Client updates / Regulation

The Law establishes a mandatory licensing requirement for financial service-providers – credit providers or providers of financial asset services. One of the main innovations in this Law is that Financial Services Providers will be subject, for the first time, to supervision by a new financial regulator. 

As part of the Israel Security Authority’s (ISA) measures to relax certain existing regulations, it has promulgated the Securities Order (Amendment to the First Addendum to the Law) regarding the definition of a “classified investor.” This amendment will come into effect on March 25, 2016.

Recently, the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection published a preliminary draft bill relating to the proposed Integrated Environmental Licensing Law, 5775-2015.

This preliminary draft bill, which is based on the European Union’s Industrial Emissions Directive 2010/75/EU, was disseminated as a result of the Israeli government’s decision in April 2015 to work towards improving environmental regulations and encouraging “green” growth by promoting an integrated environmental licensing law. This came in the wake of the Israeli government’s commitment as part of its OECD accession process, after a number of years of collaborative efforts between the Ministry of Environmental Protection and other government ministries and after consulting with numerous authorities in the business, public and third sectors.

Recently, an official announcement was issued on behalf of the Law, Information and Technology Authority of the Israeli Ministry of Justice (“ILITA“), as a result of the ruling of the European Union’s Court of Justice invalidating the Safe Harbor Arrangement governing transfers of personal information from Europe to the United States – at this stage, the transfer of personal information from Israel to organizations in the United States on the basis of that arrangement is prohibited.

The recent decision of the Antitrust Commissioner with regard to the existence of a natural gas monopoly illustrates all the more emphatically the absence of an orderly legislative framework to regulate all matters pertaining to oil and gas exploration and production in Israel.

Nevertheless, moves are being made to clarify the regulatory framework concerning off shore Oil & Gas. A few weeks beforethe Commissioner’s decision,  the government had submitted a draft bill to the knesset on the matter of Israel’s maritime zones.

The draft bill is worded in a way that adopts the customary provisions of the international Convention of the Law of the Sea of 1982, even though the State of Israel is not one of its signatories.

The draft bill defines five maritime zones, including the exclusive economic zone of the State of Israel. Besides defining the boundaries of the exclusive economic zone, the draft bill also prescribes the State’s powers and authorities and the laws that shall apply to that zone.

The adoption of the draft bill by the knesset will create certainty and reduce the ambiguity surrounding all issues pertaining to oil and gas exploration, production, utilization and management in Israel’s economic waters. and should encourage foreign companies to consider entry into the Israeli market.

The Environment Treatment of Electrical and Electronic Equipment and Batteries Law came into effect recently, as well as the regulations promulgated thereunder. The Law and the regulations prescribe arrangements for the environmental treatment of electrical and electronic equipment, batteries and accumulators in Israel in order to encourage re-use of electrical and electronic equipment, batteries and accumulators and in order to mitigate the negative effects of such equipment and batteries and of the waste generated by them on the environment and on public health.