must prefer imposing a specific restriction on Daniel‟s right not to be a father against his will, to imposing a quasi-general restriction on Ruth‟s right to be a mother. The violation caused by the first restriction to Daniel‟s right is, necessarily, less than the violation caused by the second restriction to Ruth‟s right. In circumstances where all other factors are equal, justice requires us to prefer the lesser violation to the greater violation. This is my reason for preferring the justice of Ruth‟s case to the justice of Daniel‟s case.

19.          I would like to emphasize that the decision that I have reached is based on the distinction between the different intensity of a quasi-general restriction as opposed to a specific restriction imposed on conflicting rights which are (in the case that is more favourable from Daniel‟s point of view) of equal weight. My determination that the restriction on Ruth‟s right is quasi- general is based on the proven premise that apart from her possibility of using the fertilized ova, Ruth has no alternative method (apart from possibilities that are clearly unattractive from her perspective) to realize her right to motherhood. Let it not be understood from this that had I  not accepted this premise, my conclusion would have been different. It is possible that even then I would have found a justification for accepting

 

 

Ruth‟s position, on the basis of a different reason, but I see no need to expand on this point.

A decision where there is no norm and no fault

20.          In the legal dispute between Ruth and Daniel Nahmani, two elements, which both exist in the overwhelming majority of legal disputes, are absent. One element is a recognized legal norm that regulates the subject of the dispute. The absence of a legal norm has made our decision difficult and provided ample opportunity for different opinions and reasonings. The second element whose absence is felt in this case is the existence of fault on the part of one of the parties. At first I feared that the absence of fault, together with the absence of a binding norm, would make it difficult for us to decide the dispute. But ultimately I am satisfied that the absence of the element of fault was a blessing. Thus we have been able to rule on the dispute itself instead of dealing with the persons in dispute.

21.          The absence of a legal norm — or at least the lack of consensus among the judges as to the existence of such a norm — is a rare phenomenon. Nonetheless, it is not an impossible phenomenon. Even when the court is called upon to decide a dispute of novel character, for which there is no established legal norm, it is not exempt from making a decision. Where there is a right, there is also a valid right to be granted relief. In such circumstances, the court faces the necessity of creating the legal norm on the basis of which it will decide the dispute. Usually it does not do this by means of creation ex nihilo. There are cases where existing arrangements that relate to a similar field may provide a norm that, mutatis mutandis, can be adapted to decide also the concrete dispute. Thus for instance, when the court was required to classify computer software, for the purpose of deciding whether its owner had a protected copyright, it held that software was equivalent to a literary creation (CC (TA) 3021/84 Apple Computer Inc. v. New-Cube Technologies Ltd [45]). Thus the court applied to a modern invention a legal norm based on legislation from the beginning of the century. In our case, too, technological development has preceded development of the law. But for deciding the matter before us, we did not find any recognized norm upon which we could build, even taking account of any necessary modifications. In such circumstances, there was no alternative to a decision based on a balancing between the conflicting rights. I personally believed that relying on a sense of justice alone is uncertain and therefore undesirable. In searching for a normative source, I resorted to the doctrine of rights. Indeed, had there existed a legal norm dealing with the matter in dispute we would have had to

 

 

decide the case accordingly, and the value analysis that we set out above would have been inapplicable. But in the absence of such a norm, I believe that the objective criterion that we created in our analysis establishes a proper basis for a just decision in the painful dispute between the spouses.

22.          The second element that is absent in our case is the element of fault. I do not believe that any blame can be levelled at Daniel Nahmani. At no stage were his actions tainted by bad faith. Admittedly he reversed his decision to bring children into the world together with his wife, but in the circumstances in which this was done, his withdrawal of his consent did not involve any improper behaviour. His refusal to cooperate with Ruth in continuing the procedure that they began together also did not derive from bad faith. When considering the matter from Daniel‟s viewpoint, the obvious conclusion is that justice is on his side. But justice is not on his side only. Justice is also on Ruth‟s side; and the justice on her side is greater. Indeed, Daniel cannot expect Ruth to give up her just desire to exercise her right merely because he is justified in having a right that conflicts with her right. But there was also no reason to expect that Daniel would regard the justice of Ruth‟s case as superior to his. There is also no fault on Ruth‟s side. She did not begin the fertilization procedure without Daniel‟s consent or against his will. On the contrary, at the beginning of the procedure Daniel gave her his blessing. She received his full cooperation, which derived from his consent and his desire to bring children into the world together with her. But the absence of fault in our case, unlike the absence of a norm, make the decision easier, rather than harder. I suppose that had I found that one of the parties had acted improperly towards the other, I would have tended to give this weight also in reaching my decision. Fortunately I am not required to take such considerations into account. Thus I can be more certain and confident that my conclusion, namely that the law is on Ruth‟s side in this dispute, is based solely on the objective balancing between their conflicting rights, as expressed in the circumstances of the concrete case.

Qualification of the decision

23.          My decision in the dispute between the Nahmani couple is based on a balance between Ruth‟s desire and right to be a mother and Daniel‟s desire and right not to be the father of the children that will develop from the fertilized ova. But the work of properly balancing between the spouses is not yet complete. Filling the lacuna justifies imposing a qualification on the implications of our decision.

 

 

Two assumptions underlie the balancing upon which the decision is based: first, that Ruth‟s genuine desire is to be a mother, and no more. Second, that both parties are acting in good faith. Both these assumptions will be proved wrong if and when Ruth turns to Daniel with financial demands. Had Ruth declared to us her intention to file such a claim, this might have been sufficient to lead to a contrary decision. But if she files such a claim, after giving birth to the child or the children, it will not be possible to turn the clock back and decide the dispute in Daniel‟s favour. As a solution to this dilemma, I agree with the proposal made by my colleague, Justice Goldberg, in paragraph 16 of his opinion, that we should make Ruth‟s use of the ova conditional upon her giving an undertaking not to demand any amount whatsoever from Daniel, for the children or for herself, and to indemnify Daniel for any payment that he shall be made liable to pay her, or to her children, as a result of an action filed against him notwithstanding the undertaking.

24.          My opinion, therefore, is that we should grant the petition, reverse the appeal judgment and reinstate the judgment of the District Court, together with the condition stated in paragraph 23 supra.

 

Justice T. Or

1.            Daniel and Ruth Nahmani were married in 1984. They had no children. Because of a hysterectomy she underwent, Ruth could not herself become pregnant. Against this background, the couple turned to the path of in-vitro fertilization under the Public Health (In-vitro Fertilization) Regulations (hereafter: the In-vitro Fertilization Regulations). The aim of the procedure was to fertilize Ruth‟s ova with Daniel‟s sperm, and to implant the fertilized ova in the womb of another woman („a surrogate mother‟). Ova were removed from Ruth‟s body. Eleven of these were fertilized with Daniel‟s sperm. The fertilized ova were frozen. They were stored in this state at Assuta hospital. The couple entered into a financial agreement with an institution in the United States, which assists in making an agreement with a surrogate mother and carrying out the various aspects of the implantation procedure and the pregnancy of the surrogate mother. No agreement was made with a surrogate mother. A surrogate mother had not yet been found. Before a surrogate was found and implantation took place, a dispute broke out between the couple. Daniel left the home. He established a new family. He and his new partner had a daughter. Ruth approached the hospital with a

 

 

request to receive the ova. Her request was refused. Therefore she began proceedings in the District Court.

The District Court granted her request. It ordered the hospital to allow Ruth use of the fertilized ova, in order to continue the implantation procedure in a surrogate mother. It ordered Daniel to refrain from interfering with the continuation of the procedure.

Daniel‟s appeal against the judgment (CA 5587/93*) was allowed, and the judgment was reversed. In this further hearing, we must decide whether to uphold the appeal judgment, or whether, as Ruth argues, we should change the result and reinstate the judgment of the District Court.

