High Court hears full bench petitions against overhaul of judges selection committee

More than a year after it was approved, Israel’s High Court of Justice opened full-bench hearings on Sunday morning on petitions against the Basic Law amendment that changes the composition of the Judges Selection Committee, one of the central pillars of the judicial overhaul. The court expanded the panel to 11 justices, including Chief Justice Yitzhak Amit and Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg, along with justices Daphne Barak-Erez, David Mintz, Yael Willner, Ofer Grosskopf, Gila Kanfy-Steinitz, Khaled Kabub, Yechiel Kasher and Ruth Ronen.

MK Tali Gottlieb and Knesset member Karin Elharrar, who serves on the committee, were in the courtroom. Barak-Erez said the change in the Basic Law regarding the Israel Bar representatives on the committee is “radical” if it was באמת meant to prevent alleged conflicts of interest, adding that there are usually other ways to reduce such concerns. She said the legislation shifts the weight in judicial appointments away from a committee that gave judges most of the power and toward a more political composition.

The law implements a plan promoted by Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. Under it, the committee would have nine members: the chief justice and two Supreme Court justices chosen by their peers, the justice minister who would chair the committee and another minister chosen by the government, two Knesset members chosen by the coalition and opposition respectively, and two public representatives who are lawyers qualified to be Supreme Court justices, with at least 10 years’ experience, selected by the coalition and opposition.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel argued that the government’s goal is to increase state influence over appointments not only to the Supreme Court but across all courts, so it can force the appointment of politically loyal judges. Yesh Atid also petitioned, through MKs Karin Elharrar and Yoav Segalovich, warning that the amendment would politicize the judiciary and that politicians would choose judges based on ideology and loyalty rather than professionalism, undermining one of Israel’s last democratic checks. Government and Knesset representatives argued the petitions should be dismissed, saying the Supreme Court lacks authority to review Basic Laws and that judicial review should wait because the law takes effect only from the next Knesset.