Israel’s Supreme Court and Justice Minister Yariv Levin remain on a collision course after the Supreme Court ordered Levin to convene a Judicial Selection Committee to appoint a new Supreme Court chief. But Levin insists the order is illegal.
The judges of the High Court made a final decision and ruled unanimously that the Minister of Justice must fulfill his duty under the Courts Act. He was directed to publish the list of candidates for the post of Supreme Court Chief Justice within 14 days from the date of the order and to convene the Judges’ Election Commission to elect the Chief Justice after the expiry of the statutory period.
As for the selection of Supreme Court judges, the Supreme Court decided not to interfere.
The main opinion in the decision was written by Justice Yael Wilner, who noted that although the decision on when to convene the Judges Selection Committee is given to the Minister of Justice, the Minister can take his opinion into account in order to achieve a broad discussion. consensus on assignment. But at the same time, for more than a year, the minister has been avoiding calling the committee to elect a president.”
The opinion added, “The importance of this policy is to give exclusive and absolute importance to the issue of obtaining a broad consensus on the designation and not to give any importance to the main purpose of the relevant legislation. Chairman of the Supreme Court”.
According to Wilner, the policy implemented by Levy “changes the statutory mechanism for selecting the Chief Justice and goes beyond the provisions of the law.” Therefore, despite the sensitivity of the issue and the desire of the court to put an end to this issue without the need for a court decision, “There is no other option but to make a decision on the merits and rule that the policy of the minister is against the law and cannot be tolerated. .”
Minister of Justice Yariv Levin said in response to the decision that it is against the law. He said: “The instruction given a short time ago has no equal in any Western democracy and did not surprise anyone. The instruction, which is contrary to the open law and given in the conditions of a serious conflict of interests, is the seizure of the judges’ election committee by force and the usurpation of the powers of the minister against the law.”
“The decree is a direct consequence of improper appointments in the judiciary, as we saw in the case of the appointment of the attorney general. That is why I moved to form a government to change the situation. With the outbreak of the war, I decided to suspend legislation and deal with issues that are now widely agreed upon. “Interfering in security matters by showing extreme concern about the situation of terrorists.”
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Levin added: “A Chief Justice appointed by force and improperly undermines confidence in the judiciary. I cannot work with a president who is illegally appointed by his friends and absent. An irresponsible order that is legitimate in the eyes of a large part of the public has in recent months undermined democracy and tramples on agreements and pushes Israel back.”
Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – published on September 9, 2024.
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