Levin taps every serving Supreme Court justice for president to drag out appointment process

In a fit of pique, Justice Minister Yariv Levin decides to nominate every current serving Supreme Court justice for president of the court and invites the general public to submit its reservations about every justice, in a tactic apparently designed to further drag out the process of appointing a new head of the judiciary.

The High Court of Justice gave Levin until today to formally publicize the names of the candidates for the president of the Supreme Court, after he refused to fill the position for the past year owing to his desire to appoint a conservative to the post and rein in what he sees as an overly activist court.

In his letter publicizing the names of all 12 current Supreme Court justices, he notes specifically that the law enables any member of the public to file a submission to the Judicial Selection Committee explaining why they believe a specific candidate would not be suitable for the role within 20 days of publication of the names.

It appears that Levin intends to deliberate at length on such submissions for each candidate so as to further delay appointing a president.

Levin has insisted that in a time of war, the president of the court must be chosen “with broad agreement.” He and the two other coalition representatives on the committee oppose the appointment of liberal Justice Isaac Amit, who is next in line for the post under the system of seniority in place since the court was founded. But since there is a majority on the committee to appoint Amit, Levin has simply refused to call a vote to fill the position since the previous president Esther Hayut retired in October last year.

“The justices of the Supreme Court rejected all the compromise proposals I offered and forced [the committee] by court order to deal with this issue, at the current time,” Levin complains in his letter to the members of the Judicial Selection Committee.

“Whoever tries to take the crown and forcibly put it on his own head will not merit the public trust and will not be recognized as someone who was chose lawfully and in an accepted manner,” adds the justice minister.

Following the court order earlier this month, Levin vowed to boycott the incoming court president, a step that would further gum up the workings of the judiciary.

Amit Becher, the head of the Israel Bar Association which has two representatives on the nine-member committee, says Levin’s announcement is “shameful,” and that it demonstrated “contempt for the High Court ruling and the justices of the court.”

Becher adds that Levin’s tactics won’t work and that a new president will eventually be appointed.