Justice Minister Yariv Levin is considering introducing legislation to change the number of votes required on the Judicial Selection Committee to appoint a president to the Supreme Court, in response to the High Court’s decision on Sunday ordering him to appoint a new president in short order.
A simple majority of five of the nine committee members is all that is currently needed to appoint a president, which has stymied Levin’s effort to appoint a conservative to head the top court, due to the committee’s liberal majority.
Levin, whose judicial overhaul agenda is designed to give the government greater control over the judiciary and curtail the powers of the Supreme Court, is considering changing the required majority through legislation to seven, so as to give the three coalition representatives on the panel a blocking vote.
The court ordered Levin to call a vote to choose the president, in light of his refusal to do so over the 11 months since the retirement of former president Esther Hayut owing to his desire to install a like-minded conservative to the position.
Immediately following the ruling, Levin denounced the court as “undemocratic” and vowed to boycott the incoming president, but The Times of Israel has learned that he is also considering active steps to circumvent the decision.
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The idea of legislating a new majority for appointing a president is technically feasible, but to do so in the approximately two months before the court’s deadline for calling a vote under the current regulations would be a challenge, especially considering that the Knesset’s winter session does not begin until October 27.
Illustrative: Supreme Court Justices Uzi Vogelman (C), Noam Sohlberg (R) and Isaac Amit (L) attend a High Court of Justice hearing, February 26, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Another option Levin is considering, The Times of Israel has learned, is reviving a bill to change the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee, the most controversial component of his judicial overhaul agenda, which would grant the government almost complete control over all judicial appointments in the country, including that of the Supreme Court president.
It is unclear whether Levin would have support for such a contentious step, as the bill brought the country to near anarchy when it was on the cusp of being passed in March 2023, leading Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to freeze the legislation.
The coalition could easily bring the bill to the Knesset for a second or third reading, but given its explosive nature, it is possible that several members of the ruling Likud party would not back it.
Another option being considered by Levin in response to Sunday’s High Court ruling is to drag out the process of appointing a new president.
The court ruling ordered Levin to publish the names of the candidates for president within 14 days, and then call a vote “soon after” the mandatory 45-day period needed following publication of the candidate’s names.
Levin could drag his feet on convening the Judicial Selection Committee for the vote, given the vague wording of “soon after,” although such a tactic would likely be challenged in court in short order.
One final option under consideration is some kind of demonstrative show of disrespect for the court, such as holding the inauguration ceremony for the new president at the Sde Teiman military base, the site of a detention center for Palestinian terror suspects, The Times of Israel has learned.
Several human rights organizations have petitioned the High Court to shutter Sde Teiman due to allegations of severe human rights abuses against detainees there. Although the court has not issued a ruling on the case, it has held several hearings on the petition, which have pressured the government to improve conditions, something which coalition politicians have strongly criticized.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, which filed the petition against Levin’s refusal to appoint a new court president, along with National Unity leader Benny Gantz and other opposition politicians, called on the justice minister to resign if he was not prepared to obey the High Court’s order.
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