LEGAL ADVOCACY

Water petition against the Jerusalem Municipality

The petition was submitted in August 2001 on behalf of JCSER and one family against the Jerusalem Municipality, the Interior Ministry and the Attorney General. It aims to stop the policy of cutting the supply of water when people are not able to pay their water bills.

JCSER claims that the policy to cut of the supply of water to collect money is authorized by Municipal Law without explicit authority from the General Israeli Law. According to JCSER, the Municipality has several other means to force people to pay their bills. General Law authorizes the municipality to collect money by filing a civil complaint to the court, and administrative actions. However, the authorization does not include cutting of the supply of water. Furthermore, JCSER considers access to water is a basic human right.

The defendants respond to the petition by claiming that the Municipal Law is reasonable and that there is no ‘free’ water in Israel. They claim that the General Law does give them the authority and the power to make the laws that exist today concerning supply of water.

The first hearing will be in March 2002.

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