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Holocaust Victims' Claims (Handling Procedures) Law, 5717-1957

חוק התביעות של קרבנות השואה (הסדר הטיפול), תשי"ז-1957

Published: 1957-04-04Last amended 2016-03-17✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-11
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More

This English text was translated from the official Hebrew using a range of translation tools, and it undergoes ongoing checks and updates. It is not a certified translation.

Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.

The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.

This translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For use in legal proceedings, request a certified Expert Legal Opinion.

Definitions§

1.

In this Law –

"claim" means a right of action abroad under legislation intended to compensate victims of Nazi persecution or the persecution of their collaborators, or the successors of such victims, whether by the return of assets, rights and benefits of any kind whatsoever, or in money or money's worth, including an appeal against a determination of a claim as aforesaid; for the purposes of this definition, a collective agreement in respect of which the Minister of Justice has declared by Order that it shall apply for the purposes of this provision shall have the same effect as legislation;

"handling of a claim" means any act performed for remuneration or other consideration, listed hereunder:

(1)giving legal advice concerning a claim;
(2)drafting the statement of claim to be submitted abroad to a court or competent authority designated for that purpose, as well as drafting a document required for the submission of the statement of claim or for the authentication of the claim abroad or for any stage of the claim proceedings abroad;
(3)receiving powers of attorney or other instructions, whether in writing or orally, whether for the handler himself or for another, to submit a statement of claim abroad or to represent in proceedings thereof abroad;
(4)any other act of contact or intermediary between the plaintiff and his representative abroad;
(5)any act of those enumerated in paragraphs (1) to (3) performed in Israel on behalf of a handler who is staying abroad for a continuous period of six months or more;

"handling of a claim abroad" includes representing the plaintiff before a court or relevant authority;

"fee" includes the costs of the claim proceedings abroad that the plaintiff's opponent was ordered to pay, whether by law or voluntarily;

"advocate" means a person entitled to practise as an advocate by virtue of a licence under the Advocates Ordinance, 1938.

Who May Handle a Claim§

2.

No person shall handle claims in Israel unless he is one of the following:

(1)an advocate;
(2)a person entitled, under the laws of one of the states that conferred rights of claim, to represent plaintiffs in connection with their claims before its courts or other authorities;
(3)an individual who would have been qualified to represent plaintiffs in one of the states that conferred rights of claim had he been a resident or citizen of that state;
(4)a person who lawfully held the position of advocate on the 5th of Tevet 5698 (31 December 1937) or at any time thereafter in a territory which, during any period after that date, was in fact subject to the authority of Germany;
(5)a person to whom the Minister of Justice has granted a permit for that purpose; a permit under this paragraph may be granted for claims generally or for a specific category of claims, for a specified period or without limitation of time, subject to such conditions as the Minister of Justice sees fit to impose.

Burden of Proof§

3.
(a)A person who claims that he is entitled to handle claims bears the burden of proof.
(b)Where a person has performed, on at least five occasions within one year, an act that constitutes handling of a claim when performed for remuneration or other consideration, he shall be deemed to have handled claims even if the acts were performed without remuneration or other consideration.

Prohibition of Advertising§

4.
(a)No person shall advertise, whether in the press or in any other manner, his handling of claims; however, he may –
(1)place at the entrance to his office a sign specifying his name, profession and qualification to handle claims, and if he has relocated his office – place at the entrance to his former office a sign specifying the address of his new office and notify in writing those who have previously used his services in the handling of claims of the change;
(2)in the event of the establishment of a partnership for the purpose of handling claims, or the dissolution of such a partnership – notify in writing those who have previously used his services in the handling of claims of the establishment or dissolution of the partnership.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the Minister of Justice may permit an association of persons to advertise in the press the handling of claims by that association, for a period and on conditions as he sees fit, if he is of the opinion that the association is not conducted for the purpose of making profits and that the publication is for the benefit of the public.

Prohibition of Sharing with Intermediaries§

5.

A person entitled to handle claims shall not pay another a commission or other consideration for procuring the handling of a claim on his behalf.

Partnership for the Handling of Claims§

6.
(a)A person entitled to handle claims shall not enter into a partnership for the purpose of handling claims with a person who is not entitled to handle them.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of the Advocates Ordinance, 1938, or the provisions made thereunder, an advocate may enter into a partnership for the purpose of handling claims only, with any person entitled to handle them even if he is not an advocate.
(c)A person entitled to handle claims shall not employ a person who has been disqualified under this Law from handling claims or from holding a permit under section 2(5), or whose permit as aforesaid has been revoked, or an advocate whose name has been struck off the roll of advocates or whose licence has been suspended under the Advocates Ordinance, 1938, from the time his name was struck off or for as long as his licence is suspended.

