Ex-ambassador sued by landlords, exercises immunity

The Tel Aviv District Court on Sunday ruled against a Herzliya couple who had sought damages from a former Slovak Republic ambassador to Israel, alleging the ambassador had rented an apartment they owned and then left it in bad condition.

The ambassador, they contended, had caused damage of more than NIS 100,000 (about $28,000) and refused to pay for it, citing diplomatic immunity, Channel 10 reported.

The court upheld the use of diplomatic immunity, noting that the rental lease was signed between the owners and the Slovak embassy, giving the ambassador and the embassy immunity from local civil lawsuits in Israel, including from breach of rental contract.

“Diplomatic immunity is granted in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations that Israel, like most countries, is a party to,” Judge Gideon Ginat said in his ruling, noting that noncompliance with the Vienna Convention could damage Israel’s diplomatic efforts around the world.

The couple, who initiated the lawsuit in 2010, received in 2012 a settlement of €11,000 ($15,000) from the Slovak Republic over the matter, but decided to pursue the lawsuit against the former Slovak ambassador nonetheless.