Israel’s Coalition Delays Majority Of Judicial Reforms Until After Independence Day, Modifies Some Reforms

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In the wake of the huge public outcry over the proposed judicial reforms in the Israeli government’s constitutional system, the coalition agreed Sunday evening to modify some of the reforms and to delay many of them until after Israel’s 75th Independence Day, which falls soon after Pesach.

The heads of the parties decided that the amendment to the legislation regarding the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee will be approved before Pesach based on the framework presented on Sunday in the Constitution Committee.

That proposal states that, for the first time, the automatic veto of the judges who are members of the Judicial Selection Committee will be abolished so that balance and diversity in the composition of the Supreme Court will be possible. The representatives of the Israel Bar Association will be removed from the committee.

It was also decided that the rest of the legislative articles of the judicial reform will be submitted for approval at the beginning of the summer session of the Knesset except for the laws currently in process including the Deri law (allowing ministerial appointments even to those indicted by the court) , the Incapacitation law (preventing the court or attorney-general from declaring a sitting prime minister incapacitated) and the Presents law, allowing public servants to receive funding for legal proceedings or medical expenses.

The heads of the coalition parties called on the opposition to take advantage of the month-long recess period, during which legislative procedures cannot be held in the Knesset, in order to hold real negotiations to reach agreements on articles of legislation that will be submitted for approval after the recess.

“We extend a hand to everyone who really cares about the unity of the people and the desire to reach an agreed upon settlement. The heads of the coalition express their appreciation to the Minister of Justice MK Yariv Levin and the chairman of the Constitution Committee MK Simcha Rothman for their dedicated work,” the statement said.

On Sunday night, Channel 12 News reported that the chairman of the Knesset Constitution Committee, MK Simcha Rothman, is putting forward a new compromise proposal for the method of selecting judges for the Supreme Court.

According to the report, the government will only have complete control over the first two appointments of judges during its term in office. Subsequent appointments will require the agreement of at least one MK from the opposition as well as at least one judge on the Judicial Selection Committee. Beyond this compromise, the government would still have the majority voice on the coalition, and judges will be appointed with a simple majority of 6 out of 11 committee members.

He also proposes that the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee will include three ministers, three coalition members, two opposition members and three judges.

Organizers of the protest against the reform rejected the proposal outright, saying, “Rothman proposes to carry out an attack inside the Supreme Court. To bring in judges who are committed to the government and not to the law. He is about to find out that the people of Israel are not as stupid as he thinks, we will stand in the face of his malicious plans to turn Israel into a dictatorship.”

Likud members also criticized the compromise proposal, claiming that it was a “surrender to the opposition. MK Tali Gottlieb said that “You vote right, the right wins and then they do what the left wants. What were we fighting for?”