Duty of Confidentiality§

7.

A person entitled to handle claims shall keep confidential any information communicated to him by the plaintiff or on the plaintiff's behalf in connection with the handling or by reason of the handling, and shall not disclose it except pursuant to the instructions of the plaintiff or with his consent, or in those cases in which he would have been obliged to disclose it had he been an advocate.

Special Arrangement for Advocates§

8.

Sections 4, 5, 6(a) and 7 do not apply to advocates; however, this provision does not exempt an advocate from any duty imposed on him under the Advocates Ordinance, 1938.

Handler Without Authorisation Not Entitled to Fee§

9.

A person who handles claims without being entitled to handle them under this Law is not entitled to payment of a fee and expenses in connection with such handling, notwithstanding anything contained in any agreement, and a person who has paid such a fee or expenses may claim their return.

Fee§

10.
(a)In this section –

"pension" includes any recurring payment whatsoever;

"pension claim" means a claim for a pension as well as a claim for a lump-sum payment arising from the same cause of action as a claim for a pension even if the two claims are submitted separately.

(b)Notwithstanding anything contained in any agreement –
(1)the total fee for handling a claim, both in Israel and abroad, shall not exceed 15% of the amount awarded in favour of the plaintiff, or determined by agreement with the defendant as due to the plaintiff where no amount was awarded in his favour, or of the value of the asset ordered to be returned or which the defendant undertook by agreement to return where no order was made for the return of the asset, after deducting the value of all charges (security interests) encumbering the asset;
(2)the total fee for handling a pension claim as aforesaid shall not exceed 15% of the total pensions for a period of five years, calculated at the rate applicable at the date of the award or agreement;
(2a)the total fee for handling a claim under the German law for the payment of pensions to ghetto workers and the First Amendment to that law, as referred to in paragraph (4), shall not exceed 7.5% of the lump-sum payment paid in arrears in respect of that claim;
(3)the provisions of paragraph (2) shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to claims in which the plaintiff has the option to choose between a pension and a lump-sum payment and has chosen a pension;
(4)notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (1) to (3), where a plaintiff is given the option to choose between a recalculation of the pension amount and receipt of a retroactive payment pursuant to the First Amendment to the German law for the payment of pensions to ghetto workers, which entered into force on the 5th of Av 5774 (1 August 2014), and the continuation of payment of the said pension without such recalculation, and the plaintiff has given explicit instructions to handle the said choice, the following provisions shall apply:
(a)where a claim or appeal was submitted on his behalf before the 8th of Sivan 5774 (6 June 2014) (in this section – the determining date), concerning his entitlement to receive a retroactive payment from the 26th of Sivan 5757 (1 July 1997), and on the determining date the claim or appeal was pending, the fee for handling the claim or appeal shall not exceed 7.5% of the retroactive payment granted to him or NIS 25,000, plus value added tax, whichever is lower;
(b)where a claim or appeal as referred to in sub-paragraph (a) was submitted on his behalf but on the determining date was not pending, or where no such claim or appeal was submitted, the fee for handling the choice between the two alternatives referred to shall not exceed NIS 473, plus value added tax; however, if the retroactive payment was increased beyond the amount, including interest, to which the plaintiff was entitled under the recalculation, as a result of the handling by a person entitled to handle the claim, the provisions of paragraphs (1) to (3), as applicable, shall apply to the difference between the amount, including interest, to which the plaintiff was entitled under the recalculation and the amount of the increased payment as aforesaid.
(c)The Minister of Justice may, by Regulations, prescribe specific categories of claims or of handling in respect of which the fee shall not exceed, notwithstanding anything contained in any agreement, a percentage that he shall prescribe and that is lower than that prescribed in subsection (b).
(d)Where the fee for handling the claim is prescribed by or under the law of the state in which the claim is submitted, the total fee for the handling, both in Israel and abroad, may exceed that prescribed in subsections (b) and (c), provided that it does not exceed that prescribed by or under that law; a person who claims that by virtue of this subsection he is entitled to a fee exceeding that prescribed in subsections (b) and (c) bears the burden of proof.

