As part of the negotiations on the legal reform agreements, Israel Hayom learned from senior sources in the coalition involved in the talks at the president's residence that Israel is willing to postpone by a year the initiative to change the composition of the committee for selecting judges in exchange for legislation with the consent of the opposition of one component of the legal reform – such as the Attorney Generals Law or reducing the grounds for reasonableness. The legislation should be implemented as early as this summer's conference, and whatever is not enough of the two will be completed at the winter conference.
The main disagreement in the compromise talks on the reform is not whether they will reject legislation to change the composition of the judicial selection committee, but the length of time it will be delayed. The opposition insists that in any compromise deal, the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee will not change throughout the term of the 25th Knesset, meaning they refuse a one-year postponement and demand that the initiative be shelved altogether.
Will the changes be rejected? Prime Minister Netanyahu and Justice Minister Levin, Photo: Jonathan Zindel/Flash90
According to the Knesset's bylaws, this week the coalition will announce the holding of elections for Knesset representatives to the committee for the selection of judges in its old format. The elections will be held in two weeks, on 15 June, in the Knesset. The President's House is making an effort to close a deal until then.
The opposition's insistence that no changes be made to the judicial selection committee is not just a whim. The coalition also understands that after Knesset representatives are elected to the committee in its usual format in about two weeks, the chances of subsequently enacting changes in its composition are very low and fraught with legal difficulties. Therefore, the struggle is more for public visibility than practical. The coalition leaders are not interested in announcing in front of their base a full shelving of the legislative initiative on the matter. On the other hand, the opposition insists that this will be done to gain the public interest.
Gaps large and small
Meanwhile, in return for canceling changes in the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee for the entire term, the opposition is prepared to enact legislation to reduce the cause of reasonableness and the Attorney Generals Law in the spirit of the president's outline published in March. Another scenario that arose in the talks was only the announcement of agreements regarding the attorney generals and the grounds of reasonableness without legislation, while continuing negotiations on the other sections of the reform, including Basic Law: Legislation in the coming months, so that in the end, if agreements are reached on all the issues, they will be legislated as a single unit, in accordance with the demand of the state camp on the principle of comprehensive agreement on all reform issues.
The opposition is also demanding a commitment that the coalition will not advance any regime legislative initiatives related to changes in the system of government and judicial reform during the entire term until the next elections, including relations between the branches of government and changes in the judiciary and the Attorney General's Division.
They are not prepared to tolerate any change in the current Knesset. Opposition leaders. Photo: Yossi Zeliger,
On the other hand, the coalition, with an emphasis on the wing of Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Constitution Committee Chairman MK Simcha Rotman, are demanding that at least one component be legislated at the summer conference, and even so far they are not prepared for a full postponement of changes in the committee's composition throughout the term.
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