The Commissioner for Audit of Judges, former Supreme Court Justice Uri Shoham, today published the Commission's annual audit report for 2022. The audit shows that in 2022, the Ombudsman received 880 complaints and arbitrated 561 complaints on their merits, constituting 63% of all decisions made. Of the complaints, 50 were found to be justified against judges, constituting 9% of all complaints that were arbitrated on the merits.
The Ombudsman's examination reveals that most of the justified complaints against judges are due to protracted proceedings. Shoham also implicitly criticized Justice Minister Yariv Levin for not convening the Judicial Selection Committee and not staffing vacant judicial standards.
Judicial Review Commissioner, former Supreme Court Justice Uri Shoham. Implicit criticism of Minister Levin, photo: Mark Israel Salem
The commissioner does not explicitly mention Justice Minister Yariv Levin, but implicitly criticizes the fact that the Judicial Selection Committee does not meet. "The system lacks dozens of judges after the Judicial Selection Committee last convened on April 22, 04, and since then no sharp judges have been appointed, which has increased the already high standing position on the sitting judges."
Significant increase in complaints about protracted proceedings
According to the report, 46% of the justified complaints were about protracted proceedings or delays in issuing decisions and rulings. This is a significant increase compared to last year, when 28% of such complaints were received.
Thus, for example, a complaint was found justified regarding a delay in issuing a judgment in the case of a woman who petitioned to recognize her as a widow in order to receive survivors' allowance, so that she was financially harmed. The verdict was handed down two years after the hearings in the case ended, and although the judge declared that the verdict would be given within one of the months, she did not comply with it.
Implicit criticism of Justice Minister Levin. Busy with other things, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
The judge also did not specify in her response to the complaint why she delayed the verdict for a long time. Another judge announced her resignation after several complaints received against her regarding the continuation of proceedings and failure to issue a ruling, some of which were found to be justified.
The judge who accepted a lawsuit without reading a statement of defense
The Audit Commissioner details in the report a series of decisions in which he accepted the complaint against the judges. Among other things, a judge accepted a lawsuit without even reading the defendant's statement of defense.
This came to light after the defendant discovered that his statement of defense had not even been scanned into the file by the secretariat. A rabbinical court judge who signed the Pashkeville case against a resident of the city, even though such public activity is forbidden to judicial bodies.
Kadim refuses to report polygamy offenses - and continues to work
The report reveals an issue within the Kadim Selection Committee, which is not holding a discussion to terminate the employment of two Kadim who refuse to report sentenced persons suspected of polygamy, even though it is a criminal offense.
In this regard, a request for clarification filed by former Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar was found justified for breach of the obligation to report to criminal enforcement authorities on suspicion of a multimarriage offense – polygamy – by the two Qadis serving in a regional Sharia court.
The inauguration of Kadim at the President's House (archive), photo: Oren Ben Hakon
A request for clarification by a previous justice minister was found to be justified on those cadres, but no disciplinary action was taken against them despite the previous commissioner's recommendation to consider the possibility of doing so. The new request for clarification revolved around the claim that in claims to determine paternity submitted to them, the Qadim refrain from reporting suspicion of polygamy offenses committed by married Israeli men who wish to register children born to them in the population registry by a woman who is not married to them.
The request for clarification was found to be justified and the commissioner found that a recommendation to end the Qadim's term in Sharia court was brought before the Qadim Selection Committee.
Only 27 complaints against the Supreme Court – all of which were rejected
Only about 2022 complaints were received against the Supreme Court justices in 27. The commissioner rejected all of them, but in two of them he saw fit to comment on the judges against whom the complaint was received. Thus, for example, one of the Supreme Court justices said during a hearing on a petition to bring chametz into IDF bases during the Passover holiday that strict adherence to chametz matters is a "matzah diet."
Justice Minister Yariv Levin presents his revolution in the justice system // Yoni Rikner
The litigants complained that this was contemptible, and the judge argued that he meant matzah nutrition and that that was the meaning of the word diet. The ombudsman rejected the complaint but remarked to the judge that one must be careful with the feelings of the religious public. Most of the justified complaints, at a rate of 28%, were received against judges in the magistrates' courts, and against judges in the family courts, at a rate of 26% of the complaints found to be justified.
The courts: The number of justified complaints is negligible compared to the number of cases handled
"In 2022, there has been a decline in the number of complaints filed against judges. It should be noted that 21 of the 37 complaints that were found to be justified and 16 of the 39 complaints that ended with a comment to the judge were about protracted proceedings and delays in issuing decisions and rulings.
"In this context, it should be emphasized that in 2022, about 860,000 cases were opened in the court system – an increase of about 20,000 cases compared to 2021. In addition, more than 2.7 million applications were submitted, and the shortage of judges worsened.
"The commissioner insisted on this and wrote: 'Since the last meeting of the Judicial Selection Committee, no new judges have been appointed. This poses a difficult challenge for judges and affects the way their deliberations are conducted and their patience.'
"The number of complaints filed (778), and certainly the number of justified complaints and comments about delays (39), is negligible compared to the number of cases handled by the court system. The Commissioner's decisions are discussed on an ongoing basis throughout the year between the President of the Supreme Court and the Director of Courts in order to examine what steps should be taken as a result, and each decision is examined in accordance with the concrete circumstances."
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