Israeli Government Passes Bill for Political Takeover of Judicial Appointments - Israel News - Haaretz.com
The Knesset passed a bill Thursday morning to change the composition of the Judicial Appointments Committee and place the panel under the control of politicians, in what is widely regarded as a blow to democratic due process.
This is the first time in Israel's history that the process of choosing judges will be virtually controlled by politicians. The Supreme Court's power will be reduced, while the role of the Israel Bar Association will be eliminated.
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The law is not set to go into effect until after the next general election, but until then Justice Minister Yariv Levin plans to continue to prevent the committee from naming new judges.
As a result of this paralysis, Israel will soon be in the unprecedented situation of having only 11 Supreme Court justices, when the full complement is 15. The paralysis also has wider implications for the judiciary.
"Moments ago, the Israeli government passed a law that has one objective – to ensure that judges are subjected to the will of politicians. In the next government, we will annul the law restructuring the Judicial Appointments Committee," the Knesset's opposition leaders said on Thursday. "We will reinstitute the judicial appointment process as a fair and professional committee."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, speaking with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Thursday.Credit: Olivier Fitoussi
The opposition added that the law passed "while 59 hostages are still being held in Gaza. Instead of concentrating all efforts in returning them and mending the rifts within the nation, this government has returned to the exact same legislature that fragmented the country before October 7."
"We made history," said Israel Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who initiated the judicial reform in early 2023. "After decades of the judiciary system being closed off to many sectors of the public, the Appointments Committee composition has been restructured."
After the law was approved, several petitions were submitted to the High Court of Justice against the change, including by Yesh Atid party members, the Israel Bar Association, the Movement for Quality Government, and the Association of Civil Rights in Israel.
In one of the several petitions, opposition leader Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party said that the law's approval "is not an amendment, but the eradication of an entire system."
"Judges should be appointed according to professional considerations – not purely political ones. They must serve the public, not the regime, and act according to the rule of law, not according to the government's will," said Yesh Atid MK Karine Elharrar, who submitted the petition.
An expanded panel of justices is expected to be formed to hear the petitions and decide whether to overturn it, as it did the law barring the court from using the reasonableness standard.
MK Simcha Rothman, one of the key architects of the judicial coup, said that the law is "an important step in returning the balance between the different branches and in putting the decision power back into the Israeli publics' hands."
Rothman added that the law strengthens Israel's democracy and "fortifies the public's trust in the judicial system and promises a more balanced and transparent appointment process," saying that the process is similar to the one in place in other democratic regimes around the world.
"The Knesset has decided to attempt to completely demolish the judicial branch's independence. We will correct this," said Israel's Bar Association head Amit Becher.
"This is a struggle of night versus day, of democracy's loyalists versus its annihilators, and we will hold down the fort so that it will not fall," Becher added.
MK Simcha Rothman, standing center, in the Knesset on Thursday.Credit: Olivier Fitoussi
The law changes the makeup of the Judicial Appointments Committee to consist of nine members: the High Court president, two judges selected by a panel of judges, the justice minister (who would head the committee), one additional minister appointed by the government, two Knesset members (one from the coalition and one from the opposition), and two highly qualified public representatives, both of whom are attorneys with credentials comparable to High Court justices. These public representatives would be selected by the coalition and the opposition.
The main impact will be on the Supreme Court and the public generally. Sitting as the High Court, the Supreme Court is dealing with a series of important and sensitive cases.
They include petitions against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's dismissal of Shin Bet security service head Ronen Bar; the reappointment of Itamar Ben-Gvir as national security minister and the law changing how the judicial ombudsman is selected. It will soon hear petitions against Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara's proposed dismissal and, of course, the judicial appointments law if it is passed.