Justice Minister Yariv Levin informed the High Court of Justice on Sunday that he would convene the Judicial Selection Committee, in response to petitions filed by opposition leader Yair Lapid, among others.
So far, the justice minister has refrained from convening the committee, in light of his prolonged struggle with the judicial system. As part of the legislation of the Judicial Reform Laws, Levin sought to change the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee so that politicians would have more control over who is elected to the bench.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators in Kaplan against the legal reform // Photo: Giti Palti
The failure to convene the committee created many deficiencies in the system, so that dozens of judges in various courts were not appointed. Similarly, no permanent president was elected to the Supreme Court after President Esther Hayut retired from the bench, nor was a replacement appointed for Justice Anat Baron, who also retired, so that now only thirteen justices serve on the court, not fifteen.
In September, Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara supported the petitioners when she submitted her position and asked the High Court to accept the petitions and order Justice Minister Levin to convene the committee. She wrote in her position that "an intention to change the existing law regarding the composition of the committee does not, under the existing circumstances, justify the continued refraining from convening the committee for the selection of judges, in accordance with existing law."
The Movement for Quality Government said in response: "While continuing to promote an absurd bill to extend the term of the Judicial Review Commissioner – so that he will not have to convene the committee – Levin undertakes to convene it on his own terms within 15 days. Unfortunately, we can only express concern that this is an empty statement to the court intended to prevent the hearing and decision of the petition. One way or another, we will wait for the 15 days to examine whether the minister is indeed complying with his statement to the court."
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