Israeli Public Broadcasting Law, 5774-2014
חוק השידור הציבורי הישראלי, תשע"ד-2014
Published: 2014-08-11Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2018-07-26 · Last amended 2026-07-28✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-28
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Chapter XVI: Cessation of Activity and Winding Up
Section A: Cessation of Activity of the Broadcasting Authority and Its Winding Up
Definitions – Chapter XVI§
99.
In this Chapter –
"the Broadcasting Authority Law" – the Broadcasting Authority Law, 5725-1965, as it read on the eve of the publication date;
"the Accountant General" – the Accountant General at the Ministry of Finance;
"the Official Receiver" – as defined in the Companies Ordinance;
"the Liquidator" – as its meaning in section 102;
"representatives of the Ministry of Finance" – the Accountant General and the Budget Director at the Ministry of Finance;
"the Companies Ordinance" – the Companies Ordinance [New Version], 5743-1983;
"quarter" – a period of three months, and the beginning of the first quarter for the purposes of this Chapter is the publication date;
"the Authority" – the Broadcasting Authority established under the Broadcasting Authority Law.
Cessation of Activity of the Authority§
100.
The Authority shall cease to maintain broadcasts and shall cease all activity connected to broadcasts on the commencement date.
Collection of Fees for Possession of a Television Receiver§
101.
(a)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 28a(a) of the Broadcasting Authority Law, no fee shall be collected for the possession of a television receiver in respect of 2015 onwards.
(b)The Liquidator, and after the cancellation of the legal personality of the Authority as referred to in section 115 – the Accountant General, may direct that the collection of fee debts for the possession of a television receiver that arose before the publication date shall be carried out by the Enforcement and Collection Authority at the Ministry of Justice.
(c)If a direction as referred to in subsection (b) has been given, the Minister shall decide, with the agreement of the director of the Enforcement and Collection Authority at the Ministry of Justice, whether the collection shall be carried out by means of the unit established pursuant to Government Decision No. 545 of the 7th of Av 5773 (14 July 2013) for the purpose of collecting debts under the Execution Law, 5727-1967 (in this section – the Collection Unit), or by the Fines, Fees and Costs Collection Authority under the Fines, Fees and Costs Collection Authority Law, 5755-1995; if the Minister has decided pursuant to the foregoing that the collection shall be carried out by means of the Collection Unit, the collection shall be carried out in the manner agreed upon by the director of the Enforcement and Collection Authority and the Liquidator or the Accountant General, as the case may be.
Appointment of a Liquidator for the Authority and the Liquidator's Functions§
102.
(a)On the publication date, the Official Receiver shall become the Liquidator of the Authority.
(b)The Liquidator shall act in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter for the continuation of the activity and day-to-day management of the Authority, including the continuation of the maintenance of broadcasts by the Authority, at the scope that was customary on the eve of the publication date, until the eve of the commencement date, and for the regulation of the winding up of the Authority.
Powers of the Liquidator§
103.
(a)The Liquidator shall be vested with all powers necessary for the day-to-day management and continuation of the activity of the Authority, including the powers of the plenum of the Authority, of the Managing Committee and of the Director General of the Authority under the provisions of the Broadcasting Authority Law.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), once the Director General of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation has been appointed, the Liquidator shall not enter into contracts for the purchase of purchased local productions in an amount exceeding NIS 250,000, except with the approval of the Director General, and if the Director General has not yet been appointed but an interim director general has been appointed – except with the approval of the interim director general.
(c)The Liquidator shall be vested, for the purpose of winding up the Authority, with all the powers vested in a liquidator under the Companies Ordinance in a winding up by a court, with the necessary modifications and with the modifications set out in this Chapter, provided that the day-to-day activity of the Authority, including the maintenance of broadcasts by the Authority, shall not be prejudiced until the commencement date; upon the appointment of the Liquidator, the tenure of the members of the plenum of the Authority and of the Managing Committee shall cease.
(d)
(1)The Liquidator shall submit to the court an application for the appointment of an office holder to serve as chief editor, and may, for the purpose of fulfilling the Liquidator's functions, submit to the court an application for the appointment of additional office holders on the Liquidator's behalf, as well as an application for the approval of the remuneration of the office holders on the Liquidator's behalf, after receiving the comments of the representatives of the Ministry of Finance on the said remuneration;
(2)If an application as referred to in paragraph (1) has been submitted, the court shall appoint the office holders and approve the remuneration to be paid to them; the provisions under section 318 of the Companies Ordinance shall apply to the appointment of a chief editor and an office holder under this section, with the necessary modifications.
