Rothman backs Levin, says order for justice minister to convene panel on new Supreme Court chief not legal

By Sam Sokol 8 September 2024, 5:15 pm

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Sam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"

File - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) with the architects of the proposed judicial overhaul, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and MK Simcha Rothman (standing) in the Knesset on February 15, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

MK Simcha Rothman, the chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and one of the architects of the government’s shelved judicial overhaul agenda, argues that the High Court of Justice is acting in violation of the law with its order to Justice Minister Yariv Levin to convene the Judicial Selection Committee and select a new president for the Supreme Court.

In order “to make sure that the control of the process of appointing judges is in the hands of the public and its elected officials, the law stipulates that the control of the committee’s agenda is in the hands of the justice minister,” he tweets. “This is the legislative mandate and in a country of law, everyone must obey the law, including the court.”