In order to realize the right of every resident to the exercise of judicial control over decisions of the National Insurance Institute, the Legislator has put in place a special arrangement for the grant of Legal Aid for a person seeking to appeal against a decision of the National Insurance Institute in his case in the Labor Court.

 

Section 397 of the National Insurance (Legal Aid) Law, 5755-1995 (hereinafter - "the National Insurance Law"), provides as follows:

 

"(a) The Minister, with the agreement of the Minister of Justice, in consultation with the Minister of Finance and with the approval of the Labor and Welfare Committee, shall make regulations as to the granting of Legal Aid to any applicant that is not an association of individuals, in proceedings in the Labor Court to which the Institute is a party, in matters arising from this Law or from any other enactment pursuant to which the Institutes makes payments, with the exception of proceedings concerning a claim for payment of insurance premiums or a claim against an employer under Section 369.

 

(b) Legal Aid shall be granted through the Legal Aid District Office operating under the Legal Aid Law, 5732-1972, and in accordance with its provisions, all subject to such changes as have been made in the regulations pursuant to subsection (a), and provided that the limitations as to the ability of the applicant to bear the direct legal costs as provided in Sections 2 and 3 of the said Law shall not apply.

 

(c) The Institute shall bear all such expenses as are connected with the granting of Legal Aid under this section, in accordance with the arrangement between it and the State."

 

The statutory framework for appeals against decisions of the National Insurance Institute is to be found in the National Insurance Regulations (Legal Aid), 5738-1978 (hereinafter- "the National Insurance Regulations").

 

Regulation 1 defines a "legal service" as follows:

" Legal Aid in proceedings in the Labor Court to which the Institute is a party, in matters arising from the Law or from any other enactment pursuant to which the Institutes makes payments, with the exception of proceedings relating to a claim for payment of insurance premiums or a claim against an employer under Section 185 of the Law."

 

Regulation 5, entitled "Extent of the Service", provides as follows:

The legal service that is to be given under these regulations shall include -

(1) Legal advice and preparation of legal documents;

(2) Representation before a Labor Court.

(3) Payment of such expenses as are entailed in providing the legal service which in the opinion of the Head of the District Office it was necessary to incur, as provided in the First Schedule to the Legal Aid Regulations, or under another arrangement between the State and the Institute".

 

It thus appears that the Legal Aid Department, through the Legal Aid District Office in their various districts, provides legal representation in claims and appeals against the National Insurance Institute in all matters pertaining to the National Insurance Law, as follows:

*     Maternity insurance

*     Child insurance

*     Insurance of victims of work accidents

*     Compensation for reserve duty service

*     Grant to a discharged soldier working in preferred employment

*     Unemployment insurance

*     Employees' rights as a result of bankruptcy and corporate winding up

*     Rights of volunteers

*     Compensation for victims of hostile action

*     Disability insurance

*     Mobility benefit

*     Accident victims insurance

*     Professional rehabilitation

*     Assured income benefit

*     Maintenance payments

*     Compensation for a child orphaned as a result of a violent act in the family

*     Survivors insurance

*     Old age insurance

*     Nursing care insurance

*     Advisory service for the elderly

*     Compensation for Prisoners of Zion and families of executed martyrs

*     Compensation for righteous among the nations

*     Funds for development of services

*     Payment of National Insurance and Health Insurance premiums

 

In addition, Legal Aid is granted for matters in respect of which the National Insurance Law is charged with their implementation such as: the Polio Victims Compensation Law, 5767-2007, the Ringworm Victims Compensation Law, 5754-1994, etc.

 

Legal Aid is granted for legal advice, and principally, representation in a Labor Court only, in proceedings to which the National Insurance Institute is a party, and will not be granted for representation before Medical Appeals Committees, that are not a Labor Court and are not a judicial forum.

 

Under the National Insurance Regulations, an Applicant for Legal Aid in a proceeding under Section 397 of the National Insurance Law does not have to meet the economic criteria for the granting of Legal Aid.

 

There is no financial eligibility test for the purpose of obtaining Legal Aid in appeals against decisions of the National Insurance Institute !

 

Any Israel resident may receive aid and it does not make any difference as to what is the level of his income.

 

Legal Aid in appeals against decisions of the National Insurance does not entail a participation fee or any payment for the legal service that is provided.

 

The only test to which applications for Legal Aid in National Insurance matters is applicable is the legal test. In other words whether there is cause as a matter of Law for the submission of an appeal against the decision.