Stay of Proceedings§
104.
From the publication date, no proceedings against the Authority may be continued or commenced, except with the permission of the Liquidator and subject to conditions set by the Liquidator; for this purpose, "proceedings" – as defined in section 350b(a) of the Companies Law, with the necessary modifications.
Deadline for Submission of Proofs of Debt§
105.
(a)Any creditor of the Authority, including a contingent or future creditor, may submit to the Liquidator a claim in respect of a debt that arose before the publication date, by the date to be directed by the Liquidator.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), an employee of the Authority who wishes to submit a proof of debt shall submit it as a comprehensive claim in respect of a debt that arose before the publication date and in respect of a debt that arose thereafter, including in respect of a debt that arose as a result of the termination of the employee's employment under this Law, no later than a date to be set by the Liquidator that shall be after the commencement date.
(c)The Liquidator shall publish in the Reshumot (Official Gazette), in two daily newspapers in the Hebrew language and in one widely-circulated newspaper in the Arabic language, the final date for the submission of claims as referred to in subsections (a) and (b).
(d)The Authority shall be discharged from any debt as referred to in subsections (a) and (b) in respect of which no claim has been submitted by the date referred to in those subsections, unless the Liquidator has approved its submission at a later date.
Employees of the Authority§
106.
(a)On the commencement date, the employment of the Authority's employees at the Authority shall end.
(b)Nothing in the provisions of subsection (a) shall derogate from the power of the Liquidator to dismiss a particular employee before the commencement date.
(c)From the publication date, the Authority shall not take on new employees except for special reasons; the provisions of this subsection shall also apply to the receipt and employment of employees through a manpower contractor, as defined in the Employment of Employees by Manpower Contractors Law, 5756-1996.
(d)Nothing in the provisions of this section shall derogate from the possibility of a person who was an employee of the Authority being received into employment in the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.
Transfer of the Authority's Real Property Assets to State Ownership§
107.
(a)The Authority's rights in real property or in respect of real property, including debts or obligations relating thereto (in this section – the Authority's real property assets), shall pass to State ownership without consideration, in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(b)
(1)The Liquidator shall prepare a list of the Authority's real property assets known to the Liquidator and shall transfer it to the Accountant General no later than 45 days before the commencement date or by the 30th of Av 5775 (15 August 2015), whichever is earlier; the Accountant General shall notify the Liquidator whether the list contains rights that the Accountant General requests to be transferred to State ownership, shall publish in the Reshumot (Official Gazette) a list of such rights, and the said rights shall pass to State ownership on the date of publication in the Reshumot (Official Gazette);
(2)Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), the Accountant General may at any time direct the transfer of the Authority's real property assets to State ownership; if the Accountant General has requested to do so, the Accountant General shall notify the Liquidator and publish in the Reshumot (Official Gazette), as referred to in paragraph (1), and the assets shall pass to State ownership on the date of publication in the Reshumot (Official Gazette);
(3)If real property assets of the Authority are discovered after the date of cancellation of the legal personality of the Authority, they shall pass to State ownership.
(c)The Land Registrar shall register in the land registers, upon the application of the Accountant General, the State's rights in the real property or a note on the conveyance of the rights therein, and no additional documents or approvals shall be required as a condition for the registration of the rights or the note as aforesaid, beyond the application for registration, including a deed of transaction, a power of attorney from the Authority, and any document or approval constituting proof that mandatory payments have been made.
(d)The State's actions with respect to the use of real property in which rights have been conveyed to the State under this section shall be carried out in coordination with the Liquidator, provided that the continuation of the day-to-day activity of the Authority, including the maintenance of broadcasts by the Authority until the commencement date, shall not be prejudiced.
Evacuation of the Broadcasting Authority Compound in Romema, Jerusalem§
107a.
The Broadcasting Authority shall vacate the Broadcasting Authority compound in Romema, Jerusalem, by the end of six months from the commencement date.
Transfer of the Authority's Archive and Intellectual Property Rights to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation§
108.
The Authority's archive and all of the Authority's intellectual property rights shall pass to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation on the commencement date, without consideration.