Prohibition of Addition to Fee§

11.

Notwithstanding anything contained in any agreement, no person shall be required to pay, in connection with the handling of a claim by another, any amount whatsoever on account of inclusive expenses or miscellaneous expenses or on account of travel abroad or stay therein, in addition to the fee referred to in section 10, except to the extent that the fee and such expenses together do not exceed that prescribed in that section.

Excess Fee Recoverable§

12.

A person who pays for the handling of a claim a fee or expenses in an amount exceeding that prescribed in sections 10 and 11 (hereinafter – the maximum fee) may claim the return of the excess.

Liability for Acts of Agent§

13.
(a)Where a plaintiff has granted a power of attorney or other instructions for the handling of a claim to an agent abroad through the intermediary of a person who handled the claim in Israel, the person who handled the claim in Israel as aforesaid shall be liable towards the plaintiff to ensure that the total fee, his own and that of the agent abroad, does not exceed the maximum fee, notwithstanding anything contained in any agreement.
(b)Where the agent abroad has deducted from amounts collected on behalf of the plaintiff an amount exceeding the maximum fee, or has collected abroad such an amount in any other manner, the person who handled the claim in Israel as aforesaid shall be obliged to return the excess to the plaintiff.
(c)This section does not derogate from the liability of the agent abroad.

Evidence§

14.

In the determination of a claim for the return of a payment made in consideration of the handling of a claim, in whole or in part, the court may, notwithstanding anything contained in any law, admit oral testimony as evidence in connection with the payment and may also be satisfied with the testimony of a single witness.

Offences and Penalties§

15.
(a)A person who handles claims and is not entitled to handle them under this Law, or who contravenes the provisions of sections 4, 5, 6(a) or 6(c), is liable, in the case of an individual – to a fine of 5,000 liras, and in the case of a corporation – to a fine of 10,000 liras; and if he has already been convicted of an offence under this section, he is liable – in the case of an individual – to a fine of 10,000 liras, and in the case of a corporation – to a fine of 20,000 liras.
(b)Where a person has been convicted of an offence against the provisions of sections 4, 5, 6(a) or 6(c), and likewise where a person who is not an advocate and is entitled to handle claims has been convicted of an offence committed in the course of the handling, by him or on his behalf, of a claim or by reason of such handling, the court may, in addition to any other penalty it imposes, or in lieu thereof, disqualify the convicted person from handling claims, whether permanently or for a period that it shall determine.
(c)The court may order the publication of a conviction under this section in any manner it sees fit.

Liability of Board Members and Managers§

16.

Where an offence under section 15 has been committed by an association of persons, every member of the management board, manager, partner or responsible officer of that association shall also be deemed liable for the offence and may be prosecuted and punished as though he himself had committed the offence, unless he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge, or that he took all reasonable measures to ensure that the provisions of this Law would be complied with by the association.

Appointment of Committee§

16a.

The Minister of Justice shall appoint a supervisory committee of three members, including a judge who shall be the chairperson (hereinafter – the Committee).

Disciplinary Jurisdiction of the Committee§

16b.

The Committee shall be empowered to hear complaints against handlers in respect of disciplinary offences; "handler" for the purposes of this section and sections 16c to 16m means a person entitled to handle claims under section 2, paragraphs (2), (3), (4) or (5) or under section 21(a).

Disciplinary Offences§

16c.

The following are disciplinary offences for the purposes of section 16b:

(1)receipt of a fee or expenses in excess of the maximum fee under this Law or under the Nazi Persecution Disabled Persons Law, 5717-1957, whether by deduction from amounts collected on behalf of the plaintiff or in any other manner, or demanding such a fee or expenses;
(2)breach of any other provision of this Law or of the Regulations made thereunder;
(3)breach of any condition prescribed in a permit under section 2(5);
(4)any act or omission in connection with the handling of claims that constitutes disgraceful conduct or conduct contrary to the fair handling of claims;
(5)conviction of an offence involving moral turpitude.

For the purposes of paragraphs (1) to (4) it is immaterial whether the disciplinary offence was committed in Israel or abroad; for the purposes of paragraph (5) it is immaterial whether the offence was committed or the conviction was in Israel or abroad, provided that the offence is one of the offences regarded in Israel as involving moral turpitude.

Disciplinary Measures§

16d.

