The Knesset Constitution Committee began on Tuesday morning to prepare a new version of a bill to change the makeup of the committee responsible for electing Israel’s judges, the Judicial Selection Committee. The committee being is being chaired by United Torah Judaism MK Yizhak Pindros, since the permanent chairman, Religious Zionist Party MK Simcha Rothman, travelled to the US for the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.
The new bill is based on a joint proposal by Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, that was first presented on January 9, and is expected to pass into law by the end of February.
A previous version of the bill was a centerpiece of the controversial judicial reforms that led to social unrest in 2023.
The Judicial Selection Committee’s makeup since Israel’s foundation 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 (IBA). The initial proposal would have given the governing coalition a majority in the committee, thus giving it the power to appoint judges on all levels as it saw fit. According to the new proposal, the two IBA members will be replaced by two lawyers, one appointed by the coalition and the other by the opposition.
According to the Levin-Sa’ar 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 approval of one member of the coalition, one from the opposition, and one of the judges.
Preventing a stalemate
The Levin-Sa’ar proposal also includes a mechanism to prevent a stalemate in high court appointments. If a year passes with at least two vacancies, the coalition and opposition will each propose three candidates, out of which the other side must choose one (along with the judges). Finally, the law will only apply beginning with the next Knesset.
The initial bill was approved for its second and third reading in March 2023, but was frozen after mass protests broke out in the wake of former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s warning that the reform’s passage would harm national security.
Rather than begin the legislative process anew, the coalition decided to resume where the previous bill left off. The legislative process is thus expected to be relatively quickly.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel published a position paper last week against the expedited process.
“Such a change is in complete contrast to the customary and accepted procedures for advancing bills, and should be carried out in an orderly legislative process and not fast-tracked using the legislative progress of an existing bill. Beyond that, regime changes of this magnitude should only be made within the framework of establishing a constitution for the State of Israel, with broad agreement and with adequate representation for all,” MQG wrote.
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