Curriculum Vitae Advocate and Notary Dan Assan
Personal Information
| Name: | Dan Assan |
| Date of Birth: | January 9, 1956 |
| Countries of Residence: | 1956-1960 Romania 1960-1962 France 1962-1969 Israel 1969-1980 Germany 1980-1984 Israel 1985-1986 Latin America 1986-till date Israel |
| Languages: | Fluent – Hebrew, German, English Basic knowledge – French, Spanish, Rumanian |
Education
| 1975-1979 | Legal Studies, Law Faculty, University of Cologne, Germany |
| 1980 | Recognition of studies by Hebrew University, Jerusalem |
| 1982 | Exams in the Laws of Israel by the Israeli Bar Association |
| 1984 | Admittance Exams to the Israeli Bar Association |
| 2000 | Notary Public License by the Ministry of Justice, Israel |
Work Experience
| 1980-1984 | Military Service: Defense Attorney in Military Courts (reserve service till date, present rank – Lieutenant Colonel) |
| 1986-1993 | Attorney in the law office of Advocate Amnon Zichroni |
| 1994-till date | Own law office in Tel Aviv |
Fields of Specialization
- Civil and commercial law: emphasis on Israeli-German legal relations
- Human Rights: emphasis on civil compensation suits and High Court petitions
- Military Law: emphasis on military penal law
- Criminal Law: emphasis on espionage and security offences
Publications (in Germany, co-author)
On Real Estate in Israel in „Haus- und Grundbesitz im Ausland“, Haufe Verlag
On Succession Law in Israel in „Internationales Erbrecht”, C.H. Beck Verlag
On the new Companies Law in Israel:
- in „GmbHRundschau“, Verlag Dr. Otto Schmidt Köln
- in„ Recht der internationalen Wirtschaft“, Verlag Recht und Wirtschaft Heidelberg
- in „Neue Zeitschrift für Gesellschaftsrecht“, Verlag C.H.Beck
Civil Human Rights Projects
Since 1995 Adv. Dan Assan conducted three large Civil Human Rights Projects:
Real Estate Property of Jewish Holocaust Survivors in Eastern Germany
Adv. Dan Assan represents and is of advice to Jewish Holocaust survivors and their heirs, who possessed real estate property in Eastern Germany, which was “aryanized” by the Nazis in the 30-ies and confiscated by the GDR. Dan Assan, in cooperation with a German law office, conducts the administrative proceedings for the restitution of the said assets.
Most of the clients are restituted their property, some of them receive compensation. The outstanding case was of a community of heirs, who was restituted a building of 42 apartments in Schoenfelder Allee in East Berlin, worth back tehn 1,740,000 Euro (approx. 1,600,000 US$).
Torture Suits Project
Between the years 1993 and 2006 Adv. Dan Assan represented, mainly with his partner Adv. Bishara Jabaly, Palestinian torture victims in 42 civil compensation suits against the State of Israel and General Security Service officials. 90% of the suits were successful.
The suit of Hassan Zbeidi vs. the State of Israel (Civil file 203/93 District Court Jerusalem) resulted in a settlement under which the state paid the torture victim 110,000 US$.
The suit of Muhamad Mukbal Uda vs. the State of Israel (Civil file 28/97 District Court Tel Aviv) resulted in a settlement under which the state paid the victim 82,000 US$.
The suit of Hafzi Ya’aeesh vs. the State of Israel (Civil file 4675/08/07 District Court Petah Tikva) resulted in a settlement under which the state paid the victim 200,000 US$.
In the year 2006 Dan Assan Law Offices reached a comprehensive settlement in 28 torture suites under which the state paid the victims a total of 520,000 US $.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3208865,00.html
Civil Compensation Suits due to Negligent Behavior of the Israeli Army
Between the years 1993 and 2009 Adv. Dan Assan represented, mainly with his partner Adv. Bishara Jabaly, Palestinian, foreign and Israeli claimants in dozens of civil compensation suits against the State of Israel. The plaintiffs are either family members of the claimants who were shot dead, or the claimants themselves. They were shot at during the Intifada riots and/or during demonstrations of peace activists in the Occupied Territories due to negligent execution of fire opening orders by the Israeli army. 75% of the suits were successful. The claimants received approx. 2,000,000 US$ in compensation.
One outstanding case from the nineties was that of the Lulu Abu Dachi (minor) vs. the State of Israel (Civil file 202/93 District Court Jerusalem) which resulted in a settlement under which the state paid the amount of 130,000 US$ to the family of the dead girl.