Assignment of Contracts for the Purchase of Purchased Local Productions from the Broadcasting Authority to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation§
109.
(a)The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall notify the Liquidator, as soon as possible and no later than the commencement date, of contracts for the purchase of purchased local productions that were entered into by the Authority before the publication date and that the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation requests to be assigned to it.
(b)Until the date of giving the notice as referred to in subsection (a), the contracts referred to in that subsection shall remain in force, the Liquidator shall not act to waive them, and the provisions of section 350j of the Companies Law shall not apply; nothing in the provisions of this subsection shall derogate from the right of the other party to the contract to cancel it due to its breach by the Authority, unless the Liquidator has requested to adopt it and the court has approved its adoption in accordance with the provisions of section 350h of the Companies Law, with the necessary modifications.
(c)If the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation has notified the Liquidator under the provisions of subsection (a) of the contracts that it requests to be assigned to it, those contracts shall be deemed to have been adopted by the Liquidator on the date of giving the notice as aforesaid; however, contracts in respect of which the other party has a right to cancel them due to their breach by the Authority shall not be adopted except with court approval under the provisions of section 350h of the Companies Law, and the Liquidator shall act to adopt them as aforesaid.
(d)Contracts entered into by the Liquidator and contracts adopted under the provisions of subsection (c) shall be assigned to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation on the commencement date, even if a provision preventing such assignment is stipulated in the contract, and with respect to the assignment of liability – also without the consent of the other party to the contract.
(e)Where contracts have been assigned to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation under subsection (d), all obligations under those contracts whose due date falls after the publication date, except for obligations relating to broadcasts that were or are to be broadcast by the Authority until the commencement date, shall also be deemed to have been assigned to the Corporation; where obligations that have been assigned to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation under the provisions of this subsection have been discharged by the Liquidator, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation shall refund those amounts to the Liquidator.
(f)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 105, a proof of debt in respect of contracts for the purchase of original purchased local productions shall be submitted no later than the date to be set by the Liquidator, which shall be after the commencement date; the Liquidator shall publish the final date for the submission of proofs of debt as aforesaid in the Reshumot (Official Gazette), in two daily newspapers in the Hebrew language and in one widely-circulated newspaper in the Arabic language.
Power to Demand Information§
110.
(a)The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation may demand from the Liquidator information and documents on any matter relating to the Authority's contractual engagements for the purchase of purchased local productions, the Authority's intellectual property rights, the Authority's archive and the assets forming part of the Authority's broadcasting system, and may inspect the records and documents of the Authority relating to these matters.
(b)Where the Liquidator has been required to provide information under subsection (a), the Liquidator shall transfer it to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation as soon as possible.
Powers of the Representatives of the Ministry of Finance§
111.
(a)The liquidator shall not compromise with a creditor of the Authority or with a person sued by the Authority, except with the prior consent of the representatives of the Ministry of Finance; the representatives of the Ministry of Finance may notify the liquidator that their consent as referred to in this subsection is not required for a particular category of compromise; nothing in the provisions of this subsection shall derogate from the provisions of the Budget Foundations Law.
(b)The representatives of the Ministry of Finance may instruct the liquidator to transfer certain assets, without consideration, to the ownership of the State, or, with the consent of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, to its ownership; if they so instruct, the liquidator shall act to effect the transfer of the assets as aforesaid, provided that their transfer does not harm the continuation of the current activity of the Authority, including the conduct of broadcasts by it, until the commencement date.
Reports of the Liquidator to the Representatives of the Ministry of Finance§
112.
(a)The liquidator shall furnish the representatives of the Ministry of Finance with its determinations on debt claims as soon as practicable.
(b)The liquidator shall submit to the representatives of the Ministry of Finance, every quarter, a report on the proceedings under this Chapter; such a report shall include, inter alia, information on the revenues of the Authority in that quarter, expenses incurred in managing the Authority or for the purpose of its winding up, assets realised, debt claims approved and claims paid.
Financing of Management and Winding-Up Expenses and Payment of the Authority's Debts§
113.
(a)The expenses of managing the Authority from the publication date and the expenses of its winding up, including the fees of the liquidator and the office holders on its behalf (in this section – management and winding-up expenses), as well as the debts of the Authority, shall be paid out of the revenues and assets of the Authority; if the amount of the management and winding-up expenses and the debts of the Authority exceeds the revenues and assets of the Authority, the difference shall be paid by the State under this section.
