Torts Ordinance [New Version]

"Fault" means an act or omission of a person that constitutes a tort under this Ordinance, or that constitutes a tort when accompanied by damage, or that constitutes negligence causing harm to oneself; and a person is deemed to have caused damage by his fault if the fault was the cause or one of the causes of the damage. However, a person shall not be so deemed if one of the following conditions is fulfilled:

Where a Defendant caused damage by his fault, but it was the Plaintiff's conduct that brought about the fault, the court may exempt the Defendant from his liability to compensate the Plaintiff, or reduce the compensation to such extent as the court deems just.

Where both the Plaintiff and the Defendant caused the damage by their fault, but it was the Defendant's conduct that induced the fault of the Plaintiff, the court may increase the compensation that the Defendant would have been liable to pay had the Plaintiff also been at fault for the damage.

The fault of a person, for the purposes of Sections 64 to 65, includes the fault of a person for whom that person is responsible, and this applies where no other meaning is required by the context.

Where a person died as a result of his own fault and the fault of another, and had an action been brought for the benefit of the Estate under Section 19, the court would have reduced the compensation pursuant to Section 68(a), then if an action is brought for the benefit of the dependants of that person under Section 78, the compensation shall be reduced proportionately.

In any case to which Section 68(a) applies, where one of the parties at fault has exempted himself from liability towards another party at fault, or his legal representative, by relying on a law of limitation, he shall not be entitled to recover from that person or his representative compensation or contribution by virtue of that Section.

Every civil court shall have jurisdiction within its jurisdictional limits to grant a remedy for a tort under this Ordinance, subject to the provisions of any enactment applicable to that court, and may grant an injunction in respect of a tort even where no compensation or other relief has been claimed or awarded.

An injunction may be a mandatory order or a prohibitory order, interim or permanent.

The court shall not grant an interim injunction unless it is satisfied, by affidavit or otherwise, that a substantial question exists which ought to be tried, that the Plaintiff is likely to be entitled to a remedy, and that it would be difficult or impossible to do full justice at a later stage if an interim injunction is not granted.

The court shall not grant an injunction if it is of the opinion that the injury or damage caused to the Plaintiff is small and capable of being estimated in money and adequately compensated by a monetary payment, and that the grant of an injunction would be oppressive to the Defendant; but it may award compensation.

The provisions of Sections 72 to 74 are in addition to, and not in derogation of, the powers of the courts to grant injunctions under any other enactment.

Compensation may be awarded alone, or in addition to, or in lieu of, an injunction; provided that —

Where a tort caused the death of a person, and that person, had he not died, would at that time have been entitled to compensation under this Ordinance for bodily injury caused to him by the tort, his spouse, parent and child shall be entitled to compensation from the person responsible for the tort.

An action for compensation under Section 78 shall be brought by the executor of the Will, or the administrator of the Estate, or the heirs of the deceased, for the benefit of his spouse, parent and child, or for the benefit of such of them as are still alive. If, within six months after the death of the injured person, no such action has been brought, any person for whose benefit it could have been brought may bring it on behalf of all or some of them.

Section 80: In an action under Section 78, particulars shall be provided of the persons for whose benefit it is brought and of the pecuniary loss suffered by each of them as a result of the death of the injured person, and compensation shall be awarded for the pecuniary loss actually suffered, or likely to be actually suffered, including funeral expenses incurred; after deducting from the amount of compensation the costs of the proceedings not recovered from the Defendant, the court shall, at the time of adjudication, determine the share of each of the entitled persons in the remaining sum.

Section 81: In determining the amount of compensation the following shall not be taken into account —

"Benefit" means the monetary value of the benefits, excluding benefits in kind, that have been or are to be provided under Part B of the Law, including the value of injury allowance payable under Section 38 of the Law; a benefit that has been reduced or denied as a result of an act or omission of the employee, or that was not provided because of a choice of another benefit under the Law, shall be deemed to have been or to be provided in full; the directives of the Minister of Labour under Section 49(20) of the Law regarding the capitalisation of pensions and the calculation of the monetary value of benefits in kind shall apply also to the determination of the monetary value of benefits for the purposes of this subsection;

"Employer" means the person liable under the Law to pay insurance contributions in respect of the insured person, including a person for whose act the employer is responsible under Section 13 of this Ordinance.

