Interest Groups in the Israeli High Court of Justice: Measuring Success in Litigation and in Out‐of‐Court Settlements

Abstract

The question of whether and to what extent interest groups are more successful than other parties in litigation is the subject of many debates among social scientists. Previous works in the field concentrated on checking outcomes of cases that were disposed of by courts in officially published final decisions. We sought to analyze not only final court decisions but also the outcomes of out-of-court settlements. Drawing from Marc Galanter's hypothesis that groups, especially those who are``repeat players,'' are likely to use out-of-court settlements more often and more efficiently than other litigants (Galanter 1974), we measured actual case outcomes of petitions brought before the Israeli High Court of Justice. We found that groups in general, and``repeat player'' groups in particular, achieved a success rate significantly higher than other litigants. We also found that the relative advantage of groups in litigation is the result of their ability to reach out-of-court settlements with government agencies.

Partners No More: Relational Transformation and the Turn to Litigation in Two Conservationist Organizations

“…In a similar vein, Dotan and Hofnung (2001) stress the link between the Israeli Supreme Court's drastic expansion of groups' standing to sue and growth in levels of interest group litigation during the 1990s.…”

The design of land policy in Israel: Between law and political culture

“…The Justices of the Supreme Court cannot initiate a hearing, but are dependent on whatever petitions are filed in the Court. The pattern of conduct described above has also been adopted by the non-governmental organizations seeking to promote human rights (Dotan and Hofnung, 2001;Gavison, 2009). The main channel of activity for advancing public policy on human rights is the legal system, as evident, for example, in the public and legal struggle of the the Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow.…”

Political entrepreneurs and electoral capital: the case of the Israeli State Economy Arrangement Law

“…With regard to Israel, the literature emphasizes the rise of a neo-liberal ethos and the abandoning of the former collective ethos (Dotan and Hofnung 2001;Jordana and Levi-Faur 2004). Furthermore, the literature has emphasized the global influence of international events and dynamics that penetrated the local sphere and contributed to the evolution of a neo liberal ethos (see e.g., Levi-Faur 2005).…”