Former Israeli Chief Justice: The Judicial Appointments Committee won't be compromised

Dorit Beinisch, a former president of the Supreme Court, asserted that there was no place for negotiation over the government’s proposed judicial reforms, which she called a “regime coup.”

“What should I give in on? about these bills? No. There are no two sides to this, in my view. Not everything should be made into law, but there are some things that they want to, according to Beinisch, who Arutz Sheva quoted.

According to her, the true and hardest source of conflict is how judges are chosen. “Because doing this would force the court to become politicized.

I find it impossible to accept the proposal’s idea of genuinely removing the judges’ influence from the selection process. It is not lawful. The issue is not that the judges choose themselves; rather, that you have to consider everything.”

Simcha Rothman, the chair of the Knesset Constitution Committee, tweeted in response: “The cat is out of the bag. People’s rights? Nothing major. Will the Knesset pass laws? Let it pass laws. A judge’s appointment? She sees this as the fundamental problem: they keep picking their friends and associates.

He said that democracy in the State of Israel would continue to be a “joke” if the current system for choosing judges is maintained. In the end, Beinisch will make all the decisions. This was the purpose of the elections.

A nine-member committee, made up of two sitting Supreme Court judges, the chairman of the Supreme Court, two members of the Israel Bar Association, two ministers, and two MKs, is now in charge of selecting the justices for the Israeli Supreme Court.

In contrast to the US, where the President chooses the justices for the Supreme Court, and the Senate confirms the choice, this gives the judicial branch preference over who is selected for the court.

According to Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s proposed judicial reforms, the committee would be restructured to give the Knesset more influence over the selection of judges, with the Bar Association members being replaced by two additional elected officials, whose identities will be decided by the Justice Minister.