2.            This opinion is being written after most of the justices on the extended panel considering this case have expressed their opinions. Their opinions are before me. My basic position on this case has been expressed in the comprehensive, illuminating and profound opinions of my colleague Justice Strasberg-Cohen, both in the aforementioned appeal (CA 5587/93†) and in this further hearing. I agree with large parts of these opinions. I agree with the analysis of the constitutional rights made in these opinions. I also agree with the main points of the opinion of my colleague, Justice Zamir. Like my two colleagues, I believe that the law in this case is on Daniel‟s side. Like my two colleagues — and this is the main point in my opinion — I do not think that in the circumstances of this case the court is faced with a normative vacuum and that it must create law ex nihilo in order to solve the dispute between the parties. I also believe that the decision in this dispute should be based on a general norm, which is based on the unique nature of the issue under discussion. Like my two colleagues, I do not believe that this dispute should be decided on the basis of deciding the question which of the two litigants — Daniel or Ruth — will suffer greater anguish or harm depending on the results of this litigation. Like them, I also believe that before comparing the harm that each party is liable to suffer, and deciding accordingly whose case is more just, we must first consider whether Ruth has a cause of action in law against Daniel. My conclusion, like theirs, is that the answer to this is no. Notwithstanding this, my method is different, in certain ways, from the method of my colleagues. I will set out below the main points of my outlook on this matter.

 

 

 

*             IsrSC 49(1) 485; [1995-6] IsrLR 1.

†             Ibid.

 

 

3.            Several years ago, Daniel and Ruth started out on the path of in-vitro fertilization. This step was carried out by mutual consent. In my opinion, the key to solving the dispute before us will be found by considering the scope and content of the agreement between Daniel and Ruth. This agreement was not put in writing. It did not go into the fine details. It was based on the fabric of Daniel‟s and Ruth‟s life together. The couple did not need to translate it into a legal document. They did not express it as a defined set of mutual obligations and rights. They did not provide an arrangement for possible future events. As a married couple, life partners, it can be assumed that they saw no need for this.

Against this background the question arises whether the agreement between Daniel and Ruth is a binding agreement from the legal viewpoint. Justice Scott discusses the difficulty that arises in such situations in Layton v. Martin (1986) [57], in remarks cited in M. Parry‟s book, The Law Relating To Cohabitation, London, 1993, at page 234:

„In family or quasi-family situations there is always the question whether the parties intended to create a legally binding contract between them. The more general and less precise the language of the so-called contract, the more difficult it will be to infer that intention.‟

Notwithstanding these remarks, I believe that Ruth and Daniel intended to create a legally valid agreement. The consent between them did not remain a private one between them. It formed the basis for the contract made by Daniel and Ruth with third parties, such as the hospital that performed the fertilization, and the surrogacy institute in the United States. Moreover, vis-à- vis these parties this consent even received formal expression. Thus, for example, this consent was expressed in the forms that the couple signed at Assuta Hospital, where the fertilization was performed. It received similar expression in the Retainer Agreement that the couple signed with the Surrogacy Institute in the United States.

Despite this, in my opinion this consent is not a regular contractual consent. I agree with the position of my colleagues, Justices Strasberg-Cohen and Zamir, that we are dealing with a special type of consent. This conclusion is implied, in my opinion, by the context and the circumstances in which the consent was made. It derives from the special and emotional nature of the relationship between the parties as a married couple. This relationship, which I will discuss later, constitutes the basis of the consent and its purpose. In any case, and this is the main point, there is no doubt that the procedure that the

 

 

couple agreed to begin was based on this consent. Therefore, I base my opinion in this case on the content of the consent that was reached, without needing to define and classify, from the viewpoint of the legal classification, the special legal character of this consent.

4.            What, therefore, is the content of the consent? No direct evidence was brought as to the content of the consent. As stated, the consent was not put in writing. In such a situation, the court must try to derive the content of the consent from the circumstances of the case. This act of construction will be governed by the basic principles that apply to the construction of contracts (see section 61(b) of the Contracts (General Part) Law).

In trying to establish the intentions of the spouses, we must try to identify their intentions as reasonable people. In this way, we can identify the joint purpose of the consent, and deduce from it the content of the consent. Justice Barak discussed this in CA 154/80 Borchard Lines Limited, London v. Hydrobaton Ltd [36], when he said, at p. 223:

„… We must take account of the intentions that can be attributed to the parties, acting as reasonable people. The reason for this is that it can be assumed that, as long as the contrary is not proved, the intentions of the parties to the contract are the intentions that they would have had, had they acted as reasonable people in the circumstances of the case.‟

See also CA 554/83 Atta Textile Company Ltd v. Estate of Yitzhak Zolotolov [36], at p. 305; CA 275/83 Netanya Municipality v. Sahaf, Israeli Development Works Co. Ltd [37], at pp. 241-243.

This joint contractual purpose derives, inter alia, from the nature of the issue that is the subject of the consent, the character of the consent and its characteristics. As held in HCJ 846/93 Barak v. National Labour Court [38]:

„Similarly the purpose of the contract is comprised of an objective purpose, which reflects the aims and goals that the parties to the contract, as reasonable people, can be presumed to have wanted to realize. This is “the goal or purpose, which it is reasonable to assume that the parties, as reasonable persons, would have adopted in the circumstances of the case”. This purpose is naturally determined according to the substance of the matter regulated, the nature of the arrangement and its characteristics.‟

 

 

We can also learn of the content of the consent from the parties‟ behaviour after the consent was reached. „Such behaviour can indicate their intentions at the time of signing the agreement‟ (HCJ 932/91 Central Pension Fund of Federation Employees Ltd v. National Labour Court [39], at p. 437). Moreover, in the case before us, the consent is based mainly on the behaviour of the parties. In these circumstances, the court must „interpret the behaviour of the parties and give meaning to it‟ (CA 4956/90 Paz-Gas Marketing Co. Ltd v. Gazit Hadarom Ltd [40], at p. 42).

5.            Where do these rules lead to in this case? It seems to me that, from the circumstances of this case, it transpires that the intentions of the parties, as reasonable parties, was consent to cooperate towards realization of an in-vitro fertilization procedure. This consent is a framework consent. It is founded on the basic assumption that the marital relationship between the parties would continue. But, in my opinion, this consent does not include consent, ab initio, to all the stages and aspects of the fertilization procedure. This is a consent that is based on the knowledge and understanding that at each future stage of the in-vitro fertilization procedure, the joint consent and cooperation of both spouses would be required. In other words, according to this consent, each of the spouses knows and accepts that the continuation of the procedure is dependent on the ongoing consent of the couple to continue the procedure with all its stages.

This conclusion is based on the nature of the in-vitro fertilization procedure and the framework in which the parties acted and in which the agreement between them was made and implemented.

First, we are dealing with a lengthy procedure. The procedure is comprised of several stages: providing the sperm and ovum, fertilization of the ovum, locating and choosing the surrogate mother, carrying out the implantation (see regulation 2 of the In-vitro Fertilization Regulations). When the parties begin the procedure, there is more uncertainty than certainty. Many things remain open and uncertain. Thus, the parties do not know whether the in-vitro fertilization stage will succeed. Even in optimal conditions, the success rate at this stage is between 60% and 75% (see Appendix „B‟ of the Report of  the Professional Public Commission for Examining the Issue of In-vitro Fertilization, supra (hereafter: „the report of the Aloni Commission‟), at p. 114). They do not know if additional medical procedures will be required to facilitate such fertilization. Moreover, they do not know who will be the surrogate mother. They do not know how long the procedure of finding and choosing the surrogate mother will take. They also

 

 

do not know how many attempts will be required to achieve a pregnancy in the surrogate mother. What they should know is that the chances of pregnancy and having a child at this stage are far from certain. The rate of pregnancies per cycle of in-vitro fertilization treatment is only 15%. The rate of childbirth is only 12% (ibid., at p. 114). The rate of miscarriages for in- vitro fertilization is almost double that in a normal pregnancy (22%-26% as opposed to 12%-15%, ibid.). Even in optimal conditions — in which 3-4 embryos are implanted in the womb — the chance of a pregnancy for in-vitro fertilization is approximately one third (34%) (ibid., at p. 116).

