A review of the functioning of the Rabbinical Courts Administration in the new State Comptroller’s Report found several deficiencies, including lengthy waiting periods for the initiation of hearings on divorce, child custody and child support.
The review also found that the administration’s online services were not broad enough and in some respects were inefficient.
According to the report released on Tuesday, only two rabbinical courts met the designated average waiting-time target for a first hearing on divorce, which is 75 days since the request is made.
Three rabbinical courts missed this target by five days, while seven rabbinical courts had an average waiting time for a first divorce hearing of 90 days and more, the report said.
Regarding hearings for child custody, significant gaps were found in the average waiting time for such hearings between different courts. The shortest average waiting time for such hearings was two months in the Petah Tikva court, compared with five months in Safed.
None of the 12 state rabbinical courts met the target for average waiting times for child-support hearings of 21 days, the report said. The shortest average waiting period among all the rabbinical courts was more than two months, with the Safed court taking an average 105 days to hold first hearings on child-support cases.
The Rabbinical Court Administration’s digital services did not make enough forms and processes available online, the report said. There are 38 forms made available by the Rabbinical Court Administration’s website, but almost all must be printed and filled out manually instead of online. Only three forms can be filled and submitted digitally, it said.
The State Comptroller’s Office recommended upgrading the institution’s computer system four years ago, but the process has not been completed, the report said.
In 2019, the Rabbinical Court Administration established a new telephone call center, voluntarily participated in a review of the government’s Unit for Improving Public Service and appointed a director for public service, the report said.
In addition, the administration established a system of business intelligence reports that are used for information analysis and decision making, although the system is in ongoing development with the aim of improving its data-analysis capability, the report said.
The Rabbinical Courts Administration should “continue to work to improve its service through a cross-organizational perspective, work to upgrade its digital communications channels with the public, expand the procedures that can be done remotely and ensure that rabbinical courts meet their targets for first hearings,” the report said.