Two weeks after the Jerusalem District Court for Administrative Affairs ordered Israel Chemicals Ltd. (TASE: ICL) to publish the minutes of the arbitration hearings on its royalties to the state, the company has filed an urgent motion with the court to delay publication, in order to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
In August 2012, The Israel Union for Environmental Defense and The Movement for Quality Government in Israel asked the Ministry of Finance to publish all the documents related to the arbitration between the state and Israel Chemicals unit Dead Sea Works on the calculation of the company's royalties on potash sales. The ministry agreed to the request, but Dead Sea Works appealed to the Jerusalem District Court to block the publication and the public's participation in the arbitration.
The Jerusalem District Court dismissed the appeal.
Israel Chemicals said in response, "Here are the considerations of ethics and principles that led Israel Chemicals to turn to the Supreme Court: the district court said in its ruling that it had discussed the question of the relationship between freedom of information and secrecy of arbitration, which is a complex question that may have different answers. The court gave one answer but the issue is fundamental and precedent setting with broad ramifications for the institution of arbitration in general and especially arbitration involving the government. The court gave one answer from among the possibilities it cited, and Israel Chemicals thinks that such a basic and precedent setting matter should be brought for discussion before the highest judicial court in order to receive an answer from that court."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 29, 2013
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2013