Indeed, the surrogacy institute with which Ruth and Daniel made a contract retained for itself (through a doctor on its behalf) the power to rescind the surrogacy agreement, after it was signed, if the procedure did not succeed within a reasonable time. Clause 9 of the surrogacy agreement stipulated as follows:

„In the event that, in the opinion of the center‟s physician, the contemplated pregnancy has not occurred within a reasonable time, this agreement shall terminate by any party or the center‟s physician giving notice to all parties.‟

Therefore there exists, at the outset, great uncertainty with regard both to the success of the various stages of the procedure and the amount of time the procedure will take.

The in-vitro fertilization procedure is not only a lengthy procedure, but it is also a complex procedure. It is an expensive procedure from a financial perspective. The cost of surrogacy services is high, and may reach tens of thousands of dollars. In order to achieve success, in all respects, cooperation between the spouses is essential. Each of the spouses is dependent on the other for this purpose. The spouses need each other for the actual in-vitro fertilization. This is a biological dependence. They are dependent on one another in order to realize the procedure legally. The consent of each of them is required for the different stages of the procedure. Thus, for example, the consent of each of the spouses is required to enter into an agreement with the surrogate mother and the surrogacy institute. The spouses are dependent on one another for the technical realization of the procedure. They need to pool their joint resources in order to meet the financial burden needed. At each of the stages and critical junctures the consent of each of the spouses is required, and it is possible that they will have differences of opinion or disagree as to one matter or another that requires the consent of both of them. Therefore it is certain that the consent between them to undergo in-vitro fertilization was

 

 

accompanied by the knowledge and understanding of both of them that the in-vitro fertilization procedure could only reach its desired conclusion with the ongoing consent of both spouses, consent for each of the critical junctures along the long journey. Both spouses are dependent on one another in order to traverse this difficult procedure successfully.

This is compounded by another important matter. The consensual purpose is a joint purpose. At the heart of the consent we do not find the yearning of one of the spouses for children. The consent focuses on a joint aspiration of both spouses to realize the complete family unit that they wish to create. This unit is the essence of the consent. It is its backbone. The consent is based on this. From this it draws its existence.

All of these characteristics show, in my opinion, that in the absence of an express agreement to the contrary, the intentions of the parties at the beginning of the in-vitro fertilization procedure cannot be regarded as including consent ab initio to all its stages and elements. Such a consent is unsuited to the complexity of the procedure. It is unsuited to the uncertainty that surrounds it. It is also unsuited to the natural sensitivity and fragility of the relationship between the spouses, which constitutes the foundation of the consent between them. It is unsuited to the timetable anticipated by the agreement. Consequently, I do not believe that the intentions of the parties as reasonable people include such a consent. In my opinion, all we can find is the desire and consent of the spouses to cooperate in achieving their common goal. This agreement is a framework consent. It requires the cooperation of the parties at each stage of the procedure for its success, and it is dependent on it. It also requires the consent of each of the spouses for each stage of the procedure, consent which is not guaranteed in advance. It requires, in my opinion, the continued existence of the basic conditions for realizing the consent — the continued existence of their relationship as a couple.

6.            This conclusion as to the content of the consent that can be attributed to the parties as reasonable people, is not only based merely on the nature of the in-vitro fertilization procedure, and its substance as a procedure whereby the couple wish to extend the family unit. It also relies on the specific contexts in which Daniel and Ruth acted, contexts that were anticipated and known to them since the beginning of the procedure.

One aspect concerns the normative framework to which the parties subjected themselves when they began the in-vitro fertilization procedure. Daniel and Ruth knew that these procedures were governed by the In-vitro Fertilization Regulations. They acted in accordance with these regulations at

 

 

the beginning of the procedure. It can be assumed that the parties were aware of their content. Inter alia, these regulations require informed consent — of both spouses — for each stage of performing the in-vitro fertilization procedure (see regulation 14 of the In-vitro Fertilization Regulations). Within this framework, the regulations also require consent to the implantation stage, and I agree in this respect with the remarks of my colleague, Justice Zamir, in paragraph 8 of his opinion. This normative arrangement provides a strong indication of the content of the agreement reached by Ruth and Daniel. It indicates that it should not be said that the initial consent encompassed all the stages of the procedure, with all its obstacles. Upon their initial consent, knowing the requirements of the Regulations, they knew that also in the future the consent of each of them would be required, and they were prepared to begin the procedure in the knowledge that its continuation was dependent on the additional „informed‟ consents of both of them.

Another aspect concerns the manner in which the in-vitro fertilization procedure is realized by implanting the fertilized ova in the body of the surrogate mother. In order to carry out the procedure, Ruth and  Daniel entered into an agreement with a surrogacy institute in the United States. This agreement covered the financial aspects of their contract with the institute. The consent under this agreement is joint. The consent of each of the spouses is required for the proceeding. Thus, one of the paragraphs in the preamble of the agreement provides that:

„… The center is engaged in the practice of arranging surrogate agreements and administration of agreements for couples who are unable to bear their own children…‟ (emphasis supplied).

According to this, the two natural parents — Ruth and Daniel — are a party to this agreement. It calls them, jointly, the prospective parents. It is therefore natural that they are also the ones who are supposed — jointly — to choose the surrogate mother (clause 5):

„Prospective parents shall meet with and have the final decision as to the selection of any potential surrogate…‟.

This is also the case with regard to the agreement with the surrogate mother. As stated, no such agreement has yet been signed. No surrogate mother has yet been located. Notwithstanding, Ruth and Daniel were shown a draft of such an agreement by the surrogacy institute in the United States. They knew the contents of this agreement. This agreement clearly shows the need for the consent of each of the spouses to the implantation: both Ruth

 

 

and Daniel are parties to it, and to all its obligations. It indicates the basic requirement of the existence of a genuine relationship when consenting to the implantation. This can be seen from the preamble to the agreement:

„… are a married couple, living together… and are desirous of entering into the following agreement…‟ (emphasis supplied).

Although Ruth and Daniel were aware of the contents of this agreement, no claim has been heard that either of them had reservations about this content. Moreover, this agreement requires a high degree of involvement from each of them. The agreement imposes obligations on each of them. They both undertake to take upon themselves the legal and parental obligations with regard to the child that will be born (clause 3). They both undertake to undergo physical and psychological examinations for the purposes of the procedure (clauses 5 and 6). The both undertake to provide any assistance that may be needed for the procedure (clause 7). They both undertake to indemnify the surrogate mother for her losses and expenses (clause 18). Moreover, a breach by one of them makes the other liable (clause 27).

It seems to me that this mechanism, by means of which the parties wanted to carry out the fertilization procedure, can also help in determining the contents of their consent. It indicates that the parties knew that the consent of each of them would be required also at the implantation stage. It shows that they regarded the in-vitro fertilization procedure as a joint procedure, and that they knew that at the implantation stage the consent of each of them to all the conditions and details relating to this stage would be required.

The details of the agreement, as stated, and the need to determine a mechanism for the implantation with the consent of each spouse, also show that there is no basis for the finding that at the stage when the dispute broke out between the parties, Daniel is no longer in the picture, so to speak, and is no longer required to perform any further act (see, for example, the opinion of Justice Tal, at paragraph 4; the opinion of Justice Bach, at paragraph 5(e)). His consent is needed not only for the actual use of the fertilized ova, as required by the hospital where they are held, but also for choosing the surrogate mother and for determining the terms of the contract with her, and for determining the details relating to the agreement with the surrogacy institute.

