Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback Edited Legal Collections Data

Zecler, Niv; Gal, Michal S.; Ilan, Yariv --- "Israel" [2010] ELECD 772; in Foer, A. Albert; Cuneo, W. Jonathan (eds), "The International Handbook on Private Enforcement of Competition Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: The International Handbook on Private Enforcement of Competition Law

Editor(s): Foer, A. Albert; Cuneo, W. Jonathan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848448773

Section: Chapter 32

Section Title: Israel

Author(s): Zecler, Niv; Gal, Michal S.; Ilan, Yariv

Number of pages: 19

Extract:

32 Israel
Niv Zecler, Michal S. Gal and Yariv Ilan1


Introduction
Private antitrust enforcement in Israel has been on the books for many years. Indeed, the
first Israeli Restrictive Trade Practices Law, dating from 1959, stated that a breach of the
Law's prohibitions can serve as a basis for a private damages claim.2 This provision was
later incorporated into the new version of the Restrictive Trade Practices Law, dating
from 19883 (`the Competition Law' or `the Law'). In practice, however, private damages
suits were seldom invoked. One of the main reasons was that collective redress was una-
vailable. This situation changed markedly in 1996 when class actions on antitrust issues
were allowed.4
Today private antitrust enforcement is an integral part of the Israeli antitrust arena,
attracting growing awareness from the general public and the legal community. It is
thus rightly perceived as a potential pivotal enhancement to the Rashut Hahegbelim
Haiskiim's (Israeli Antitrust Authority or IAA) enforcement toolkit. Indeed, the IAA
has often indicated the importance of invigorating private enforcement initiatives,
aimed at deterring antitrust infringements as well as securing redress for private parties'
damage.5 The role of private actions in Israeli antitrust enforcement is enhanced by the
limited powers of the IAA to sanction most antitrust violations in practice.6
Private litigants' increasing consciousness of antitrust issues and the possibility for
private redress, alongside significant advancements in economic and legal analysis, have
led to an increased number of private claims for damages in recent ...