Israel’s High Court of Justice met Sunday morning for another hearing on whether the committee for selecting judges must be convened, in a dispute that has highlighted the long-running clash between Justice Minister Yariv Levin and the judiciary. The court is examining the current deadlock, Levin’s authority over judicial appointments, and the limits of court intervention in decisions made by the justice minister.
In a ruling on May 31, justices Ofer Grosskopf, Alex Stein and Gila Canfy-Steinitz said Levin must act to appoint judges to the Haifa and Beersheba district courts, citing heavy caseloads and the public need for more judges. Levin says that ruling exceeded the court’s powers, stripped him of discretion, and amounted to an attempt by the High Court to take over authorities reserved for the justice minister.
Levin has said he will not agree to convene the full committee before there is broader agreement on the structure of the appointments process. As an alternative, he has proposed limiting the committee to technical or urgent appointments, such as traffic, juvenile and family court judges.
Following the court order, however, an agreement was reached between Levin, the committee and the Courts Administration. Under that understanding, 15 new district court judges will be appointed. Levin’s aides reject claims that the deal was forced by the ruling, saying the judges selected are the same candidates he had already proposed in his original compromise offer.
People close to Levin say the Courts Administration returned to the talks out of fear that no judges would be appointed at all. Levin has described the High Court’s decision as a move that could lead to a constitutional crisis and says he intends to hold his line even if it triggers a broader legal and constitutional confrontation. Since he took office, more than 150 judges have been appointed, and supporters say some of those appointments reflect a shift in the judiciary’s customary approach.
