The High Court of Justice ruled on Friday that Justice Minister Yariv Levin must convene the Judicial Selection Committee on Sunday to appoint a permanent chief justice, rejecting the minister’s earlier request to postpone the nomination.
On January 15, Levin requested that the court postpone the appointment of a chief justice due to allegations regarding conflict-of-interest violations against the leading candidate, interim chief justice Yitzhak Amit.
“The authority competent to address reservations regarding candidates for the position of president of the Supreme Court is the Judicial Selection Committee,” the court wrote in its Friday ruling.
The court added that “if the committee deems that additional time is required to thoroughly address the claims presented to it regarding any particular candidate, it is expected to make a decision on the matter during its meeting on January 26.”
Earlier on Friday, Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara penned a letter to Levin, calling on him to convene the committee.
“So far, you have not acted in accordance with the court’s decision,” the attorney-general wrote.
Baharav-Miara further noted that Levin had instead “acted through several parallel and contradictory channels,” raising “serious concerns that the objective is to avoid complying with the decisions of the Supreme Court.”
“Your letter is a disgrace to the institution you lead,” Levin subsequently wrote in a letter he dispatched to the attorney-general, accusing her of obstructing him from “seeking the truth.”
Levin's request
A court ruling from December required that a chief justice be appointed by January 16. However, following Levin’s request and in order to allow him to present information regarding the allegations against Amit, the court extended the deadline by 10 days.
Israel has not had a chief justice since October 2023, when former chief justice Esther Hayut’s tenure ended.
Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.