Can an arbitral award in Israel be issued in a foreign currency?

The arbitrator's authority to fix the currency comes from the arbitration agreement and the contract being adjudicated, not from a statutory list. Nothing in the Arbitration Law or the default rules in its First Schedule requires a shekel figure, and an award that mirrors the currency of the contract is the ordinary outcome in cross-border matters. Conversion becomes relevant only at two points. The first is confirmation, where the District Court turns the award into an enforceable judgment under Section 23. The second is collection, where the Execution Office applies the representative rate (sha'ar yatzig) published by the Bank of Israel. Interest and linkage follow the Adjudication of Interest and Linkage Law 5721-1961, which treats foreign-currency sums differently from shekel sums that are index-linked.

The exposure for a foreign party sits in the gap between breach, award and payment, which in a contested matter can run to years of currency movement. Say so in the clause: name the currency of any award, name the conversion date if conversion is ever required, and state whether interest runs at the contractual rate or the statutory one. Without that language the tribunal exercises discretion, and it may convert at the date of breach, the date of the award or the date of payment, each producing a different number. The same drafting also helps when the award travels abroad, since a New York Convention enforcement court will generally give effect to the currency stated in the award itself.

From the full guide: Arbitration Remedies in Israel: Damages, Injunctions and Enforcing Your Award

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