After 11 years without change, MK Saar initiates an expansion from 15 to 18 • "The law will allow diversity in the Supreme Court and prevent the lack of reflection of the variety of currents in Israeli society."
Supreme Court
Photography:
Oren Ben Hakon
MK Gideon Saar from the Likud yesterday (Monday) put on the Knesset table a bill in which he proposes to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court from 15 to 18 judges.
In his explanatory memorandum to the bill, MK Saar noted that "its purpose is to significantly increase the representativeness and diversity of opinions in the Supreme Court. The law is intended to allow more diversity in the composition of the Supreme Court and prevent a lack of adequate reflection of the variety of currents in Israeli society.
This need is exacerbated by the Supreme Court's growing tendency over the years to address issues of policy and worldview. "
Saar added that "increasing the number of judges will allow the appointment of judges with diverse backgrounds and positions in a way that faithfully expresses the different worldviews prevalent among the Israeli public. It will also allow for better coping with the heavy workload imposed on Supreme Court judges. "The addition of judges with expertise in various fields, and will contribute to the professionalism of the court and the specialization of a wide range of legal fields brought before it. This will also lead to diverse and heterogeneous representation."
Another reason for this legislative initiative is that "it is appropriate that the issue of the composition of the Supreme Judicial Institution in Israel be settled in primary legislation, in such a way that the number of judges is fixed and is not subject to changing Knesset decisions."
It should be noted that the number of permanent judges in the Supreme Court has not increased in 11 years. The last time the number of judges in the Supreme Court was increased from 14 to 15 in 2009.
At the time of the establishment of the Supreme Court it stood at only seven judges with only five positions filled. In 1953 the number of judges was increased to 9. And five years later the Minister of Justice and the President of the Supreme Court sought to increase the number of judges to 11 because of the workload. The judges, however, increased the number of judges to only 10.
In the mid-1970s, the number of judges was expanded from 10 to 11 with the appointment of Meir Shamgar.
In 1992, the number of judges was again increased with the appointment of Mishael Cheshin as a judge in the Supreme Court. In 1994, the number of judges was increased to 14 and in 2009 the number of judges was increased to 15.