The ombudsman for judges, retired judge Uri Shaham, publishes today (Tuesday) the report of the ombudsman for judges.
Recently, the commissioner's name made headlines, among other things, due to the publications in Kaan 11 about Judge Khaled Kabob, who was photographed with a huge photo at the attorney's office where his wife works. Another publication that gained resonance was in relation to the commissioner's decision, that the participation of Chief Justice Yitzhak Amit in the meeting of the selection conference Judges who dealt with the issue of appointing a president to the supreme court - a position to which a colleague was supposed to be appointed due to the seniority system - is not a conflict of interest, but it would have been good if he had left the room for the appearance of justice. These complaints that they handled are not mentioned in the report because they were opened in 2024, and the report only deals with in the complaints that ended in 2023.
He himself came to a special hearing in the Constitution Committee of the Knesset that dealt with the functioning of the Commission on Judges, and explained that contrary to the allegations against him, the role of the Commissioner is to investigate complaints according to the legal documents for which the complaint was filed and not to investigate the judges.
"In the report for 2022 I wrote that ' This is the last report that I am submitting as Ombudsman for Judges, because in November 2023 I was supposed to finish my term as Commissioner, at the end of five years since I took office.
However, since the committee for selecting judges did not meet before the scheduled end of the term and due to the outbreak of the 'Iron Swords' war at the beginning of October 2023, my term was extended by six months, so that I will finish my duties as commissioner on May 12, 2024. For this reason, I am able to submit, as mentioned, the The report for the year 2023, which is the sixth report submitted by me during my tenure as commissioner," Shoham wrote.
Ombudsperson for Judges Retired judge Uri Shom/Reuven Castro
And for the data itself - in 2023, 897 complaints about judges and judges were received, and decisions were given in 871 complaints.
In 2023, the Commission handled 964 complaints (including complaints from previous years) and out of 871 decisions given in 2023, 524 complaints were resolved, which is 60% of all the decisions given.
Of the 524 complaints that were found to be valid and within the scope of the commissioner's authority to investigate, 38 were found to be justified (7%).
In 27 of the complaints, the treatment ended with a note to the judge or the litigant.
Three complaints ended with the determination that it was a systemic defect.
Distribution of justified complaints:
29% continuity of processes (46% in 2022).
24% deficiencies in the administration of justice (22% in 2022).
34% inappropriate behavior of the judge or judge (22% in 2022).
13% violation of the principles of natural justice (10% in 2022).
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The decrease in the number of justified complaints, or those that ended with a comment, is mainly due to the significant drop in the number of justified complaints in the family courts and rabbinical courts.
In 2023, about 103 complaints were adjudicated on their merits in the family courts (compared to 141 complaints in 2022), where 8 were justified and 4 ended with a comment.
This is compared to 13 justified complaints in 2022 and 12 that ended in a comment.
In the rabbinical courts, 36 complaints were resolved in 2023 (compared to 58 in 2022).
Out of the total number of complaints that were resolved, 3 were justified compared to 12 in 2022, and one that ended with a comment.
The commission estimates that the decrease in the amount and scope of justified complaints in these courts is due to the internalization of the decisions and rulings of the commission in the past years.
Among the decisions that were found to be justified was a decision regarding maintaining order in the courtroom: a complaint was submitted to the commissioner about a person who made offensive comments on gender grounds towards the complainant in the courtroom, however "the judge filled his mouth with water and remained silent."
In his decision, the commissioner stated that the court's dealing with humiliating and offensive behavior on the part of a litigant who repeats himself in court and the lawyers who appear before him, has nothing to do with preserving his right to argument.
The court, in order to preserve its honor and the dignity of those who come before it, must use all the tools at its disposal to enable a proper and respectful hearing, especially when the same party repeats and demonstrates, time after time, disdain and disrespect towards the court and the lawyers who appear before it.
Another decision dealt with the principle of the public nature of the hearing: a judge ordered a lawyer who was present at the ulma as a bystander to leave the courtroom, even though it was a hearing that was conducted with open doors.
In his decision, the commissioner stated that the principle of publicity has constitutional status in our legal system.
From the principle of the public nature of the hearing derives the right of those who wish to observe a legal hearing held in open doors, even if they are not a party to the proceedings.
"The judge filled his mouth with water and remained silent"/ShutterStock
Another decision concerns the delay in issuing decisions: a complaint about the delay in issuing a decision regarding the transfer of documents to an expert was found to be justified.
In his decision, the commissioner stated that, despite the workload placed on the front of the judges, the court must give decisions within a reasonable period of time on the requests placed before it, and even advance to give decisions when it is a matter where avoiding a decision on it delays the continuation of the management of the case, as in this case.
These things are all the more true, while issuing the decision does not require an unreasonable investment of time and resources, taking into account the other tasks placed before the court.
The year 2023 at the Commission was also characterized by the renewal of the capital statements of judges and judges, after 6 years have passed since the previous capital statements were submitted in 2017. This, in addition to handling the capital statements of new judges and of judges and judges who retired from the system.
The response of the judiciary
"The Judiciary thanks the Ombudsman for Judges, retired judge Uri Shaham, for the report he submitted for 2023. The Judiciary attaches great importance to the report of the Ombudsman for Judges, studies it seriously and draws the necessary lessons from it. The Commissioner's decisions are discussed On an ongoing basis between the heads of the system throughout the year in order to examine what steps should be taken following them, and each decision is examined according to the concrete circumstances.
"During the year 2023 - in which 1,348,287 cases were discussed in the court system - 778 complaints concerning the court system were submitted to the commissioner.
With regard to 316 complaints, the commissioner found that there was no reason to be picky due to lack of authority;
As for the complaints that were arbitrated on their merits, 31 complaints were found to be justified;
In 23 complaints, a comment was made to the judge;
And in 3 complaints, the commissioner drew the system's attention to deficiencies that are secretarial errors that require correction.
In the family courts, out of 181 decisions on complaints filed against family judges in 2023, only 8 complaints were found to be justified - a decrease from 13 complaints found to be justified last year.
In 4 complaints, a comment was made to the judge, and in one complaint, the commissioner drew attention to a systemic deficiency that needed to be corrected.
"Regarding the scope of the complaints in the family courts, the commissioner stated: 'The complaints against the family court judges point to a number of problems and difficulties that are unique in nature, or intensity, to this court. Family court judges deal with these difficulties every day. Among these difficulties are the special nature of the discussions, the charged relations between the parties and the emotional complexity involved in a significant part of the conflicts. Holding the discussion behind closed doors also affects the atmosphere in the discussion hall, which is relatively 'intimate' and less formal than the discussion held with open doors." At the same time, with regard to the decrease in the number of justified complaints, the commissioner noted that it stems, for the most part, from the internalization of the decisions and determinations of the commission in previous years. May he have success in his future."
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