Justice Isaac Amit elected as Supreme Court President after months of delays

After an unprecedented 16 months without a permanent Supreme Court president, and in the face of the intense opposition of Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the Judicial Selection Committee elects Justice Isaac Amit to be the head of Israel’s top court.

Amit was elected after a five-hour hearing of the committee during which recent allegations of misconduct against the justice, who has served for the last four months as acting president of the Supreme Court, were heard and debated.

Levin, together with the other coalition representatives of the committee Settlements Minister Orit Strock and Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer, boycotted the hearing in protest at the High Court of Justice order instructing him to hold a vote after refusing to do so for almost a year and a half.

Recent allegations against Amit that he presided over several cases in which he had conflicts of interest prompted Levin to seek further delays in making the appointment, but the High Court told him the relevant body to review the claims was the Judicial Selection Committee.

Levin did not himself convene today’s hearing despite the court order but appears to have permitted the director of the Israel Courts Administration Judge Tzahi Ouziel, who serves as the secretary of the committee, to convene the committee instead.

Levin says in response that it is “a sad day for democracy, and a sad day for our legal system,” saying Amit would not enjoy the public’s trust, and says he will “not stop working until we fix this disgraceful situation at its foundation.”

Leader of the Opposition Yair Lapid welcomes Amit’s election however, calling it “a victory for democracy and proper administration,” adding that the “unnecessary delay” to the appointment “has caused enormous damage to the rule of law in Israel.”