Section 85: "Tort" in Sections 83 and 84 — whether or not it also constitutes a criminal offence; and nothing therein shall affect any criminal proceeding in respect of a wrongful act, or render enforceable any agreement for indemnity that would not have been enforceable but for those Sections.

In assessing damages payable in respect of a tort, no account shall be taken of any sum paid or payable by reason of that tort under a contract of insurance.

[Damages Not to Be Taken into Account]

(Repealed)

Where the facts upon which an action for a tort is based constitute a criminal offence, that shall not bar the action; but if at any stage of the proceedings the court trying the action is satisfied that the facts constitute, or may constitute, a felony, the court shall stay the further conduct of the proceedings until it is satisfied that the facts have been brought to the notice of the police or are known to them.

[Also a Criminal Offence]

For the purpose of the limitation period in actions for torts, "the day on which the cause of action arose" is one of the following:

Commencement of Limitation Period

Nothing in this Ordinance shall be construed as derogating from admiralty jurisdiction vested in a court in Israel, or from the provisions of the Civil Procedure Amendment Law (State as a Party), 5718-1958, or of any enactment repealed thereby.

A court that is not a Muslim religious court or a tribal court shall not award "diyya"; such courts shall not award "diyya" in respect of an act for which damages have been awarded under this Ordinance, and a court shall not award damages under this Ordinance in respect of an act for which "diyya" has been awarded.

[Award of "Diyya"]

The laws listed in the Schedule shall not apply to the extent that they are inconsistent with, or irreconcilable with, the provisions of this Ordinance.

This New Version shall come into force on the ninth day of Tishrei 5729 (1 October 1968).

5 Laws of Palestine, Volume II, Chapter CXVI, p. 1191.

6 Sefer HaChukkim 251, 5718, p. 118.

278 Sefer HaChukkim 10 19 Nisan 5728 / 17.04.1968

(Section 92)

Sections 881 to 940;

Section 1071;

Section 1087;

Sections 1192 to 1223;

Sections 1661, 1673–1675.

The following Sections of the Mejelle:

Sections 1 to 100;

Section 482;

Sections 545 to 548;

Sections 550, 551 and 556;

Section 865;

[Minister of Justice]

279 Sefer HaChukkim 10 19 Nisan 5728 / 17.04.1968

Comparison Table

New Section — Previous Section — New Section — Previous Section — New Section — Previous Section — New Section — Previous Section

Omitted

74 opening

74 closing

77(a)(b)

77(c)

85, 81 opening

84(a)

84(b)

83(b) middle

85 closing

58(1)

58(2)

59(1) opening

59(1)(a)

59(1)(b)

59(2)

59(3)

64(1)(a)(b)

64(1)(c)

64(2)

64(3)

64(4)

35 closing

80 closing

80 opening

50(1)

50(2)

50(2) condition

50(3)

55(1) opening

55(1)(a)

55(1)(b) opening

55(1)(b) condition

55(1)(c)

55a

55b(1)

55b(2)(a)

55b(2)(b)

55b(3)

55c(1)–(3)

55c(4)

55c(5)

44

34 opening, condition (a)

34 condition (b)

33(1)

35(2)

40

41(1)

41(2)

42(1)

42(2)

42(3)

44(1)

44(2)

64, 2 opening

Omitted

16 opening

16 closing

2(1)

2(2)

3 opening

3 condition

4(1)

4(2)(3)

4(4)(5)

7/8

11(1)(a)

11(1)(b)

11(1)(c)

11(2)

12(1)–(3)

12(4)

14(1)–(5)

14(6)

280 Sefer HaChukkim 10 19 Nisan 5728 / 17.04.1968