IsraelLawCan Israeli arbitration proceedings be conducted in English rather than Hebrew?
Section 10 of the Arbitration Law 5728-1968 grants parties and arbitrators wide procedural freedom, including the ability to agree on the language of proceedings, and imposes no Hebrew-language requirement. This has been confirmed in practice: Israeli-seated international arbitrations administered by the Israel Centre for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) and international institutions such as the ICC and LCIA routinely proceed in English. The International Commercial Arbitration Law 5784-2024 — which adopts the UNCITRAL Model Law framework — reinforces this flexibility: Article 22 of the Model Law expressly permits the parties to agree on the language of proceedings, and failing agreement, the arbitral tribunal selects it. Awards issued in English in Israel-seated arbitrations are enforceable in Israeli courts without requiring an official Hebrew translation, a significant practical advantage over foreign-language documents in civil litigation.
For foreign businesses contracting with Israeli parties, specifying English as the arbitration language in the clause removes a meaningful practical barrier to participation. Without a language clause, a purely domestic arbitration governed by the 1968 Arbitration Law may default to Hebrew at the arbitrator's discretion. Where interim measures from an Israeli court are needed during arbitration — for example, an asset freezing order or a search order — court filings must be submitted in Hebrew regardless of the arbitration language, so local Israeli counsel remains essential for any parallel court applications. English-language awards from international institutions are also enforceable in Israel under the New York Convention (to which Israel acceded in 1959) without a language barrier at the enforcement stage. Parties should specify the language expressly in the arbitration clause rather than relying on institutional default rules, which differ across institutions.
- Governing law: Section 10, Arbitration Law (Chok HaBorrerut) 5728-1968; Article 22, International Commercial Arbitration Law 5784-2024
- Language freedom: parties may agree on any language; no Hebrew-language requirement for arbitration proceedings or the award itself
- Enforcement: English-language awards issued in Israel are enforceable in Israeli courts; foreign English-language awards enforce under the New York Convention without mandatory translation
- Court applications: any application to Israeli courts for interim measures, award confirmation, or challenge must be filed in Hebrew — local counsel required
- ICCA filing fee: Israel Centre for Commercial Arbitration English-language proceedings — registration fee starts at approximately NIS 2,000–5,000 (2026) depending on claim value
From the full guide: The Israeli Arbitration Process: From Clause to Award — A Step-by-Step Guide
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