High Court gives Levin two-week extension on appointing new chief justice

The  High Court of Justice gives Justice Minister Yariv Levin and acting High Court President Justice Uzi Vogelman an extension on a deadline to break the impasse over appointing a permanent president for the court.

The position of president has been vacant since Esther Hayut retired last October, and Vogelman has served as acting president ever since, a situation unprecedented in the history of the court.

The position of president has always gone to the justice with the most years on the court, but Levin opposes this system and seeks to appoint a justice who will push the court in a more conservative direction.

Levin’s lawyer had asked for a delay last week.

“Due to the importance we attach to reaching a compromise solution, and without this diminishing the urgency of the matter and the immediate need to appoint a president to this court, we order the 1st respondent to submit another update notice no later than August 26, 2024,” the judges write in their decision.