(b)
(1)If the liquidator is of the opinion that it will not be possible to pay the management and winding-up expenses out of the revenues and assets of the Authority, the liquidator shall submit to the representatives of the Ministry of Finance a request to finance the portion of the expenses that cannot be paid (in this section – the outstanding balance of expenses payable), together with reasons; the liquidator shall not incur management and winding-up expenses that cannot be paid out of the revenues and assets of the Authority before receiving the approval of the representatives of the Ministry of Finance to finance the required amount;
(2)A request by the liquidator as referred to in paragraph (1) may be submitted before the commencement of each quarter in respect of the anticipated expenses in that quarter (in this subsection – a quarterly request); the submission of a quarterly request shall not derogate from the power of the liquidator to submit an additional request to finance the outstanding balance of expenses payable during that quarter, if the liquidator sees fit to do so;
(3)If a request under this subsection was submitted and the representatives of the Ministry of Finance are of the opinion that it will not be possible to pay the outstanding balance of expenses payable out of the revenues and assets of the Authority, and that the management and winding-up expenses in respect of which financing is requested are required for the purpose of the continued management of the Authority or for the purpose of its winding up, as the case may be, the State shall transfer to the liquidator, as soon as practicable, the amount required to finance the outstanding balance of expenses payable; if a quarterly request was submitted under paragraph (2), the required amount shall be transferred before the commencement of the quarter; the representatives of the Ministry of Finance shall not refuse a request under this subsection if their refusal would result in harm to the broadcasts, as had been customary in the two years preceding the publication date; for this purpose, a reduction in the number of employees alone shall not be regarded as harm to the broadcasts;
(4)Nothing in the provisions of this subsection shall permit interference with the content of the Authority's broadcasts;
(5)(Repealed).
(b1)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b), the State shall transfer to the liquidator the amount required to finance the outstanding balance of expenses payable, provided that by the 19th of Kislev 5776 (1 December 2015), contracts required for the evacuation of the Broadcasting Authority compound in Tel Aviv have been signed.
(c)
(1)The liquidator shall notify the representatives of the Ministry of Finance of the final debt claims that cannot be paid on time out of the revenues and assets of the Authority; upon such notification by the liquidator, the State shall transfer to the liquidator the amount required to pay the final debt claims as aforesaid as soon as practicable; for this purpose, "final debt claim" – a debt claim approved by the liquidator in respect of which the period for filing an appeal against the liquidator's decision by the creditor or by the State has elapsed without an appeal being filed, and if an appeal was filed – a debt claim approved by the court or the portion of the debt claim that is not in dispute;
(2)Without derogating from the provisions of paragraph (1), the liquidator may submit a request to the representatives of the Ministry of Finance, before the commencement of each quarter, to finance the debt claims that the liquidator considers will be required to be paid during that quarter and that it will not be possible to pay in that quarter out of the revenues and assets of the Authority (in this subsection – a quarterly request);
(3)If a quarterly request was submitted under paragraph (2) and the representatives of the Ministry of Finance are of the opinion that it will not be possible to pay the debt claims referred to in that request, in that quarter, out of the revenues and assets of the Authority, the State shall transfer to the liquidator the amount required to pay the claims, before the commencement of the quarter.
Transfer of the Balance of Funds or Assets to the State§
114.
If a balance of funds or assets remains after the payment of the Authority's debts and the payment of the expenses of its management and winding up, the liquidator shall transfer the balance to the State.
Cancellation of the Legal Personality of the Broadcasting Authority§
115.
(a)Upon the liquidator having completed the realisation of the Authority's assets, the payment of all its debts, and, if a balance remained, the transfer thereof to the State, the liquidator shall notify the representatives of the Ministry of Finance of the completion of the winding-up proceedings; a final report detailing the debts, the assets of the Authority and the expenses incurred in the framework of the proceedings under this Chapter shall be attached to the notification; for this purpose, licence fee debts as referred to in section 101(b) that have not yet been collected shall not be regarded as assets of the Authority that have not yet been realised, and if such debts remain, the right to collect them shall pass to the State.
(b)Upon the liquidator submitting a notification together with a report under subsection (a), the representatives of the Ministry of Finance shall confirm the completion of the winding-up proceedings, in writing, unless they are of the opinion that an error occurred in the said report or that not all of the Authority's assets have yet been realised.