Where the Committee finds a handler guilty of a disciplinary offence, it may take against him one or more of the following measures:

(1)issuance of a warning;
(2)issuance of a reprimand;
(3)disqualification from handling claims and from holding a permit under section 2(5), for a fixed period to be determined by the Committee or permanently;
(4)an order for the return of a fee or expenses paid in excess of the maximum fee, under this Law or under the Nazi Persecution Disabled Persons Law, 5717-1957.

Filing a complaint§

16e.

A complaint in respect of a disciplinary offence of a handler may be filed with the Committee by the Attorney General or his representative, and in an application for an obligation under section 16d(4) — also by a person claiming the return of the surplus.

Ancillary powers of the Committee§

16f.

The Committee shall have all the powers that may be conferred upon a commission of inquiry under the Commissions of Inquiry Ordinance.

Procedure of the Committee§

16g.

The Committee shall itself determine its procedure to the extent that the Minister of Justice has not determined it by Regulations.

Publication of decisions§

16h.

The Committee may publish its decisions in any manner it sees fit.

Appeal§

16i.

A decision of the Committee under section 16d is appealable before the Supreme Court within thirty days of the date on which the decision was given, and if it was given otherwise than in the presence of the appellant — from the date on which a copy thereof was delivered to him.

Stay of execution§

16j.

A decision of the Committee under section 16d shall not be executed or published so long as the period for appeal has not elapsed, and if the appeal was filed in time — so long as it is pending.

Enforcement of an obligation to return fees§

16k.

A decision of the Committee under section 16d(4) is enforceable as if it were a judgment of a District Court given in civil proceedings.

Preservation of powers§

16l.

The power of the Committee under section 16d(4) shall not derogate from any power vested in a court under any other enactment.

Acquittal or conviction does not preclude disciplinary proceedings§

16m.

An acquittal or conviction in criminal proceedings in respect of an act or omission shall not prevent the Committee from taking measures against the accused under this Law.

Notarial fees§

17.

Nothing in this Law shall be construed as intended to prevent an advocate who is also a notary for foreign documents and who handles a claim from collecting a fee for a notarial act performed by him in connection with the handling, in accordance with the rates prescribed therefor under the Notaries for Foreign Documents Law, 5710-1950.

Certificate of the Minister of Justice as evidence§

18.

It shall be permissible to prove by a certificate signed by the Minister of Justice that a particular law in a particular country is legislation intended to compensate victims of Nazi persecution or the persecution of their collaborators, or the successors of such victims.

Exemption§

19.

The handling of claims by or on behalf of the Jewish National Fund is exempt from the restrictions of this Law; however, in the handling of claims by or on behalf of the Jewish National Fund that had not been concluded on the date of commencement of this Law, sections 10, 11 and 13 shall apply as if every reference in section 10 to 15% were a reference to 20%.

Jurisdiction of the court§

20.

Notwithstanding anything in any agreement, the courts in Israel shall have jurisdiction to adjudicate any action relating to the handling of a claim at least part of which took place in Israel.

Restriction on the cancellation of a permit under section 2(5)§

20a.

A permit under section 2(5) shall not be cancelled by the Minister of Justice during its period of validity, but nothing in this provision shall derogate from the remaining powers of the Minister of Justice under section 2(5).

Advocate whose licence has been revoked or suspended§

20b.

An advocate whose name has been struck off the roll of advocates or whose licence has been suspended under the Advocates Ordinance, 1938, shall not be entitled — notwithstanding anything in sections 2(2), (3), (4) or (5) or in section 21(a) — to handle claims from the time his name is struck off or for as long as his licence is suspended.

Swiss deposits§

20c.
(a)In this section —

"claim for the collection of Swiss deposits" means any claim abroad whose submission was made possible by the disclosure of assets as a result of the provisions of the Federal Helvetic Community Law of 20 December 1962 concerning assets located in Switzerland and belonging to foreign nationals or stateless persons who were persecuted on grounds of race, religion or political opinion, or any law replacing it (hereinafter — Swiss deposits);

"handling of a claim for the collection of Swiss deposits" includes any act whose purpose is to disclose Swiss deposits or to prove that the rights of the original owner of a Swiss deposit have passed to another person.