I can add, in parenthesis, that in view of the importance ascribed by surrogacy institutions in the United States to the joint consent and liability of

 

 

parents entering into a surrogacy agreement, I doubt whether, in view of Daniel‟s opposition to the continuation of the in-vitro fertilization procedure, the institution with which Daniel and Ruth entered into a contract, or any other institution, will sign a surrogacy agreement with Ruth alone.

7.            Note that, as can be seen from the above description, this requirement for the consent of both spouses at each of the stages of the procedure is not a formal requirement. This is not an arbitrary conclusion, divorced from the reality of the in-vitro fertilization procedure. This requirement reflects the nature of the in-vitro fertilization procedure. It derives from the importance of the decisions that the parties must make along the way. The same is true of the fertilization. The couple must choose a medical institution where the fertilization will be performed. This choice may have implications for the outcome of the fertilization. It may affect its chances of success. It involves an important choice for carrying out the fertilization procedure. Is it conceivable that a decision of this kind will be made without the consent of one of them?

The situation is similar, and maybe even more complex, when we are dealing with the implantation stage. At this stage, the parties must make a series of important decisions. They must decide where to carry out the implantation. As with the fertilization, this is a decision that is important for the successful performance of the in-vitro fertilization procedure. They must make financial and economic decisions. As stated, entering into a surrogacy contract is an expensive matter. This is clear from the retainer agreement signed with the surrogacy institute. This agreement stated (in clause 16) that:

„The Center has advised prospective parents that surrogate parenting is a very expensive procedure and has many unknown implications.‟

We are speaking of large amounts, in tens of thousands of dollars. Even more important, we have seen that the couple must choose a surrogate mother who will carry their future children. This choice has many aspects that are not simple. The surrogate‟s age may be important. Her medical background may be of importance. So, too, may her social psychological background. We are speaking of a choice whose importance cannot be exaggerated. It may determine the fate of the whole procedure. We need only glance at the serious disputes that have arisen between prospective parents and surrogate mothers in order to understand just how important the correct choice is at this stage (see In re Baby M (1987) [56]). Can we ascribe to the parties, in the absence of an express and clear consent on this issue, ab initio consent on this issue? I

 

 

believe that the answer is no. The parties left this important matter completely open. They knew and understood that an additional special consent of both of them would be required for it.

8.            I reached this conclusion on the basis of the intentions of the parties as a reasonable couple, as it arises from the circumstances of the case and from the behaviour of the parties. I would point out that my conclusion is consistent with the law that governs this issue, in Israel and abroad. Thus the arrangement prescribed in the Surrogacy Agreements (Approval of Agreement and Status of the Child) Law (hereafter — the Agreements Law) requires, as my colleague, Justice Zamir, says (in paragraph 10 of his opinion), the informed consent of the couple to the implantation. Indeed, this provision does not apply directly to the dispute before us. But it shows that there are strong grounds for the conclusion that the consent of both spouses is necessary also for the implantation stage.

The result whereby cooperation and consent of both spouses is required for each of the stages is also supported by another provision of the Agreements Law. The Law revolves around the surrogacy agreement. The agreements is between the prospective parents and the surrogate mother. The prospective parents are the couple who are entering into a contract with the surrogate mother. The agreement requires the approval of a statutory committee. Under section 5(c) of the law, this committee —

„may reconsider an approval that was given if the facts, circumstances or conditions that served as a basis for its decision have undergone a substantive change, as long as the fertilized ova have not been implanted in the surrogate mother…‟.

In my opinion, even this provision shows the legislator‟s policy with regard to the issue before us. It clarifies that the status of a consent — even one that is incorporated in an agreement that received the approval of a special statutory body — is not absolute until the implantation stage. That is the decisive stage. Until this stage, a change in circumstances may lead to a termination of the procedure. In my opinion, the breakdown of the relationship between the two spouses constitutes a significant change in the circumstances for this purpose. The relationship between the two spouses is a fundamental element of the surrogacy agreement. The prospective parents must be „a man and a woman who are spouses‟ (section 1 of the law). The pregnancy of the surrogate mother is done for the „prospective parents‟ (ibid.). The statutory arrangement assumes, therefore, a relationship between the spouses. The breakdown of the relationship before implantation of the

 

 

ovum in the surrogate mother constitutes a change of the circumstances or the facts that formed the basis for the decision of the approvals committee. It may, therefore, lead to a revocation of the approval of the surrogacy agreement and termination of the procedure.

9.            The law in other countries also supports this result. As set out extensively in the opinion of my colleague, Justice Strasberg-Cohen, in tha appeal (CA 5587/93)*, in other countries the effective consent of the spouse is required also for the implantation stage. Until this stage, he has the right to change his mind. In other countries, this is the solution that is proposed by official commissions that were appointed to consider this issue. Incidentally, this is also the approach contained in the report of the Aloni Commission that was appointed by the Minister of Health and the Minister of Justice in June 1991 to consider the issue. The Commission expressed the opinion, on page 36, that:

„… Fatherhood or motherhood should not be forced on a man or woman against their wishes, even if they gave their initial consent thereto.‟

10.          Up to this point, I have discussed my fundamental approach. To summarize, it is my opinion that the in-vitro fertilization procedure is a joint procedure. The intention of the spouses is to bring into the world a child of both of them, so that both of them will be able to raise him within the framework of the family unit. The procedure of in-vitro fertilization is a long one, there are many difficulties along the way, and the couple will in the future be required to make decisions on matters of the utmost importance. Only when both spouses want to carry out the procedure, with the understanding that this joint desire and consent will continue to exist, and only subject to the joint consent of both of them at all stages of the procedure is it possible to realize their ultimate expectations. At the start of the procedure, the spouses presume that they will both continue to have this desire and consent. This assumption was at the basis of the consent that they reached. But it also reflects an assumption that may prove false, and then one of the spouses will not be able to continue the procedure alone. Indeed, each of them expected that they would continue to cooperate with one another throughout the whole procedure.  But  each of  them also understood  and agreed, that only if there would be continuing cooperation and consent on the part of his spouse would the procedure continue and reach its conclusion.

 

 

*             IsrSC 49(1) 485; [1995-6] IsrLR 1.

 

 

When one of the spouses changes his mind before the implantation, there may, possibly, be grounds for the other to feel disappointed and aggrieved, but he does not have a cause of action in law to compel the other spouse to continue the procedure, in view of the contents of the consent between the spouses as aforesaid.

This view leads me to the result that Ruth needs Daniel‟s consent to carry out the implantation. Therefore, she cannot receive the fertilized ova into her possession for the purpose of the implantation that is opposed by Daniel. My conclusion is that, in the circumstances of the case and according to the consent of the parties themselves, Daniel was entitled not to give his consent to the continuation of the procedure. I believe that this result also reflects the proper law. This result gives proper expression to the character of the in-vitro fertilization procedure. It expresses in the proper degree the joint framework of this procedure.

For this reason, Daniel‟s unwillingness to continue the in-vitro fertilization procedure also is not tainted by bad faith. Since the entire procedure is based on the spousal relationship between Daniel and Ruth, when their spousal relationship is no longer intact, and in practice no longer exists, Daniel‟s unwillingness to continue the procedure is self-evident, because of the nature of the consent between the two, as explained above. In any case, bad faith should not be imputed to Daniel in carrying out the consent between him and Ruth, because he refuses to give his consent to the continuation of the procedure.

