Report: Levin plans to delay proceedings for Supreme Court president appointment

Justice Minister Yariv Levin plans to delay the already postponed proceedings to select a permanent president of the Supreme Court at the meeting of the Judicial Selection Committee, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

According to the outlet, Levin plans to bring a camera to this afternoon’s discussions and will demand they are broadcast live to “demonstrate to the public that the committee is unbalanced.”

The move is expected to be opposed by most members of the committee.

Levin reportedly intends to then initiate discussions on the method for picking a Supreme Court president, and on the ways in which reservations about various candidates will be discussed, in a manner that will lead to further High Court petitions on the matter.

Levin had refused to hold a vote in the Judicial Selection Committee to replace former Supreme Court president Esther Hayut for almost a year after she retired in October 2023, until the court, sitting in its capacity as the High Court of Justice, ordered him in September to hold a vote.

The justice minister refused to call a vote on the appointment of a permanent president since he wished to have a conservative installed as head of the court to take the judiciary in a more conservative direction.

Levin did not, however, have the votes in the committee to appoint the only candidate who put himself up for the job other than Justice Isaac Amit. Amit is now the acting president, and is set to become permanent president in accordance with the seniority system in place since the court was founded whereby the justice with most years on the court becomes the next president.

Lacking a majority for his position, the justice minister refused to call a vote, leading a government watchdog group to file a petition to the High Court accusing him of abusing his authority and exerting a de facto veto over the appointment.