When family members in Israel face certain legal disputes, mainly those tied to divorce proceedings, and wish to file claims about them before the Rabbinical Court and/or the Family Court, they must first file a request for family dispute resolution with the assistance units of those courts before they can file the claims themselves. The family dispute resolution process consists of holding 4 substantive meetings between the parties in an attempt to settle the dispute between them.
As long as the dispute resolution process is ongoing, the parties may not turn to the Family Court or the Rabbinical Court, except in certain urgent matters, which are detailed below. Only if the dispute resolution process ultimately fails may the parties file their claim with the court.
The family dispute resolution process is therefore designed to first attempt to resolve the conflict between the parties peacefully and by agreement, in order to spare them unnecessary lawsuits and the fighting that comes with them, along with the waste of time, money, and emotional energy.
The provisions regulating the family dispute resolution process are set out in the Law for the Settlement of Litigation in Family Disputes, 2014, which came into effect in 2016, and in the Regulations for the Settlement of Litigation in Family Disputes, 2016.
Which claims require a request for dispute resolution?
Section 2 of the Law for the Settlement of Litigation in Family Disputes states that the obligation to file a request for the settlement of a family dispute applies to the following claims:
(1) Marriage and divorce matters.
(2) Financial relations between spouses, including a financial or property claim arising from the relationship between the spouses, but excluding a claim in matters of inheritance.
(3) Maintenance or housing (medor) of a spouse or child, as well as maintenance or housing (medor) of a young adult (up to the age of 21), or a dispute between such a young adult and one or both parents.
(4) Any matter concerning a child under the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law, 5722-1962, except for a claim under the Hague Convention (Return of Abducted Children) Law, 5751-1991, which deals with the return of children abducted abroad and with orders barring the departure of abducted children from the country.
(5) Paternity or maternity with respect to a child, except for a claim on this matter filed with the consent of the parties.
As you can see, these are mainly issues related to divorce and the claims that surround it, such as division of property, maintenance, and child custody.
How is a request for dispute resolution filed?
To open a dispute resolution process, a request form for family dispute resolution must be filed with the secretariat of the Rabbinical Court or the Family Court in whose jurisdiction the parties’ common place of residence is located, if they still live together, or their last common place of residence, if they no longer do.
The request form mainly contains the parties’ personal details. In other words, it is essentially a technical form that includes no description of facts and no claims about the dispute between the parties.
In addition, a fee must be paid (in the amount of NIS 103, as of 2022), but beyond that, the procedure at the assistance unit involves no additional cost.
Once the request form is filed, a stay of proceedings between the parties takes effect.
The stay of proceedings means that the parties may not turn to the Family Court or the Rabbinical Court, except in the following urgent matters:
- A request to approve an urgent medical procedure for a minor child, such as an examination, treatment, or urgent psychiatric hospitalization, when the parents do not agree about it.
- A request to issue a passport and approve a minor child’s travel abroad for group educational activities.
- An urgent request concerning maintenance, or concerning contact between a minor child and each of his parents, when waiting for the first meeting at the family court would harm the parties or their children. The court must rule on such a request within 14 days of its filing.
- An urgent divorce claim when a defendant who lives abroad is currently in Israel, or in other special circumstances, where waiting for the stay of proceedings to end could prevent the dissolution of the marriage between the parties.
- A request for a temporary attachment order or a temporary order barring departure from the country, in order to preserve the existing situation.
The Mahut meetings
After the request form for dispute resolution is filed, the parties are invited to 4 Mahut meetings (information, acquaintance, and coordination sessions) at the assistance unit. The meetings must take place within 45 days of the date the request was filed, though this period may be extended once by an additional 15 days.
During the Mahut meetings, the assistance unit staff try to mediate between the parties and help them resolve their conflict peacefully and by agreement. These are professionals from various fields, such as psychologists, social workers, and lawyers, who have been trained to work with couples in divorce proceedings and to mediate between them.
It is essential to understand that an invitation to a Mahut meeting is treated like a summons to court, and attendance is mandatory. It cannot be avoided or refused. A party who fails to appear risks having costs awarded against him, and having the request for dispute resolution he filed struck out.
The parties must attend the first Mahut meeting without the lawyers representing them, but they may invite the lawyers to join the remaining meetings.
During the meetings, the parties receive information about the legal procedures that currently exist for resolving family disputes, as well as about the alternative ways available to settle such disputes peacefully and amicably, such as mediation or couples therapy.
The assistance unit staff then get to know the parties in order to understand the needs and wishes of each of them, and what serves the best interests of their children. A plan suited to the parties is then set for the continuation of the process, and mutually agreed arrangements are put in place regarding the children.
If the process succeeds, the last Mahut meeting is devoted to formulating a divorce agreement between the parties, covering the divorce itself and the related issues, such as maintenance, division of property, and child custody. Alternatively, the parties can be referred to another body that will help them resolve their conflict and, if necessary, also reach a divorce agreement.
The end of the dispute resolution process
If the dispute resolution process has been completed successfully, so that the parties have formulated a divorce agreement, they may file a request to approve the agreement and give it the force of a judgment before the Rabbinical Court or the Family Court.
If the process was not completed successfully, the party who filed the request for dispute resolution may then file a regular divorce claim, or any other relevant claim, against the other party before the competent forum of his choice, within 15 days from the end of the stay of proceedings.
If that party does not file the claim within this period, or files a claim within this period on only some of the issues related to the divorce, the other party then becomes entitled to file a claim before the court or rabbinical court of his own choosing.