(c)Sixty days after the confirmation by the representatives of the Ministry of Finance under subsection (b), the Authority shall cease to be a legal person and the liquidator shall conclude its role, unless the court has decided otherwise.
(d)
(1)The liquidator shall publish a notice of the grant of confirmation by the representatives of the Ministry of Finance for the completion of the winding-up proceedings and of the anticipated date of the anticipated cancellation of the legal personality of the Authority under subsection (c), in two daily newspapers in the Hebrew language, in one newspaper in the Arabic language and on the website of the Official Receiver;
(2)The liquidator shall publish a notice in Reshumot (Official Gazette) of the cancellation of the legal personality of the Authority, and the date thereof.
Exemption from Compulsory Payments§
116.
The transfer of assets, debts and obligations under this Chapter to the State or to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, or the registration of rights in assets or in respect thereof in the name of the State or in the name of the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, shall be exempt from payment of any tax, fee, levy or other compulsory payment payable under any law or agreement; however, nothing aforesaid shall exempt any person from any liability for a tax, fee, levy or compulsory payment that applies to the owner or holder of the assets on the eve of the transfer of the assets or the registration of the rights therein as referred to in this section.
The Competent Court§
117.
The court competent to hear any matter arising from proceedings under this Chapter is the District Court in Jerusalem, which shall sit as a single judge.
Application to Court§
118.
(a)The liquidator may apply to the court on any matter arising from proceedings under this Chapter, including on a matter concerning a decision of the representatives of the Ministry of Finance.
(b)A person harmed by an act or decision of the liquidator, as well as the State, may apply to the court, and the court may confirm, annul or amend the act or decision and make any order in the matter as it sees fit to be just.
(c)Every application submitted to the court shall be furnished to the State as soon as practicable, and it shall be given an opportunity to express its position in the proceeding.
Application of the Provisions of the Companies Ordinance and the Companies Law§
119.
(a)The provisions of the enactments listed below shall apply to proceedings under this Chapter, all with the necessary modifications, with the modifications detailed in subsection (b) and with the modifications prescribed in this Chapter:
(1)The provisions under the Companies Ordinance [New Version], 5743-1983 applicable to the winding up of a company by the court, including the penal provisions in sections 373 to 378, except for sections 244 to 272, 275, 277 to 278, 280, 281, 283 to 285, 287, 292 to 296, 300 to 304, 308, 309, 313 to 315, 316(a), (b) and (d), 317, 348 to 351, 354, 361 to 365 insofar as they relate to an onerous asset that is an existing contract as defined in section 350h of the Companies Law, 366 to 369, 371 and 372, and except for the Companies (Appointment of Receivers and Liquidators and Their Remuneration) Regulations, 5741-1981;
(2)The provisions of sections 350b(e), 350c, 350e and 350f to 350k of the Companies Law.
(b)The provisions under the Companies Ordinance [New Version], 5743-1983 and the Companies Law listed in subsection (a) shall apply to proceedings under this Chapter with the following modifications:
(1)For the purposes of the Companies Ordinance [New Version], 5743-1983 – the publication date shall be regarded as the date of the making of the winding-up order and the commencement of the winding up, and for the purposes of the Companies Law – the publication date shall be regarded as the date of the making of the stay of proceedings order and the date of the commencement of the rehabilitation proceedings;
(2)For the purposes of sections 306 and 307 of the Companies Ordinance [New Version], 5743-1983 – the exercise of the powers under those sections does not require the approval of a court or an audit committee and is not subject to the supervision of the court; however, nothing therein shall derogate from the provisions of section 118 of this Law;
(3)For the purposes of section 350c of the Companies Law – the powers vested thereunder in the court shall be vested in the liquidator;
(4)For the purposes of section 350c(b) of the Companies Law – no permit as referred to in that section shall be granted in respect of real property;
(5)For the purposes of sections 350c, 350e and 350l of the Companies Law – the provisions of section 113 of this Law shall be regarded as an alternative manner ensuring adequate protection;
(6)The provisions applicable to an office holder under the Companies Law shall apply to the liquidator;
(7)Rehabilitation expenses under the Companies Law and winding-up expenses under the Companies Ordinance [New Version], 5743-1983 shall be considered management and winding-up expenses for the purposes of this Chapter.
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