Sa’ar says judicial overhaul legislation can be passed within the month

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says he believes the controversial judicial overhaul legislation he and Justice Minister Yariv Levin have proposed to change the judicial selection process can be passed within the next month.

Asked by The Times of Israel during a meeting of his New Hope party whether the bill can be passed in the next month, Sa’ar says “why not,” and claims it has the support of “at least 70 MKs.”

He notes that the bill is still under discussion in the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, but says that this need not take much time.

“One month must be enough in order to complete the discussion and bring it to a third [and final] reading [in the Knesset plenum,” says Sa’ar of the highly sensitive legislation.

The bill would increase political representation on the Judicial Selection Committee and give the coalition and opposition representatives veto power over appointments to the lower courts and the Supreme Court, while significantly reducing the influence of the three Supreme Court justices on the committee.

Critics including former Supreme Court justices, a former justice minister, and the Knesset Constitution committee’s legal adviser have all said that the reforms would greatly politicize the judicial appointments process, and by extension the judiciary itself.

Proponents, including Sa’ar and Levin, have insisted that the legislation would ensure that the judiciary and its decisions better reflect the will of the electorate.

Channel 12 reported on Sunday that Levin sought to pass the legislation within the next two weeks, but sources close to the minister denied that report and noted that there are no hearings on the bill scheduled in committee this week.