11.          I have not been persuaded that there is anything that justifies, in the circumstances of this case, a deviation from this result. I have not been persuaded that the parties agreed that the procedure would continue even if Ruth and Daniel ceased to be a couple. I have not been persuaded that Daniel made any representation that he agreed to the continuation of the procedure even if the relationship between the two would collapse. In any event, I have not been persuaded that there was any reliance, or reasonable reliance, by Ruth on such a representation. The procedure is a joint one. As such it requires, as explained above, the consent of each of the spouses at each of the stages.

12.          Indeed, Ruth‟s case arouses sympathy. Her distress is sincere and genuine. But this is insufficient to reverse the consent between the parties. It is insufficient to justify a retrospective change of the rules of the game which, in my opinion, the parties took upon themselves when they started out. It is also  insufficient  to  give  Ruth  a  constitutional  right,  which  requires  the

 

 

granting of relief against third parties for its realization. In this regard, I agree with the analysis in the decision of my colleague, Justice Strasberg-Cohen. I therefore do not agree with the result reached by the majority opinion in this proceeding. In my opinion, Ruth does not have any cause of action that requires the ova to be delivered to her for the purpose of continuing the procedure.

13.          Before concluding, I would like to make an additional remark. This case raises a difficulty. In cases of this sort, there is a temptation to try and adapt the result to the special set of circumstances under discussion, in order not to cause an injustice according to one viewpoint or another. I believe that the court has a duty to resist this temptation. It must ascertain the law and decide accordingly. Therefore, I have tried to ascertain what is the legal result required in all those cases where the couple agreed on a procedure of in-vitro fertilization without making any express stipulation as to the result if one of them is not prepared to continue the procedure. When I reached the conclusion that there is a legal solution to this problem, as I have sought to clarify above, this solution should apply in our case, even if its result is inconsistent with Ruth‟s expectations, and the situation in which she finds herself arouses sympathy.

In my opinion, the correct way of dealing with this kind of problem is not to create a special law intended to solve the particular distress of a specific litigant, even if it is sincere and genuine. This was discussed by Justice Netanyahu in CA 248/86 Estate of Lily Hananshwili v. Rotem Insurance Co. Ltd [41] at p. 558:

„A legal norm must be built on a correct logical legal analysis, while exercising legal policy considerations that will achieve the desired result in most cases. It cannot be determined according to its results in a particular case. Such a norm gives rise to the well-known saying that hard cases make bad law.‟

In a similar vein, see the remarks of Justice Witkon in CA 840/75 Jewish National Fund v. Tevel [42], at page 549; and also the remarks of Justice Y. Cohen in CA 555/71 Amsterdramer v. Moskovitz [43], at pp. 799-800.

I agree with these remarks.

 

 

Consequently, were my opinion accepted, the petition for a further hearing would be denied, and the judgment of the court in CA 5587/93* would be upheld.

 

Justice I. Zamir

On just law

1.            „Alas for me because of my Maker and alas for me because of my inclination.‟ „My Maker‟ is the law, for the court was only established, and only exists, by virtue of the law, and it knows no allegiance other than to the law. „My inclination‟ is justice, for the court wants, with all its soul and might, to do justice. Woe to the judge who administers law without justice, and woe to him if he administers justice without the law. Happy is the judge who administers the law with justice. Indeed, usually the law leads the judge to justice, but if the law and justice do not go hand in hand, the judge may bend the law in the direction of justice, in so far as possible, until they meet.

It happens to a judge that the law and justice struggle within him, each pulling in different directions, and he cannot reconcile one with the other. In such a case, no matter how difficult it is for him, he must not allow his

„inclination‟ to override his „Maker‟. This is the case because the oath of the judge, before it commands him to dispense just law, requires him to keep faith with the laws of the State. See the Basic Law: Administration of Justice, in section 6. Moreover, without law, ultimately there is no true justice.

Therefore, a judge should never jump from the facts to justice, as if there were no law between them. Justice has its place. But it must be based on a foundation of law.

2.            Indeed, there are matters that it is better to decide according to justice, or emotion, or values outside the law, and not according to the law. These often include family matters, such as the relationship between husband and wife, or matters of religious or other faith, and even political matters, such as agreements between parties. It would be best if these matters never came before the court, but were decided within the family, or between a person and his Rabbi, or at the ballot box on election day.

But even these matters may find their way to the court. If such a matter comes before the court, it has two options, according to the nature of the

 

 

 

*             IsrSC 49(1) 485; [1995-6] IsrLR 1.

 

 

case: first, to dismiss the matter in limine, without considering the matter on its merits; second, to consider and decide the matter on its merits.

The court is likely to dismiss the matter in limine if it is unsuited or unlikely to be resolved by the law. Such a case is the famous example of an invitation, for reasons of friendship, to dinner. The same is true of various intimate matters that are resolved between spouses by means of an understanding or consent that has no legal status. In such a case, the court will dismiss the plaintiff from the court, even if justice is clearly on his side, because he has no cause of action in law or because  the matter is  not justiciable.

But this is not necessarily the case. Even complex and emotional matters, in the personal sphere or in any other sphere, including the most intimate matters, may adopt a legal form. Then the court must consider the matter and decide it on the merits: a breach of promise of marriage, custody, education or adoption of children, etc.. When the court considers and decides such a matter, obviously it does not decide it as if it were a marriage counsellor, a religious teacher or a political leader. If it is compelled to decide such a matter, it must decide it as a court, i.e., by dispensing just law. First of all, there is law.

3.            This is also the position in the Nahmani case. There is no doubt that this case arouses problems and difficulties in the spheres of emotion, morality, philosophy, and other spheres outside the law. There is also no doubt that it would have been preferable if this case had been resolved by agreement between Daniel and Ruth, and even if they did not reach an agreement on the merits of the case, if they agreed to settle the dispute in another way, out of court. But this was not how matters developed, and the case came before the court.

Once the case reached the court, it was obliged to decide first if it was prepared to consider it on its merits. The fact that the matter is loaded with emotion and involves important and difficult questions that are outside the law is insufficient for dismissing it. The court is used to cases such as these. The crucial question is, whether the relationship between Ruth and Daniel is a legal relationship.

In principle, it is possible that a couple will agree to bring a child into the world, naturally or by another means, but the consent will not amount to an agreement in law. In such a case, should one of the spouses file an action in court against the other, claiming that he is not upholding the agreement, the

 

 

court will have to rule that the plaintiff has no cause of action in law or that the matter is not justiciable. The action is dismissed, even though it is possible that the plaintiff suffers an injustice, and it is possible that he may also have no redress out of court. But the court is not supposed, nor even is it able, to cure all ills.

But the court did not think this way in the Nahmani case. It agreed to consider the claim and to decide it on the merits. This implies that it thought that the matter is justiciable. If so, the court must decide it in accordance with a legal norm. It cannot say in the same breath that the matter is justiciable and that there is no legal norm for adjudicating it, and therefore it is possible, in the absence of any other choice, to resort to justice. This case must be decided, like every other justiciable case, according to the law, and justice must be done within the framework of the law.

If so, what is the law that applies in this case?

4.            It may be that there is no law, statute or precedent, which gives an express answer to the matter being considered by the court. But even in such a situation, the court does not stare blankly into a normative vacuum. The courtroom is full of legal norms. Even if there is no express norm that applies to the case under consideration, there is certainly an implied norm. The court must seek its path in order to reach this norm, and, if necessary, to adapt it or develop it as required. Jurisprudence guides it on its way and gives it tools in order to determine the law, and even to develop the law from within the law.

