ENFRHE

Articles & publications

Updated coronavirus guidance

Automatically translated. Read the original

Guide to services during the coronavirus period

A. Making an affidavit without the declarant and attorney being physically present in the same room:

Because of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown restrictions, attorneys cannot authenticate clients' affidavits in face-to-face meetings.

In view of this understandable difficulty, the Ethics Committee of the Israel Bar Association published decisions on making an affidavit by video call:

“Accordingly, the National Ethics Committee considers that, insofar as there is an urgent need for an affidavit at this time, an attorney may authenticate the signature by videoconference only if all the following cumulative conditions are met:

  1. The attorney and declarant are in Israel at the time of authentication.
  2. The declarant has shown the attorney an identity document on screen.
  1. The attorney has read the following warning to the declarant: ‘I hereby confirm that on day_______ of month_____ in 2020, at_____, Mr._______________, ID number________________, appeared before me, attorney________________, license number_______, of address___________________. I identified him after receiving email verification of the client's identity from the Government Identification System of Gov.il.

The appearance before me took place by videoconference, a recording of which I retain. The declarant appears on my screen with the declaration to be authenticated before him, and declares that he is in the State of Israel at the time of signing and authentication and consents to the visual recording and its use. After I warned him that he must state the truth and would be subject to the penalties prescribed by law if he failed to do so, he confirmed the truth of his declaration, which was shown to me in full during the videoconference, and signed it before me.

Declarant's signature_________________;

Attorney's signature_________________’.

  1. With the declarant's consent and subject to rule 22(a) of the Israel Bar Association Rules (Professional Ethics), 5746–1986, the attorney shall visually record only the warning and authentication process, including: a. The declarant's consent to visual recording. b. An image of the client's identity document. c. The attorney reading the warning and the declarant acknowledging it. d. A statement for the recording of the date and time of authentication, the subject of authentication as specified at the beginning of the affidavit, and the attorney's name and license number. e. The declarant's signature. [For clarity, signing may be on paper scanned into a computer, or digital from the outset; printing and physically signing the affidavit are therefore not mandatory.]
  2. After signing and recording, the declarant shall send the signed document to the attorney by digital means, such as email, WhatsApp, fax or similar.
  3. Immediately upon receipt, the attorney shall verify that the document received is the one signed by the declarant in the recording. The attorney shall then sign it and confirm the declarant's identity and the giving of the warning.
  4. The document bearing both signatures is the complete affidavit, which may be submitted to court or otherwise used as required.
  5. An attorney required to submit an affidavit to court shall state that it was made by videoconference under the National Ethics Committee's emergency decision of 24 March 2020, and that the attorney retains a visual recording of its authentication, to be provided to the court on request.
  6. The recording of an affidavit as described in section 5 above, whether submitted to court or not, shall be retained by the attorney in accordance with the Israel Bar Association Rules (Retention of Archival Material in Law Offices), 5731–1971.

To read, click here

http://www.israelbar.org.il/article_inner.asp?pgId=413084&catId=58

Very important: before making an affidavit by videoconference, online digital authentication (ADAM) must be completed at the following link:

https://www.gov.il/he/service/online-authentication-adam

To verify your identity, consult the Israel Government ICT Authority's digital-authentication instructions: click here

Registering for Zoom

Click here

B. Guidance for everyday life during coronavirus (the Tishrei holidays)—Ministry of Health

Guidance on what is permitted and prohibited during lockdown and routine periods is available on the Ministry of Health website.

To read, click here

For the Ministry of Health's official coronavirus website: click here

C. Information for employees placed on unpaid leave because of the spread of coronavirus

How are employees placed on unpaid leave, what are their rights, and how should an employee report going on unpaid leave?

Answers to all these questions can be found on the Kol Zchut website.

To read, click here