In previous articles, I have tried to convey the reality of the legal procedure called, “Tsav Ikuv Ietsia Min Haaretz” (the ban on leaving Israeli soil). In this article, I discuss the thoughts of the Israeli judicial system when such a ban is, in fact, a “mistake”.
The first question is: Who made the mistake? You? Or the system?
Obviously, a citizen has no way of “banning himself” from leaving the country. A ban is a legal action, authorized by a judge. Nevertheless, it is possible that a ban was instituted against you in the past that, somehow, wasn’t erased from the computers and is therefore still in effect.
This was the case decided by the Honorable Mr. Barkai at the Tel Aviv court on May 27th behind closed doors (case #2863-03-13).
The case
A mother and her 14-year-old daughter were at Ben Gurion Airport, going on vacation abroad. As it turned out, the State of Israel hadn’t canceled an old ban imposed against the daughter (a family law case) and she could not leave Israel. The mother refused to travel without her daughter.
The plaintiff
The mother sued the State of Israel for negligence, requesting NIS 25,000 shekels in compensation and damages.
The plaintiff should have known better. She should have double-checked with the authorities, prior to the trip, that the ban had been cancelled. She didn’t do so, however, assuming all was in order. It’s never a good idea to assume anything!
The decision
“When it comes to a substantive restriction such as “freedom of movement”, the plaintiff should do the minimum that does not require time or special resources, to be sure that the ban has actually been canceled”, said the judge.
The judge ruled against the State. Despite the fact that the mistake was clearly not of a malicious nature, it caused damage to the plaintiff.
The court granted the plaintiff a total of NIS 20,000, including court costs and legal fees.
Be smart
It is not enough to be right; you have to be smart!
If you know that there is, or may be, a ban against you, or if you have had a ban imposed upon you in the past, all you have to do is call *3450 between 8 am and 4 pm, and query the status of the ban.
This is a free service, offered in many different languages and provided only to the person him/herself. No one can obtain any information for a third party.
Have a great vacation!