The main path is outlined in the Foundations of Justice Law. This path, according to section 1 of this law, is as follows:

„If the court identifies a question of law that requires a decision, and it does not find an answer to it in statute, case-law or by way of an analogy, it shall decide it in the light of the principles of liberty, justice, equity and peace of Jewish heritage.‟

The court is required to take this path, from legislation to precedent, and if it does not find an answer in either of these, it must go on to analogy, and if there too no answer is found, it must go on to the principles of liberty, justice, equity and peace of Jewish heritage. From a practical viewpoint, and maybe even from a theoretical viewpoint, it is inconceivable that the court will not find a legal norm somewhere along this path. In any case, the court is not entitled to say, before it has traversed the whole length of this path, that there is no legal norm in the matter under consideration, and therefore it is entitled to decide that matter according to justice.

 

 

It would not have been necessary to say this, since it is well-known, were it not to appear that it has almost been forgotten by some of the judges in the Nahmani case.

5.            In the Nahmani case, had the court followed the main path outlined in the Foundations of Justice Law, it could not have jumped straight to justice before it enquired properly and determined that there is no answer either in legislation or in precedent, or in analogy, or even in the principles of liberty, justice, equity and peace of Jewish heritage. But some of the judges did not take this path, nor did they stop at any of these points along the way, not even the last, which is Jewish heritage. Admittedly there were judges who mentioned some words of Jewish law, pointing in one direction or the other. All of these are the words of the living God. But they were not mentioned as legal principles that determine the case, but merely in order to derive inspiration, as if they were a scholarly opinion.

Is the conclusion that all along this path there is no legal norm that provides an answer to the Nahmani case, so that it is necessary to make a jump straight to justice? No. There is even no need to go as far along the path, in searching for a legal norm, as Jewish heritage, nor even as far as analogy. The Nahmani case abounds in  legal norms from the first step; regulations on one side and an agreement on the other; the right to be a parent against the right not to be a parent; reliance and estoppel; and more. This is the raw material that the court regularly uses to solve disputes and to construct its judgments. It should be used also in this case. This is the path and obligation of the court, before it reaches the question whether the solution that arises from the law also does justice.

Justice Strasberg-Cohen followed this path when she wrote the majority opinion at the appeal stage of the Nahmani case. I therefore agreed with her path, and together with her I reached the conclusion that the law — first of all, the law — sides with Daniel Nahmani.

I have now read the opinions in the further hearing, which have changed the majority opinion in the appeal into the minority opinion in this hearing. I have not been persuaded. First and foremost, I have not found in them any answers to the legal problems that arise in this case, and at any rate I have not found in them answers that are better than the answers given by Justice Strasberg-Cohen. I have also not been persuaded that justice tips the scales, notwithstanding the law, in favour of Ruth Nahmani. Therefore I remain on the path that I took and I stand by the result that I reached.

 

 

My path is close, but not identical, to the path of Justice Strasberg-Cohen.

I will present it briefly: first — the law; afterwards — justice.

On the law

6.            The legal path in this case is long and arduous. In order to facilitate our progress, I will first present the general direction of the path. Afterwards, I will present it in detail, stage by stage.

The fertilization procedure involving Ruth and Daniel was carried out by the hospital under the Public Health (in-vitro Fertilization) Regulations (hereafter — the Fertilization Regulations). Ruth asked to receive the fertilized ova from the hospital in order to continue the procedure and to implant them in a surrogate mother. But under the Regulations, the husband‟s consent to the fertilization is insufficient; his consent is also required for the implantation. Daniel notified the hospital that he is opposed to the implantation. Therefore the hospital refused to give the ova to Ruth. For lack of any other option, Ruth sued Daniel in court. The central question in the suit was whether Daniel originally agreed also that implantation would be carried out even if Daniel and Ruth were to separate from each other. The answer, in my opinion, is no. Another question is whether Daniel, even though he opposes the implantation, is estopped from arguing this. In my opinion, the answer to this question is also no. The result is that Ruth has no cause of action to force Daniel in court to give his consent to the implantation or to refrain from opposing the implantation. If so, under the law the court must dismiss Ruth‟s action against Daniel, and the hospital is not entitled to give Ruth the fertilized ova, unless and until Daniel agrees to this.

Now I will go into detail.

7.            The first step on the legal path leads to legislation. In-vitro fertilization is now regulated, in part, by the Surrogacy Agreements (Approval of Agreement and Status of the Child) Law. But this law, which regulates in- vitro fertilization vis-à-vis a surrogate mother, did not yet exist when the dispute between Ruth and Daniel began, nor even when the matter came before the court that tried the dispute between them, whether in the District Court or in the appeal before this court. Nonetheless, this law is relevant also to the dispute between Ruth and Daniel, and the court should not ignore it. But everything has its proper place, and I should not begin at the end.

8.            About five years ago, when Ruth and Daniel began the fertility procedure, in-vitro fertilization was governed by the Fertilization Regulations.  These  regulations  do  not  regulate  the  relationship  between

 

 

spouses wishing to carry out in-vitro fertilization in a hospital, but the role of the hospital in carrying out such a fertilization, including the relationship between the hospital and the couple. Under regulation 2(a) of these regulations, in-vitro fertilization may be carried out „only in a recognized ward and pursuant to the provisions of these regulations‟. There is no dispute that the fertilization of Ruth‟s ova with Daniel‟s sperm was carried out by Assuta Hospital under the Fertilization Regulations.

Incidentally, it should be said that the Fertilization Regulations, in their original version, stated (in regulation 11) that a fertilized ovum may only be implanted in the woman who will be the child‟s mother. In other words, these regulations prohibited implantation of an ovum in a surrogate mother. But this court held that this provision was void. See HCJ 5087/94 [44]. This means that the Fertilization Regulations regulate in-vitro fertilization also for implantation in a surrogate mother.

Under the Fertilization Regulations, Ruth and Daniel could not  have begun the fertilization procedure at the hospital without their joint consent. The consent was duly given. But it is questionable whether under these regulations the consent is required only at the first stage of the procedure, which is the fertilization stage, or whether it is also required at the second stage, which is the implantation stage. This question is of critical importance in the Nahmani case, for it is clear that Daniel gave his consent to the fertilization, whereas he now opposes the implantation.

The question arose before the District Court that considered the Nahmani case. Daniel argued that under the regulations, his consent is required also for the implantation of the fertilized ova. The Attorney-General, who was summoned by the court to join the action as the party representing the public interest, supported Daniel‟s argument. But the District Court (Justice Ariel) held that both Daniel and the Attorney-General were mistaken: in its opinion, the regulations provide that for a married woman the husband‟s consent is only required for fertilization of the ovum, and no further consent of the husband is needed for implantation of the ovum. See OM (Hf) 599/92.*

I do not agree. Admittedly, under regulation 3 of the Fertilization Regulations, removal of the ovum may be done solely for the purpose of in- vitro fertilization and implantation after the fertilization. From  this it is possible to deduce that anyone who gave his consent to fertilization also agreed  to  implantation.  Notwithstanding,  the  regulations  do  not  merely

 

 

*             IsrDC 5754(1) 142, 153.

 

 

require consent to the fertilization itself at the start of the procedure. The procedure of having a child by in-vitro fertilization is so complex and sensitive that the regulations insist upon requiring informed and express consent of the husband at each stage of this procedure, including consent to implantation. Regulation 14 of the regulations states as follows:

„(a) Every act involved in in-vitro fertilization as stated in regulation 2 shall be performed only after the doctor in charge has explained to each of those involved the significance and the consequences that may follow from it, and has received informed consent of each of them separately.

(b)          Every act involved in in-vitro fertilization of a married woman shall be performed only after receiving the consent of her husband.

