Case Number

C.App. 41/49

Date Decided

4-12-1950

Decision Type

Appellate

Document Type

Full Opinion

Abstract

The applicant, a Company registered in Tel Aviv, formerly Palestine, now Israel, brought an action against the Government of Palestine for the return of the sum of 2539 Palestine Pounds customs drawback. On February 17, 1948, the Haifa District Court gave judgment in favour of the applicant. On March 17, 1948, the Attorney-General of the Government of Palestine entered an appeal against that judgment. This appeal was not heard. On May 15, 1948, the Mandate for Palestine terminated and the State of Israel came into existence. The present application, before the Israel Supreme Court, was for an order that the appeal should proceed between the Attorney-General of the Government of Israel as appellant and the applicant as respondent. Counsel for the applicant argued that the liability to pay the judgment debt had now passed to the Government of Israel, which came into existence on the termination of the Mandatory regime and thus took the place of the Mandatory Government "which has ceased to exist in the territory of the State of Israel", that the powers and functions of the Attorney-General of the Government of Palestine had passed to the Attorney-General of the Government of Israel, and therefore that the Attorney-General of the Government of Israel must take the place of the Attorney-General of the Government of Palestine. Alternatively, the applicant moved the Court to order such person as it thought fit to be joined in the action and to summon him to appeal as appellant, or, in the alternative, to make an order in the appropriate way for substituted service, so as to enable the respondent to bring the case to a conclusion.

Held: that the action must fail. There was no substitution of the Government of Israel for the Government of Palestine. The action should be removed from the list of pending cases without prejudice and with liberty to apply.

Keywords

International Law -- Succession of states

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