Jurists and Retired Judges Proposed Measures Against Legal Delays

Where the Delays Arise

The Complaints Commissioner for the State Prosecution, retired judge Menachem Finkelstein, pointed to delays in decisions on opening investigations and the failure to respond promptly to citizens’ inquiries. The law and the Attorney General’s guidelines require that at least an initial written response to a formal inquiry be provided within 45 days, but in practice this deadline is often not met. In his assessment, the delay harms a person’s good name, the right to due process and the preservation of evidence, while crime victims may be left without legal protection.

Deadlines for Issuing Decisions

The Ombudsman for Complaints Against Judges, Asher Kula, reported thousands of cases that have been pending for more than three years and hundreds of cases in which the delay exceeds five years. According to the data he presented, a decision in an ordinary civil case must be issued within 90 days, and in a criminal proceeding—within 30 days; if the deadline is exceeded, the judge is required to report to the president of the relevant court. Approximately 90% of the complaints that were reviewed and found justified concerned the protracted duration of proceedings, particularly delays in issuing decisions.

What Reforms Are Being Proposed

The proposals include setting mandatory maximum time limits for investigations and for decisions on filing indictments, increasing the number of judges, strengthening oversight of compliance with timelines and expanding the powers of the Complaints Commissioner for the State Prosecution. Lawyers also proposed mandatory mediation in certain cases, the imposition of realistic legal costs for unjustified delays, referring suitable civil disputes to mandatory arbitration and using artificial intelligence to prepare settlement proposals in simple claims. The chair of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, Simcha Rothman, advanced a limit on the duration of investigations: in exceptional and complex cases, a maximum period of two years was proposed, but the bill did not advance.

The Courts Administration’s Response

The Courts Administration stated that it is improving service without waiting for a comprehensive reform. The measures cited include an information center that handles approximately one million calls a year, an artificial intelligence-based knowledge management system, a pilot project for proactive work by court secretariats, as well as automated transcription and audio recording of hearings. These tools are intended to shorten waiting times, accelerate the preparation of cases for hearings and free up judicial time from technical work.

Latest legal news

• 170 rabbis file complaint against Rabbi Dov Lior over olive-harvest ruling
• School transport driver convicted of sex offenses against 15-year-old
• Supreme Court sets rules for clauses restricting will challenges
• Man convicted of Tel Aviv murder committed while posing as Wolt courier