(c)           Consent under these regulations —

(1)          shall not be given for a specific person or for a specific matter;

(2)          shall be given in writing and in the presence of a doctor, provided that the consent of a married couple shall be given on one document.‟

It follows that under the regulations „every act‟ involving in-vitro fertilization „as stated in regulation 2‟ requires „informed consent‟ of the husband „on one document‟. And what is an act involving in-vitro fertilization as stated in regulation 2? Regulation 2(a) gives the following answer:

„A person may remove an ovum from a woman‟s body, fertilize it, freeze or implant a fertilized ovum in a woman‟s body only in a recognized ward and pursuant to the provisions of these regulations.‟

It follows then that in-vitro fertilization comprises several actions, including implantation, and each of these actions requires the husband‟s consent.

9.            If so, how did the District Court hold that the consent of the husband to the actual fertilization is sufficient, and there is no further need for his consent to the implantation? The District Court relied on clause 8(b)(3) of the regulations, which states:

 

 

„If the woman in whom the ovum is supposed to be implanted is divorced, and the ovum were fertilized with the sperm of her husband before her divorce — the ovum shall only be implanted in her after receiving the consent of her former husband.‟

The District Court made a negative inference from the positive one. It is only with regard to a divorced woman that regulation 8(b)(3) makes the express condition that the consent of the former husband is required. It follows, according to the District Court, that no such consent is required for a married woman. And this is the important point in this case: although Ruth and Daniel live separately, they are still married to one another.

But this is wrong. Regulation 14 requires the husband‟s consent for every act throughout the procedure. This is clear and simple. Nonetheless, it was still necessary to add regulation 8, which deals with the procedure for unmarried women: an unmarried woman (regulation 8(b)(1)), a widow (regulation 8(b)(2) and a divorcee (regulation 8(c)(3)). For a divorcee it was necessary to add regulation 8(b(3), and regulation 14 was insufficient, since regulation 14 requires the consent of the husband, whereas clause 8(b)(3) is intended to add the consent of the former husband.

The District Court presents the husband as if he disappears from the picture after fertilization: the husband has done his job; the husband is free to go. What business is it of his to interfere at the implantation stage and to try to prevent the continuation of the procedure? Not only this. The District Court also says that —

„There is a danger in the position that requires additional consent of  the husband  in  cases of  a dispute between them (including a dispute before divorce), as this would give preference to the husband and may lead to major discrimination against the wife…

The consent is required once, and cannot be changed according to this or that passing whim.‟

But under the regulations, the husband stays in the picture. This can be seen not only from regulation 14, which requires the husband‟s consent for every act, but also from regulation 9. This regulation states as follows:

„(a) An ovum, including a fertilized ovum, may be frozen for a period not exceeding five years.

 

 

(b) If a written request is received to extend the freezing period, signed by the woman from whose body it was taken and her husband, and approved by the signature of the doctor in charge, the hospital may extend the freezing period by another five years.‟

It is therefore clear that under the regulations, the husband‟s consent (under regulation 14(c) — written consent in the presence of a doctor) is required, for the purpose of continuing the procedure, five years after the ovum was frozen. It is required even for continuing the freezing. Is it reasonable to say that it is not needed for the implantation? It is required also when the couple is living together harmoniously. Is it reasonable to say that it is not needed when the couple are living apart and there is no peace between them? Just imagine: for five years after the freezing, the husband supposedly does not exist, is like a ghost, and the wife is entitled to take the ova from the hospital unilaterally in order to implant them in another woman at her choice. Time passes, and suddenly the husband is once again important, and it is even impossible to extend the freezing period without his consent! There is no logic in this. Indeed, in my opinion, the husband should not be said to have done his job when he gave his sperm for fertilizing the ovum, and now he is free to go. Such a statement is inconsistent with the Regulations, does not befit the idea of partnership in having children, and is unfair to the husband.

10.          The question whether the husband  must  give  his consent  to implantation was also answered, recently, in the Surrogacy Agreements (Approval of Agreement and Status of the Child) Law. This law regulates the implantation of fertilized ova in a surrogate mother. In this respect the law concerns the case before us, because the fertilization of Ruth‟s ova with Daniel‟s sperm was done for the purpose of implanting the ova in a surrogate mother. The law was enacted only after the fertilization, and it cannot be applied retroactively to the fertilization that was carried out in this case. Nonetheless, the law now allows, for the first time, the implantation of fertilized ova in Israel. This is apparently a possibility from Ruth‟s perspective for various reasons, inter alia because the institute in the United States, with which Ruth and Daniel originally entered into a contract, requires the consent of both of them for an implantation. But the implantation in Israel, under this law, can only be performed (under section 7), inter alia, in accordance with a surrogacy agreement made and approved under this law. The law stipulates various requirements for such an agreement before it is approved. Inter alia, a „written agreement‟ must be made (under section 2)

 

 

between the surrogate mother and the prospective parents. In other words, the signature of the husband is required on the agreement, before the special approvals committee, of his own free will and after understanding the significance and the consequences of the consent (under section 5).

I am not making these remarks to say that, from a practical viewpoint, Ruth cannot carry out the implantation  in Israel under this law without Daniel‟s consent, but to show the policy of the statute, which is now the policy of the principal legislator and not merely of the subordinate legislator. According to this policy, the express and informed consent of the husband is required for the implantation, including the identity of the surrogate mother. It is inconsistent with the policy of the statute that Ruth can receive the fertilized ova and deliver them for implantation in a surrogate mother without Daniel‟s consent.

The court strives to create harmony in the legal system. This is a guiding principle in the interpretation of legislation. Interpretation tries to prevent a conflict between two statutes or between a statute and regulations. Therefore, if the new statute requires the husband‟s consent for implantation, it is not desirable to interpret the regulations (or to develop the law) in a way that makes the husband‟s consent unnecessary.

Incidentally, I would also like to raise the question whether, under the Surrogacy (Approval of Agreement and Status of the Child) Law, a woman may carry out in-vitro fertilization in Israel and then perform the implantation of the fertilized ova in a surrogate mother outside Israel, other than under the terms of the statute. Section 7 of the Law states that „In-vitro fertilization and implantation of a fertilized ovum shall be carried out only in a recognized ward and on the basis of a surrogacy agreement that was approved as stated‟. According to the language of the law, it appears that even the first stage of in- vitro fertilization should be performed only on the basis of an agreement under the law. And the law, as stated, provides various requirements for such an agreement: consent of the husband to performance of the implantation in a specific woman who is of the same faith as the prospective mother, provided that the agreement does not contain terms that harm the rights of the child that will be born, etc.. This leads to the question: is the prospective mother entitled to carry out in-vitro fertilization in Israel and afterwards, by means of implantation outside Israel, to bypass all the terms that the statute prescribes for the purpose of implantation? But this question was not argued before us, and therefore it should be left undecided. For the purposes of the case before us, it is sufficient to say once again that the new statute does not allow

 

 

implantation to be carried out without the informed consent of the husband to implantation in a specific woman.

11.          Assuta hospital was sued by Ruth to deliver to her the ova fertilized with Daniel‟s sperm for the purpose of implantation in a surrogate mother. However, as stated, the release of the ova from the hospital for implantation is, under the regulations, an act that required Daniel‟s consent. Without consent, the hospital was prohibited from delivering the ova to Ruth. Therefore it refused, and rightly so.

Moreover, the need for Daniel‟s consent to carry out implantation derives not only from the regulations, but also from private law. This is because the fertilized ova do not belong solely to Ruth nor solely to Daniel. After all, each of them gave of himself to the hospital to create the fertilized ova. The hospital received Ruth‟s ova and Daniel‟s sperm under an agreement between Daniel and Ruth on one side and the hospital on the other. Under this agreement, the hospital may not deliver the ova to one of them against the wishes of the other. Let us assume, for example, that Daniel pre-empted Ruth and contacted the hospital first to receive the ova for some reason, whether to transfer them for implantation unilaterally, or to destroy them, or for some other purpose. It is clear, in my opinion, that the hospital would not have been permitted, if only because of the tripartite agreement between Ruth, Daniel and the hospital, to deliver them to Daniel against Ruth‟s wishes.

