Finally meeting, Judicial Selection Committee sets out timeline for appointing judges

The Judicial Selection Committee convenes for the first time since April 2022 and sets out a timetable for future hearings to fill dozens of open positions on courts around the country, including the Supreme Court.

The committee establishes subcommittees that will review candidates for the dozens of empty seats on the courts that need to be filled, and agrees to reconvene on February 20, February 25 and April 17 to advance the selection process and potentially make appointments.

A preliminary meeting of the committee will be held within three weeks to deliberate on the possibility of filling the empty seat on the Supreme Court, and appointing a Supreme Court president.

Former Supreme Court justice Esther Hayut retired on October 16, but Levin has been reluctant to schedule a vote for a successor since the coalition has only three guaranteed votes on the nine-member committee.

Levin has refused to convene the Judicial Selection Committee since he took office due to his desire to change its composition in order to give the government control over appointments. In the wake of the war triggered by Hamas’s October 7 massacre, Levin appeared to finally relent and agreed to move forward.