Courts Administration legal adviser dismisses Levin’s ‘ridiculous’ idea to nominate all Supreme Court judges for court president

Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter

The legal adviser to the Israel Courts Administration Barak Laser says the idea that the Judicial Selection Committee could hold a hearing to discuss the candidacy of justices nominated for Supreme Court president without their consent is “ridiculous” and has “no legal basis.”

His comments come in a letter to attorney and legal activist Shachar Ben Meir in response to Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s decision to nominate all 12 serving Supreme Court justices for president of the court and hold hearings on their candidacies, including on submissions from the general public expressing opposition to their appointment.

Laser’s position likely presages a dispute between Levin and the court administration ahead of the Judicial Selection Committee’s first hearing on Supreme Court president candidates at some point after November 6, or a clash in the committee itself when the hearing is held.

In Laser’s letter, he says that nominating someone for a public position without their consent was simply not possible.

“These are ridiculous claims without legal foundation,” writes Laser.

“The claim that you can appoint someone to a public position without their consent is not only disconnected from reality, but also contravenes the principles of administrative law which requires public trust in those who hold an office,” he continued.

Laser also insists that it would not be possible to hear in the committee the written objections to candidates who did not consent to be nominated, and said those submissions would not be passed on to the members of the committee.

Levin nominated all 12 justices in protest at being ordered by the High Court of Justice to call a vote for a new president in short order. The justice minister refused to call a vote because he does not have the votes in committee either to stop the appointment of liberal justice Isaac Amit as president or get conservative justice Yosef Elron appointed to the position.

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