A Legitimate Supreme Court President

Following Justice Isaac Amit's selection as Supreme Court President, Minister of Justice Levin immediately declared he would refrain from any collaboration between them, describing the selection process as unlawful. This announcement is both factually incorrect and a serious dereliction of his duties.

Justice Isaac Amit, the newly selected Supreme Court President. Photo by: Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90

The recent selection of Justice Isaac Amit as President of the Supreme Court was immediately met with Minister of Justice Yariv Levin’s rejection: he does not recognize him as a legitimate Supreme Court President. According to the Minister’s announcement: “as long as the President of the Supreme Court is not selected through a proper procedure according to law…it will not be possible to go through the actions that demand collaboration between the President of the Supreme Court and the Minister.” This announcement is both factually incorrect and a serious dereliction of the duties of the Minister.

The Minister’s announcement is incorrect first and foremost because Justice Amit was lawfully selected. A majority of the members of the Judicial Selection Committee supported his selection as required by law. The majority chose to maintain the principle of seniority, which directs the selection of presidents of the Supreme Court in Israel, and rightly so. According to this principle, the Judicial Selection Committee chooses the most senior justice, that is, the one longest serving on the Supreme Court, for the position of president. The seniority principle is primarily intended to maintain the independence of Supreme Court justices, eliminating any incentive that they may have to curry favor with the government or other members of the Selection Committee. Minister Levin wanted to do away with this principle and for this reason has struggled for over a year against the selection of a permanent President of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has directed him to convene the Selection Committee and to select a new President, because the law requires only a regular majority in the Committee, for the purposes of preventing harm to important public interests in the absence of a permanent President – as has been occurring in the past 15 months that the position has been temporarily filled by an Acting President.

The Minister was incorrect also in suggesting that various allegations against Justice Amit—which allege ethical violations and improper conduct—have yet to be cleared. The Police and the Attorney General have declared that they did not require any investigation, and the Judicial Selection Committee had all the materials before it – the allegations as well as Justice Amit’s responses – as it decided to select him.

Minister Levin’s announcement is not only incorrect, as noted, it is also a serious dereliction of his duties as Minister. While some matters in the administration of the courts are dealt with solely by the Minister, many important matters in court administration require, by law, the cooperation of the Minister of Justice and President of the Supreme Court, such as the appointment of presidents of courts.  The proper functioning of the courts may, therefore, be hindered due to Minister’s refusal to cooperate.

A notable example is the paralysis of the Ombudsman’s Office of the Israeli Judiciary, which is responsible for investigating complaints regarding judges' conduct. Since May 2024 the position of Ombudsman of the Judiciary has remained vacant. The authority to nominate an Ombudsman candidate to the Selection Committee is held jointly by the Minister and the President. For months the Acting President and the Minister were unable to agree on a candidate, and for the past few months the Minister would not even meet the Acting President, not even for this purpose. Now, according to the Minister’s announcement, the Ombudsman’s position will remain vacant, and the complaints of the public will remain unanswered, because the Minister will not cooperate at all with the President.

The Minister’s announcement thus is a dereliction of his duties towards the citizens of Israel. While the Minister basks in his unlawful righteousness, the public suffers.

 

This article was published in the Jerusalem Post.