Enforcement proceedings in divorce are taken when one of the spouses violates the divorce agreement that was signed between the parties and given the force of a judgment, most often in order to collect maintenance debts.
When can enforcement proceedings be taken in a divorce?
The enforcement system in Israel is part of the Enforcement and Collection Authority (which, alongside the enforcement system, also includes the Center for the Collection of Fines, Fees, and Expenses).
In general, the enforcement system serves to enforce judgments and judicial decisions, realize charges, collect debts, and handle claims for fixed amounts of up to 75,000 NIS.
In the specific context of divorce, enforcement proceedings arise where one of the spouses violates a divorce agreement that was approved and given the force of a judgment. Usually these are cases where the father violates his obligation to pay child maintenance under the agreement.
Unlike an ordinary contract, a divorce agreement does not take effect on the spouses’ signatures alone. It must also be approved by the rabbinical court or the Family Court, under Section 2 of the Property Relations Between Spouses Law, 5733-1973.
Approval of the divorce agreement by one of these courts gives it the same force as a judgment, which means it can be enforced the way any judgment is enforced, including through the Enforcement Bureau.
What can be done to enforce a divorce agreement?
When one of the parties violates the divorce agreement, the other party has several legal avenues for enforcing it:
First, he can file a claim with the court to enforce the divorce agreement against the party violating it. Within that claim he can also seek temporary relief, such as injunctions, attachments, or an order barring departure from the country, to remain in force until a final judgment is given in the enforcement claim.
Second, he can apply to the court for an order under the Contempt of Court Ordinance, which allows a fine and even imprisonment to be imposed on those who violate judgments and judicial decisions. As explained above, violating the divorce agreement is equivalent to violating a judgment, so the agreement can also be enforced through a contempt order.
Third, in certain cases he can turn to the Enforcement Bureau. This is usually done when the father violates his obligation to pay child maintenance under the divorce agreement.
Enforcement under Section 7 of the Family Courts Law
Section 7 of the Family Courts Law, 1995, provides as follows:
“Execution proceedings in a claim for the balancing of resources between spouses, or in a claim for the dissolution of co-ownership of spouses’ property, or in a claim concerning a minor, except in matters of his property, will be carried out according to the decision of the Family Court and under its supervision, unless the court has ordered their execution through the Enforcement Bureau; the court may also order their execution in another manner that it deems more efficient and just in the circumstances of the case.”
Section 7 of the Family Courts Law is a unique and exceptional provision. It states that when judgment is given in matters of balancing of resources, dissolution of co-ownership, or a claim concerning a minor child (other than his property), the proceedings for implementing and enforcing it are not carried out through the Enforcement Bureau, as is usually done when judgments are violated, but through the Family Court itself, although the court may also direct that execution be handled by the Enforcement Bureau.
The case law holds that Section 7 grants the Family Court enforcement powers of its own, given the special sensitivity that relationships between family members require (Fam. Case (Tel Aviv) 17161-04, A.C. v. A.I.).
The case law has also explained that this section “…is intended for those cases, which the legislator anticipated, in which a dispute arises between the parties over how the judgment is to be executed, where the judgment requires not the payment of money but the performance of an act, or contains a declaration; where the payment of money is involved, the clear path is collection proceedings at the Enforcement Bureau” (Fam. Case (Tel Aviv) 44765-04-13 A.L.L. v. M.L.).
The classic example of enforcing a monetary obligation under a divorce agreement through the Enforcement Bureau is the collection of maintenance payments, as explained below.
Enforcement proceedings to collect a maintenance debt
When the father violates his obligation to pay child maintenance under a divorce agreement that was approved and given the force of a judgment, the wife can collect the maintenance debt from him through the Enforcement Bureau along two alternative collection tracks: the regular track and the maintenance track.
The regular track
This is the standard enforcement route, as in any other enforcement case. Here the woman and the lawyer representing her manage the maintenance file themselves, and decide on their own which collection measures to take against the father and when. These measures include attachments, including of salary, funds, vehicles, and movable property; an order barring departure from the country; suspension of the driver’s license; and in exceptional cases even an arrest warrant (though for no more than 21 days).
The maintenance track
This, by contrast, is a dedicated track reserved for collecting maintenance debts only. Under this track, it is the Enforcement Bureau itself that takes the collection measures against the father, while the woman is hardly involved in the proceedings.
The choice between the two tracks is the woman’s, at her discretion. She may also switch from one track to the other while the proceedings are under way.
Either way, the woman should take care to open the maintenance file as early as possible, and within two years at most after the maintenance debt accrues, to avoid needing court approval to collect an older debt. Section 11(b) of the Family Law Amendment (Maintenance) Law, 5719-1959, provides that “maintenance for which collection has not begun within two years after the period in which it was determined may not be collected except with the permission of the court.”