One more recent outstanding case was the case of Goldstein vs. the State of Israel (Civil file 2484/07 District Court Tel Aviv) which resulted in a settlement under which the state paid the amount of 860,000 US$ to the plaintiff.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3753766,00.html
Outstanding Criminal and High Court of Justice Cases
Following is a partial list of Adv. Dan Assan’s criminal cases and petitions to the High Court of Justice, most of them with Human Rights aspects:
State of Israel vs. Mordechai Vanunu
Mr. Vanunu was a technician at the nuclear facility in Dimona. He leaked secret plans and pictures to the English “Sunday Times” and was kidnapped from Europe by Israeli agents. Adv. Dan Assan represented him as defense assistant counsel in the early stages of his detention and trial and (1985-1986) was mainly concerned with the maintenance of fair imprisonment conditions.
The State of Israel vs. Shabtai Kalmanovitch
Mr. Kalmanovitch was a famous millionaire in Israel, who turned out to be a soviet spy. Adv. Dan Assan represented him as defense assistant counsel during his arrest, trial, and the successful early release proceedings.
The State of Israel vs. Yossef Amit
Major Amit was an army intelligence officer with severe mental problems, who was accused of military espionage. Adv. Dan Assan represented him as defense assistant counsel in his appeal and as main counsel in a successful libel suit he entered against daily newspapers, who accused him of espionage for Syria.
The State of Israel vs. Shimon Levinson
Colonel Levinson spied on the Israeli intelligence community for the Soviet Union. Adv. Dan Assan represented him as defense assistant counsel during his arrest and trial.
The Military Prosecutor vs. Faisal Abu Sharach
Mr. Abu Sharach, the commander of Force 17, the personal bodyguard unit of Mr. Arafat, escaped from Beirut to Cyprus and was kidnapped on High Sea by the Israeli Navy. He was severely tortured by his investigators and finally indicted before the Emergency Regulations Military Court. Adv. Dan Assan represented him throughout all the proceedings.
The Military Prosecutor vs. Taher Shriteh
Mr. Shriteh was the local correspondent of the New York Times and other international media in the Gaza Strip. He was arrested and indicted before the Military Court in Gaza because he possessed a fax machine and sent leaflets of the Hamas to the Reuters main office in Jerusalem. Adv. Dan Assan represented him during his arrest, bail proceedings and the trial that was filibustered until the Israeli retreat from the main part of the Gaza Strip.
The State of Israel vs. Ish Shalom and others
The Terrorism Prevention Ordinance was amended in such a way that it prohibited any contact of Israeli citizens with PLO-Officials, even in the framework of peace talks and conferences. A large group of peace activists intentionally broke the law by participating in a peace conference in Budapest. Eight of them were indicted before the Ramle Magistrate Court. Adv. Dan Assan represented four of the defendants. We filibustered the proceedings until new elections and the nomination of a new General Attorney, who then stayed the proceedings.
Taher Shriteh vs. The Prime Minister of Israel
The aforementioned journalist was denied the right of departure from the Gaza Strip. Adv. Dan Assan represented him in a petition to the High Court of Justice. The result was partially successful: the limitations on Mr. Shriteh’s travel abroad were cancelled.
Hamoked, the Center for the Defense of the Individual vs. The Military Commander of Judea and Samaria
Dan Assan represented the a.m. Human Rights organization and 85 Palestinian residents of the West Bank in a petition to the High Court of Justice concerning the freedom of movement of the claimants, who were denied to leave to Jordan. 66 of the claimants were successful.
The State of Israel vs. Steven Smyrek
Mr. Smyrek, a young unemployed German citizen, allegedly joined the Hizbollah and was sent to Israel to prepare a suicide bombing. He was arrested at the airport upon arrival in Israel. Adv. Dan Assan represented him during his detention, the early stages of his trial and his application to the German government to be extradited to Germany.
Physicians for Human Rights et alia vs. The Prison Services et alia
Adv. Dan Assan represented the a.m. Human Rights organization and an inmate detained in isolation in a High Court of Justice petition regarding a regulation of the Minister of Justice, which enabled the endless isolation of prisoners merely by administrative decision of the Chief Warden. In consequence of the petition the petitioner was released from the isolation cell and the Knesset amended the law: now an inmate has a right to be heard and there is an automatic reevaluation of the court after six months of isolation.
Other Outstanding Cases
Chaim Chefer vs. Uri Avnery (Criminal Libel)
Avraham Shapira vs. Arje Avnery (Civil Libel)
The State of Israel vs. Ja’acov Agmon (Freedom of the press)
The Military Prosecutor vs. Ofer Gazit and others (Negligent manslaughter)