The Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee on Monday continued its marathon voting on the approximately 70,000 reservations filed by opposition MKs on a controversial bill to alter the makeup of the committee responsible for electing the country’s judges.
The coalition enjoys a majority in the committee, and therefore, all of the reservations are expected to be rejected. The committee has voted on the reservations in batches of 50 and, so far, has rejected 2,700 of them. It will continue the marathon voting on Tuesday. Nearly all of the reservations were filed by opposition MKs Gilad Kariv (The Democrats), Karine Elharrar (Yesh Atid), and Yoav Segalovitz (Yesh Atid).
Once the voting concludes, the bill will return to the Knesset plenum for its second and third readings, after which it will become law. The coalition will attempt to pass it into law before the Knesset heads to its Passover recess on April 2.
The Judicial Selection Committee’s makeup since Israel’s founding has included nine members – three High Court judges, two ministers, two members of Knesset (traditionally one coalition and one opposition), and two representatives of the Israel Bar Association.
According to the new proposal, the two Bar members will be replaced by two lawyers, one appointed by the coalition and the other by the opposition.
In addition, according to the proposal, the majority necessary for High Court appointments will revert back to 5-4 instead of the current 7-2. However, every High Court appointment will require the agreement of at least one representative from the opposition and one from the coalition.
Appointments to all other judicial brackets will require the approval of one coalition member, one opposition member, and one of the judges.
The proposal also includes a mechanism to prevent a deadlock in High Court appointments. If a year passes with at least two vacancies, the coalition and opposition would each propose three candidates, out of which the other side must choose one (along with the judges).
Only applies to future Knessets
The law will also only apply beginning with the next Knesset.
A draft of the current version was first presented on January 9 as a “compromise” between Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and earned the support of two bereaved fathers, former minister Izhar Shay and former Fire and Rescue Service head Dedi Simchi. Shay has since reneged on his support of the bill.
Proponents of the bill argued it was a good compromise since it did not give the coalition total power over judicial appointments and would only apply in the next Knesset.
However, its detractors, including the opposition, the Attorney-General’s Office, and a wide array of civil society organizations, argued that increasing political involvement in the judicial selection process will negatively affect the court’s independence, as judicial appointments will become part of political negotiations.
National Unity MK Matan Kahana, a member of the opposition, said on Monday that while he supported the bill’s essence, it is still not the time to advance it as Israel is still at war. Kariv, criticizing Kahana, said the government was attempting to remove limits on its power exactly as it did prior to October 7 and that it had never really stopped.
The committee also revealed on Monday that it will renew a piece of legislation associated with the Judicial reform that passed a preliminary vote in March 2023 but has not been advanced since.
The bill stipulates that the Police Investigations Department, which investigates complaints against police officers, will move from the State Attorney’s Office to the Justice Ministry and answer directly to the ministry’s director-general. According to the bill proposal, the department will also receive the power to investigate complaints against state attorneys.