Levin confirms 1st part of judicial overhaul won’t be brought for plenum vote today

The legislation for changing the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee, which was approved earlier today by the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee for its first reading in the parliament’s plenum, will be brought for its first vote there on Wednesday or next Monday, not today as some had expected.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s office claims the intention was never to bring the bill for a vote today, saying there is no intention of delaying the first reading despite President Isaac Herzog’s call for a halt in legislative proceedings in order to deliberate on the compromise proposals he made last night.

Once approved in its first reading, the legislation — an amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary — will return to the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee for preparation for its second and third readings in the plenum, which would formally pass the bill into law.

Rothman and Levin indicated after Herzog’s speech that they would be open to dialogue and even some compromise, but would not delay the legislation for that purpose.

The bill gives the government full control over the selection of all judges, including on the Supreme Court, and prohibits the High Court of Justice from exercising judicial review over Basic Laws. It is the first part of a sweeping plan to overhaul the judiciary.