In late 2010, a prisoner petitioned the District Court against the excessive prices the Israel Prison Service (IPS) charged for prisoners’ use of photocopiers. The petitioner asserted that the price of ILS 1.25 per page was exorbitant compared to the usual prices outside prison, ranging, according to his survey, between 16 to 50 agorot (i.e., ILS 0.16-0.50) per page. Thereupon, the IPS lowered the price of photocopying to 80 agorot per page, which the court considered was reasonable and therefore dismissed the petition. The judge also ruled that the survey presented in the petition did not accurately reflect the price of photocopying across the country.
The prisoner did not give up and appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. The prisoner argued that the IPS should lower the price further, as there was no reason why the IPS should charge more than the highest rate charged by businesses outside of prison.
Following the appeal, the IPS once more lowered the price of photocopying to 35 agorot – a 70% reduction compared to the initial price. Thereupon, the court rejected the motion to appeal.
In its decision, the justice praised the petitioner and pronounced that by succeeding to have the price of photocopying lowered, the prisoner benefited all prison-inmates and contributed to their ability to exercise their right to access the courts. The justice also criticized the IPS, saying that the fact that a court petition was needed to bring about a significant reduction in the price of photocopying raised questions over the IPS conduct.
