Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar are pushing ahead with new plans to change the composition of the Judicial Selection Commission. According to the plan, the commission would consist of three members of the ruling coalition (ministers and members of parliament), one member of the opposition, three judges, and two lawyers.
This structure will be the same as the current one, except that the two lawyers will not be representatives of the Israeli Bar Association, but one from the coalition and one from the opposition. Lawyers must have at least 10 years’ experience in court litigation and are not allowed to appear as committee members. Levin and Searle said the initiative was based on talks between former Justice Minister Ijar Shai and General Dedi Sinhi, the commander-in-chief.
The plan calls for appointments to be made only with broad consent, with a five-member majority of the commission’s members needed to appoint judges at any level. In the case of lower courts, the majority must include at least one member of the coalition party, one member of the opposition party, and one judge. The Supreme Court’s representative on the commission cannot veto the selection of judges if a duly formed majority is in favor.
Appointment of Supreme Court judges requires the support of at least one coalition member and one opposition member. This means that both the Coalition and opposition parties have the power to veto appointments to the Supreme Court, even if they have majority support on the committee.
If there are two vacancies on the Supreme Court and a year has passed without an appointment, the coalition and opposition representatives will each present three candidates, and the other party (together with the judges on the committee) will You will have to choose one person from among them. .
The treaty under which parliamentary committees will have one representative from the coalition and one from the opposition party will be enshrined in law.
The Coalition Government will move forward with amendments to the current bill on the composition of the Judicial Selection Commission, which has passed first reading, and plans to vote on the bill by the end of February. The new law will come into effect from the next Diet session.
Levin and Sa’ar also presented principles of fundamental law.
- Basic Law Bill: Among other things, a law will be introduced regulating the legislation and implementation of the Basic Law, which in effect forms the Israeli Constitution.
- Basic law deals only with certain defined matters. namely, the state’s identity as a Jewish nation-state and its democratic character. human rights; and how government works.
- The procedure for passing, amending, and repealing fundamental laws is different from that of ordinary laws, and must ensure that fundamental laws cannot be passed out of convenience or due to coalition requirements.
- There will be no judicial review of any fundamental law other than a fundamental law that violates the principle of electoral equality that is rejected by a three-quarters majority of the judges of the Supreme Court.
- Judicial review of other major laws occurs only by the Supreme Court. A majority of at least half of the Supreme Court’s justices is required to invalidate a law. For this purpose, the panel will consist of at least nine judges.
- A basic law is enacted that transforms citizens’ rights in criminal proceedings into constitutional rights.
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A statement on behalf of the judiciary said: “It should be made clear that the judiciary has heard the proposal by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Levin, and Gideon Saar, leader of the New Hope Party and Minister of Foreign Affairs.” Media coverage coincided with ongoing discussions at the Judicial Selection Committee. For obvious reasons, the judiciary cannot comment on this matter. ”
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir said: “The plan is not perfect, but it can withstand.Even if it is not perfect, reforms with broad consent are the right compromise and I therefore support the plan.” “I will.” This change is welcome. I congratulate my friends Minister Yariv Levin and Minister Gideon Saar on reaching an agreement. ”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said: “We will respond as soon as Yariv Levin follows the court order and appoints the Chief Justice by January 16.”
“No proposals will be discussed or agreed upon by the Democratic Party until all of the regime’s coup proposals, including the takeover of the media, the Israeli Bar Association, and the firing of the attorney general, are stopped,” Democratic Party leader Yair Golan said. said. , making the Internal Affairs Police Investigation Bureau subordinate to the Minister of Justice, etc. ”
Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on January 9, 2025.
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