Lagislation

In the first part of the article published in the previous issue of "Water and Irrigation" We discussed the many problems that bureaucracy and environmental regulations have in Israel. In the second part presented now we are dealing with concrete pro…

The article reviews the environmental regulation and bureaucracy in Israel. In the first part of the article there is an overview of the history of the Business Licensing Law amendments and the pending bill for Integrated Environmental Licensing, as…

In 2001, The Commission for Future Generations was established by law and the first Commissioner was appointed. The Knesset Law gave to the Commissioner the authority to impact on bills that under his opinion had a significant impact on future genera…

The enactment of the RoHS Directive (2002/95/EC) prohibiting the use of certain substances in electrical and electronic devices (EEE) and the WEEE Directive (2002/96/EC) regarding recycling obligations for EEE, had a very significant influence on the…

Does the Precautionary Principle have to be followed  in every case where there's a potential  injury to the environment or to public health? Is there  a negative social price for following this principle? How do we determine what is more important –…

The British Standards Institute published a volume containing a reference to the legal situation in the world in terms of legislation that applies to EEE. The review was conducted in aspects of the restrictioans on the use of chemicals and instrument…

"The RoHS Directive is dynamic! Don't miss to monitor future changes!"  This was and is our mantra when we counsel clients on the RoHS Directive. In fact, change is a built-in fixture in the directive that reastricts the use of six hazardous substanc…

There are six hazardous substances that the electronics industry has been struggling to phase-out for a couple of years now: lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, and the flame retardants polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphe…

In recent years international environmental principles are transposed into the Israeli legal system through the introduction of new laws as well as the amendment of laws dealing specifically with environmental protection. This article discusses the…

In many ways the Chinese legislation on Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) has “done better” than the European WEEE/RoHS Directives in confusing manufacturers of EEE worldwide with its provisions on the scope of and exemptions from the law, as…

The hostilities in the latest Lebanon war brought about environmental damage to both countries natural resources. According to the UN Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques, it is p…

The two European Directives "WEEE" and "RoHS" dealing with the collection and recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and the elimination of certain hazardous substances in EEE have one weakness: Important terms, like for instanc…

Lately it was reported, that the EU Commission may propose fresh legislation to iron out problems implementing the EU's WEEE Directive. In the end of January during a session of the European parliament's environment committee, a commission official t…

In the last issue [of the journal "Electronica"] we referred to a number of practical questions we were confronted with regarding the implementation of the WEEE Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, respectively of the national legi…

During August 2005, the WEEE Directive will be formally applied. In this directive, it was decided upon that by August 2004 all EU member states will bring into force transposing laws and by 13 August 2005 these laws will have to become effective in…

Adopting foreign environmental standards in Israel is problematic since most of the times the reference in the Israeli legislation is made to foreign standards to the updates of these standards, not to a certain dated and known edition. Therefore it…

The article  describes the legal frame of the RoHS Directive and its difference compared to the WEEE Directive and specifies the  exemptions.  Each product should be carefully examined in order to determine its classification/exemption from the direc…

The Supreme Court has lately referred to the question which activities  a business license in one factory has to be applied for (Case no. 4270/03 State of Israel against Tnuva – collective center for marketing agricultural products in Israel Ltd.) H…

New Challenge To Israeli High Tech Exports to the EU: New European WEEE and RoHS Regulations Whether they export computers, telephones, semiconductors, refrigerators, or other high-tech products, Israeli manufacturers and exporters will now have to d…

New licensing regulations from the Ministry for the Environment determine the concentration of salt in sewage.  The responsible official at the Ministry of the Environment can permit higher a concentration of the salt if the plant uses Best Available…

Environmental consciousness already influences production activities in various ways. While designing and producing an appliance one should already keep in mind how that appliance will end its life. Refrigerators and air-conditioners serve as an exam…

Environmentally speaking agriculture holds an ambiguous position -- It is both a "sink" for pollution and helps preserve natural resources, yet it is itself a polluter. The "Green" along with the "Black". 1. Recently, a Kibbutz was found guilty of co…

Three Town Associations have promulgated bye-laws empowering them to enter premises on which hazardous substances are stored and inspect them, and fixing a fee for the performance of this service. A basic feature of an environmental policy is a divis…

Israeli Environmental Law is in its infancy yet developing rapidly. Recent legislation bears with it stricter standards of performance, and imposes a duty to invest in technological advancements in equipment. Since the Environmental Legislation chang…

The authorities charged with the enforcement of Environmental Legislation are acting as guardians of the public well-being, health and safety. In order to enable these authorities to carry their tasks on the better side, the Legislator gave them powe…