(b)The provisions of this Law, with the exception of sections 2, 10, 16a to 16c, 18, 20a, 20b and 21, shall apply to claims for the collection of Swiss deposits and to the handling thereof as if such claims were claims within the meaning of section 1.
(c)No person in Israel shall handle claims for the collection of Swiss deposits unless he is —
(1)an advocate, or
(2)a corporation approved for that purpose by the Minister of Justice; the approval may be for a period and on conditions determined by the Minister, and a fee to be prescribed by Regulations shall be paid for the grant of the approval.
(d)The Minister of Justice shall not approve a corporation for the purpose of handling claims for the collection of Swiss deposits unless he is satisfied —
(1)that the Government or the World Zionist Organisation or one of their institutions has a representative on the management of the corporation, or that the corporation holds a licence to conduct banking business under the Banking Ordinance, 1941; and also
(2)that the handling of such claims by the corporation will be under the supervision of an advocate in the service of the corporation;

however, the fulfilment of both these conditions shall not oblige the Minister of Justice to approve a corporation for the purposes of this section.

(e)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c), a corporation approved for the purposes of this section shall not be entitled to perform in Israel the following acts: to represent a plaintiff, to plead on his behalf and to perform any other act on his behalf before a court, tribunal, arbitrator, body or person having judicial or quasi-judicial authority.
(f)The provisions of this section do not affect the right of representation before religious courts.
(g)Notwithstanding anything in any agreement — whether entered into before the commencement of the Holocaust Victims' Claims (Handling Procedures) Law (Amendment No. 4), 5723-1963, or entered into thereafter — the total fee for the handling of a claim for the collection of Swiss deposits both in Israel and abroad shall not exceed the rates to be prescribed by the Minister of Justice by Regulations according to a criterion or criteria that appear appropriate to the Minister; wherever this Law refers to an amount exceeding that prescribed in section 10, there shall be substituted, for the purposes of the handling of claims for the collection of Swiss deposits, the amount exceeding the rates as prescribed under this section.

Transitional provisions§

21.
(a)A person, even if not qualified to handle claims under section 2, shall be entitled to continue and complete the handling of claims submitted by him or on his behalf before the 13th of Shevat 5717 (15 January 1957) to a court or competent authority abroad and to receive his fee subject to the provisions of subsection (c), and all the restrictions imposed on the handling of a claim under this Law shall apply to the completion of the handling as aforesaid; the burden of proof that a claim was submitted before the said date shall lie on the person asserting it.
(b)In respect of a claim whose handler on the eve of the commencement of this Law is no longer entitled to continue handling it (hereinafter — the previous handler), the following special provisions shall apply:
(1)the previous handler shall deliver the documents in his possession that are necessary for the continuation of the handling to the person indicated by the plaintiff, and if he fails to do so, he shall be treated as a person committing an offence under section 15;
(2)the previous handler shall be entitled to receive reasonable remuneration for the handling up to the commencement of this Law, having regard to the maximum fee, but not before the date on which he would have been entitled to receive the fee had he continued the handling;
(3)the maximum fee of the plaintiff's new authorised representative shall be reduced by the amount of the reasonable remuneration due to the previous handler.
(c)Where a plaintiff gave instructions to handle his claim before the 13th of Shevat 5717 (15 January 1957) and the agreed fee for the handling of the claim had not been paid in full up to the commencement of this Law, then, for the purpose of calculating the maximum fee for the said handling, "20%" shall be substituted for "15%" wherever section 10 refers to "15%", and section 10(c) shall not apply; the burden of proof that instructions for handling were given before the said date shall lie on the person asserting it.
(d)To the extent that the agreed fee for the handling of a claim was paid, in whole or in part, before the commencement of this Law, it shall not be returned by virtue of the provisions of this Law alone; this provision does not derogate from the provisions of subsection (b)(2).

Implementation and regulations§

22.

The Minister of Justice is charged with the implementation of this Law and may make Regulations —

(1)concerning fees payable for permits under this Law and for applications for the grant of such permits;
(2)prescribing the dimensions and form of signs for the purposes of section 4a(1);
(3)prescribing maximum rates for reasonable remuneration for the purposes of section 21(b);
(4)prescribing supplementary provisions intended to ensure the continuity of the handling of a claim in the circumstances described in section 21(b), including, inter alia, provisions concerning the securing of payment of reasonable remuneration by the plaintiff or his new authorised representative, the methods of determining the amount of reasonable remuneration, and the continued validity of powers of attorney or other instructions given by the previous handler or through him to a representative abroad;
(4a)imposing obligations and prohibitions on handlers of claims who are not advocates;
(4b)prescribing procedure in the Committee and in appeals against its decisions;
(5)on any other matter relating to the implementation of this Law.

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