In any case, whether under the regulations or under the agreement, Ruth is unable to receive the fertilized ova from the hospital without Daniel‟s consent, and Daniel objects. She has no choice: she must present to the hospital Daniel‟s consent or, alternatively, a judgment exempting her, or the hospital, from the need for consent. Consequently, Ruth filed the action against Daniel and against the hospital in the District Court. In practice the action is not against the hospital, since both the regulations and the agreement with the couple prevent it from delivering the ova without Daniel‟s consent, and therefore the hospital is in practice merely a formal defendant. For this reason, the action is not based on the Fertilization Regulations. These regulations lie in the background only as an explanation for the claim: it is they that forced Ruth to sue Daniel. The real claim is against Daniel, in order to establish that he consented, or to compel him to consent, and this action is not based on the Fertilization Regulations, but on the relationship between Ruth and Daniel: in the relationship between him and her, does Ruth have a cause of action against Daniel?

 

 

12.          First, does the right of parenthood give Ruth a cause of action against Daniel? Ruth has a right to be a parent. No one disputes this. The right to be a parent is a basic right. There is no dispute on this. But this is not enough. For the right to be a parent is, by its nature, a liberty, i.e., a negative right. Therefore, the right to be a parent is insufficient to support a court action of a wife against her husband, or against another man, for him to do an act in order to convert the right from theory into practice. The court may oblige a particular man to perform an act to realize the parenthood of a particular woman only if that man has a duty towards that woman: a statutory duty, an agreement, or a duty deriving from another legal source. It follows that in order to find Daniel liable towards Ruth, it is insufficient that Ruth has a right vis-à-vis society, but she also needs to have a cause of action against Daniel.

Indeed, it is an interesting and difficult question, how important is the right to be a parent, and is it more important than the right not to be a parent. But, in my opinion, it has no significance within the framework of the Ruth‟s claim against Daniel. For the purpose of this case we can assume that Ruth‟s right to be a parent is much more important than Daniel‟s right not to be a parent. This is still insufficient to impose a duty on Daniel to do an act that will allow Ruth to exercise her right of parenthood.

Imagine that A sues B for money in the name of the right to life. A will not succeed in the action, although the right to life is ten times more important than B‟s right to the money, unless he can prove that B has a duty in law to give A money.

Consequently, for Ruth to succeed in the action she filed in court, she needs to have a cause of action against Daniel. She does not have a cause of action founded in legislation, since there is no legislation that imposes on Daniel a duty to consent to implantation. Therefore the question is whether she has a cause of action against Daniel by virtue of an agreement.

13.          A preliminary question is whether an agreement between a husband and wife regarding implantation of fertilized ova in a surrogate mother is a legal agreement that can impose a legal duty on the husband. There is a view that agreements between spouses while they are living together are not legal agreements. Indeed, that may be so, but it is not necessarily so. It depends on the circumstances of each case. There is no doubt that business agreements between spouses can be contracts in all respects. And not only agreements of this sort. The law recognizes a contractual claim for breach of promise of marriage. Why, then, should it not recognize other agreements between spouses, according to the subject-matter and the circumstances of each case?

 

 

In this case, I believe that the circumstances show that the agreement made between Ruth and Daniel is a legal agreement. Regulation 14 of the Fertilization Regulations requires „informed consent‟ of each of the spouses,

„after the doctor in charge has explained to each of those involved the significance and the consequences that may follow from it‟, and it further states that the consent „shall be given in writing and in the presence of a doctor, provided that the consent of a married couple shall be given on one document‟. This, it can be said, is a strong consent, like a contract which statute requires to be in writing. Moreover, it is like a contract that must be signed before a notary. In any case, there is no doubt that this consent has a legal consequence in the field of the relationship between the spouses and the hospital: on the basis of this consent, the hospital may perform the fertilization. In my opinion, this consent also has a legal consequence in the field of the relationship between the spouses inter se. The spouses agreed between themselves to cooperate in the fertilization procedure already before they signed the document in the presence of the doctor. It may be that the consent between the spouses had, at this stage, not yet crystallized into a legal agreement. But it is clear to me that, at the latest, when the consent of the spouses found expression in the signature of both of them on one document, after they received from the doctor an explanation of the significance and the consequences that might result from the consent, a legal agreement was created between them. This agreement is a contract. It may be called, as Justice Strasberg-Cohen calls it, a weak contract. It may also be called, as I prefer, a special contract. Either way, the consent of Ruth and Daniel on the document creates a contract, not only between Ruth and Daniel and the hospital, but also, in my opinion, between Ruth and Daniel inter se. This is a contract that was signed after serious consideration, with a genuine commitment and formality that left no doubt as to the seriousness of the occasion: on the basis of the contract, each one of the parties undertook to undergo medical treatment and both of them jointly signed a preliminary agreement with the institute in the United States for carrying out the implantation in a surrogate mother. I see no reason why the mutual consent of Ruth and Daniel should not have legal force. If Daniel had retracted his consent after the ova were removed from Ruth, but before fertilization, would Ruth not have had the right to sue him for damages for the suffering he caused her?

14.          Our conclusion, therefore, is that there is no legal vacuum in the relationship  between  Ruth  and  Daniel.  Therefore  there  is  no  basis  for

 

 

following the path of Justice Tal, i.e., the court developing the law in order to create a legal norm in the relationship between Ruth and Daniel. The norm already exists, and it fills the vacuum: the agreement between them is the law. If so, how can the court force itself into this intimate sphere, and determine by itself legal rules that regulate the relationship between the spouses as the court sees fit, while ignoring the agreement, and maybe even contrary to the agreement between the spouses? The intimate nature of this sphere and the autonomy of the spouses require the relationship between them to be regulated, in so far as possible, in consent between them inter se, without the intervention of an external party, be he the legislator or the court. It is therefore preferable  to give legal validity to the  agreement between the spouses, than to determine for them an arrangement that ignores the agreement. Even if the agreement between the spouses lacks legal validity, this too is law, because it means that they wanted the relationship between them to be regulated outside the field of law. If so, why should the court come and impose its will on their will?

15.          Because the consent between Ruth and Daniel regarding the fertilization, as expressed in the document signed by both of them, created a legally valid agreement, the question is whether Ruth has a cause of action against Daniel by virtue of the agreement.

Daniel and Ruth agreed between themselves to cooperate in a procedure of in-vitro fertilization. Daniel doubtless agreed to fertilization of Ruth‟s ovum with his sperm. But, under regulation 14 of the Fertilization Regulations, this consent is not enough. The husband‟s consent is required for every act involved in the fertilization, including the implantation. Thus we must ask whether Daniel agreed also to the implantation?

The question whether consent to  a procedure of in-vitro fertilization, under the Fertilization Regulations, also includes consent to implantation depends on the circumstances of the case, including the language of the consent. In the normal case, it can be presumed that a husband‟s consent to in-vitro fertilization applies to all the acts involved in the fertilization, including the implantation, since this is the purpose of the  fertilization. Indeed, this is what happened in the case before us. There is no dispute that Daniel‟s consent, when it was given, and in the circumstances at the time, i.e., in the circumstances where Ruth and Daniel were living together, was not limited to the fertilization stage, but referred to the whole procedure, including the implantation stage.

 

 

Nonetheless, even consent to the whole procedure can be qualified. Indeed, this is Daniel‟s argument against Ruth: that his consent, even though it applied to the whole procedure, was qualified. And what is the qualification? That Daniel agrees to begin the procedure, and to continue it until it ends, only on the condition that he and Ruth continue to live together as one family. If, however, matters change and the family breaks up, the consent will automatically expire.

Such a condition can be included in an agreement in an express provision. Let us assume that such a condition was expressly stated in the agreement between the cou