The Israel Diamond Exchange is breaking with 80 years of tradition and bringing in a retired district court judge to handle the more high-dollar disputes between members.
The IDE announced last week that its Arbitration Institution, which allows disputes between bourse members to be settled either through mediation or arbitration, will now be headed by a retired district court judge instead of another member of the diamond bourse.
Financial disputes between bourse members totaling $400,000 and above as well as appeals on smaller disputes will be heard by this judge, while disputes below that dollar amount will continue to be arbitrated by long-standing IDE members.
A spokeswoman for the Israel Diamond Institute Group of Companies said the decision to bring in a judge for bigger disputes was not spurred by any one case but, rather, is another policy change put in place by IDE President Yoram Dvash to “meet the new realities.”
It follows on the heels of the agreement the IDE, led by Dvash, reached with the Israeli Tax Authority to abolish the turnover tax, bringing the bourse in line with international accounting procedures and making it easier for diamond dealers to get access to credit.
