After reducing the grounds of reasonableness: The battle for the next president of the Supreme Court is heating up, and the coalition intends to prevent the expected appointment of Justice Yitzhak Amit to the position after the imminent retirement of Justice Esther Hayut.
"Preventing the appointment of a fellow judge as chief justice is a strategic goal of ours," said a senior member of the coalition, which is involved in the talks to continue advancing the reform of the judicial system.
The official's remarks came after the composition of the court that will hear the petition to incapacitate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was revealed this week. Thursday's hearing will be chaired by President Hayut and attended by Justices Amit and Fogelman.
Judge Yitzhak Amit. Considered a liberal,
For the time being, Justice Minister Yariv Levin does not intend to convene the Judicial Selection Committee until at least October 16, when President Hayut retires, and thus will not lead to approval of the appointment of Justice Amit, who was supposed to be appointed the next president according to the senority system.
Levin's "strategic goal": thwarting the appointment of a colleague to the Supreme Court // Archive photo: Shmuel Buchris
In practice, this means that the next Acting Chief Justice will be Justice Uzi Fogelman, who serves as Vice President and whose appointment will automatically take effect upon her retirement. Even after the Yesh Atid party's petition to the High Court of Justice to compel Levin to convene the Judicial Selection Committee, the minister announced that he would not convene it until the law to change its composition was passed by the Knesset.
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Vice President Uzi Fogelman was supposed to be appointed Supreme Court President according to the original senority system, but his term was only for a year. Therefore, he decided to waive the appointment and transferred the additional year to the term of his successor, Justice Yitzhak Amit. If Levin's plan goes through, Fogelman will serve as acting chief justice until he reaches retirement age in October 2024.
The senority system is a practice for appointing the next Chief Justice, and in any case the selection requires a vote and approval by the Judicial Selection Committee. Due to the Knesset's recess and the Prime Minister's decision to freeze legal legislation at least until the end of November, the law will not be brought to change the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee at least until that date.
Vice President Uzi Fogelman, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
As noted, the Minister of Justice, who also serves as chairman of the Judicial Selection Committee, announced that as long as the composition of the committee does not change, he does not intend to convene it not to appoint judges, and now it turns out not to appoint the next president of the Supreme Court, an appointment that until now has been considered almost automatic, with the oldest judge appointed under the president who retired. Justice Amit is considered one of the most activist and liberal justices on the Supreme Court. Therefore, his appointment as president of the court arouses opposition in the coalition. Justice Fogelman is also a member of the liberal wing of the Supreme Court, but in his case it will be a temporary acting appointment for only one year until his retirement or until the law is changed and the Judicial Selection Committee convenes – whichever comes first.
Last week, the Yesh Atid faction petitioned the High Court of Justice to order Yariv Levin to convene the Judicial Selection Committee as soon as possible and not to delay its convening any longer. This was after the Knesset elected its representatives to the committee. However, the government has not yet elected its second representative, along with Yariv Levin, and the Bar Association has not yet appointed its representatives. The justice minister is waiting for the formulation of the position of Attorney General Gali Bahar-Miara, who is supposed to represent him in the High Court of Justice, but if her position is that the petition should be granted, Levin will ask for private representation of his position.
Meanwhile, for the first time, all the Supreme Court justices, 15 justices, will convene in full panel to hear petitions against reducing the grounds of reasonableness. This comes after last week the Knesset approved the bill to reduce the cause of reasonableness, by a majority of 64 with no opponents and no abstentions. The hearing will take place in about a month and a half.
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