The new compromise by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Justice Minister Yariv Levin regarding amending the makeup of the Judicial Selection Committee is "rotten" and "irresponsible," as it will lead to political appointments of judges to the high court, former attorney-general Avichai Mandelblit said at a conference at Tel Aviv University on Tuesday evening.
The crux of the proposal, according to Mandelblit, is the removal of the veto power of the three judges on the committee. This will lead to politically affiliated judges and thus damage the court's independence and impartiality.
Sa'ar and Levin pitched the proposal as "evolutionary and not revolutionary," but according to Mandelblit, the proposal was indeed revolutionary, as it would "change the DNA" of the court.
Mandelblit added that the proposal could negatively affect Israel's war effort. If the court is perceived as less independent, Israel will lose the power to argue that its judiciary can independently investigate alleged violations of international law in Gaza.
This could lead to further deterioration in Israel's international status and negatively affect ongoing cases in both the ICJ and ICC, he said.
Gideon Sa'ar, Yariv Levin's judicial reform compromise
In the announcement of the compromise last week, Levin has agreed to stop actively blocking Isaac Amit from his appointment as acting chief justice to be converted into a permanent one with all of the additional powers and legitimacy that implies – though he will boycott the Judicial Selection Committee vote. Until now, the justice minister has wanted a more conservative or government-friendly chief justice.
Levin also agreed to an arrangement that does not seem to allow the coalition to push through any judicial candidate it wants without some support either from the Supreme Court representatives on the committee or from members of the committee selected by the opposition.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.