Justice minister refuses to say if he will obey court order to convene Judicial Selection Committee

Justice Minister Yariv Levin refuses to say whether he will obey an order by the High Court of Justice to convene the Judicial Selection Committee and make new judicial appointments.

Speaking at the Jerusalem Conference of the Besheva media group, Levin complains that the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee disadvantages the government, and says he will not allow “decisions to be forced upon us” in reference to judicial appointments.

Levin has refused to convene the committee for over a year on the grounds that “broad consensus” cannot be reached over judicial candidates, even though the law as it currently stands requires the support of only five out of nine members for a lower court appointment and seven out of nine members for a Supreme Court appointment.

Petitioners and the attorney general have accused Levin of thereby unlawfully granting himself a veto over all judicial appointments by refusing to convene the committee, which he chairs.

The Supreme Court, sitting in its capacity as the High Court of Justice, issued a conditional order against Levin yesterday ordering him to justify his position in court.

Asked at the conference if he would obey a final ruling ordering him to convene the committee, Levin says: “We will wait and see. I don’t want to declare ahead of time on every action I intend to take. Whoever thinks that force will work is making a mistake. We will not give in. We will continue to act to restore democracy and equality.”

The justice minister adds that if the current coalition wins the coming national election, it would “enable us to change the Supreme Court from its foundations,” adding, “I will not enable and will not agree to a situation in which they force appointments on us that do not reflect the public.”