Levin on the return of the reform: I stopped, they continued. They left no choice

December 14, 2024   

Justice Minister Yariv Levin published a strong post on his Facebook account this evening (Saturday night) against Supreme Court judges - hinting at the possibility of returning the legal reform legislation to the Knesset, and in particular the possibility of changing the composition of the committee for selecting judges. Levin wrote: "Immediately after the outbreak of the war, the coalition announced the freezing of all engagement with legal reform. At the time, I thought it was wrong to engage in controversial issues when the country was in a multi-front war. A few weeks after the outbreak of the war, I announced that I intended to convene the committee to select judges and bring about the appointment of judges by broad consensus, as is required in times of war. During the months following the outbreak of the war, we were able to appoint 162 judges by consensus of all members of the committee. An unprecedented number. I was also and still am interested in reaching compromises regarding appointments to the Supreme Court. On August 26 of this year, I approached the retired Acting President of the Supreme Court, Justice Uzi Fogelman, and proposed a compromise: Justice Elron would be appointed as the Supreme Court President for a period of about a year, after which a candidate for the judges would be appointed. In addition, I proposed that the judges submit to the coalition representatives on the committee two candidates for the position of judge on the Supreme Court, one of whom would be elected, and at the same time, the coalition representatives would present Two names, from which the committee will select one judge. As for the third judge, I suggested that we reach an agreed appointment from among the judges of the district courts across the country. Minutes after I sent Judge Fogelman my proposal, he rejected it with contempt without discussing it at all. Judge Fogelman knew full well that I was willing to discuss the details of the proposal. The current Deputy President, Judge Yitzhak Amit, also knows this. But they chose to dig in their heels in their refusal. Several months ago, the High Court of Justice, in a panel headed by Judge Wilner, decided that my term as Minister of Justice would be in title only. Judge Wilner issued an order that effectively took away from me the authority granted to me by law to determine the agenda of the Judicial Selection Committee, and ruled with a flourish that the consensus process that had so far succeeded in bringing about an unprecedented number of appointments was null and void. Even though the order was illegal on its face, I decided to begin the process. I published the names of the candidates in Reshumot, and the Judicial Selection Committee began to discuss In the matter. But the High Court of Justice has sped up the pace. Last Thursday, in an unprecedented move, the panel decided that it would set the committee's agenda itself, and set a deadline - to bring a vote on the appointment of a president within five weeks. And the procedure? It is unimportant. Without time for a real discussion of the many reservations that were submitted. At the same time, the judges and representatives of the Bar Association prevented the broadcast of the committee's hearings, so that they could appoint Judge Amit in the dark, ignoring the many reservations and the difficult questions that arise from them. These unprecedented moves are joined by a series of irresponsible actions and decisions by the Supreme Court and its judges. Several weeks after the terrible massacre of October 7, the High Court of Justice definitively took over the powers of the Knesset, and made a decision that has no precedent in the entire world to annul a Basic Law that was passed in the Knesset by a large majority of more than half of all Knesset members. The High Court did not stop there - since the outbreak of the war, it has discussed the conditions of the terrorists who massacred On October 7, he discussed humanitarian aid to Hamas in Gaza, considered ordering the state to release the bodies of terrorists while our hostages are languishing in Hamas tunnels, and a long list of other things. This evening it was announced that Judge Ruth Ronen even came to Ofer Prison to closely monitor the conditions of imprisonment of the Nuhbot. The government acted responsibly and with the outbreak of the war suspended all engagement in reform. The court, with the utmost irresponsibility, decided to take advantage of this to continue to take control of the powers of the Knesset and the government. Today, former State Attorney Moshe Lador joined this irresponsibility, calling on soldiers to announce that they would refuse to serve. This is an unacceptable reality. The court is urging the Knesset and the government, with no choice but to act at this time in order to restore its powers to normal. I stopped. They continued even more vigorously. I asked to avoid engaging in this now. They set an immediate deadline in an order and dictated the timetable. I worked to reach agreements. They issued unprecedented orders And they are acting in a forceful way of coercion. I seek to bring about agreed appointments that will gain the trust of the entire public. They are closing the doors of the court to anyone who does not think like them. They have left us no choice. It cannot continue like this. We also have rights." Some time after the post was published, the Minister of Justice published another post: "In the short time that has passed since I published the last post, I have received a huge number of inquiries from citizens who encourage me to act to correct the situation in the judicial system. Many others wrote to me that they have difficulty understanding why the compromise that I proposed to Deputy Supreme Court President Fogelman in August was not accepted by the judges. The fair compromise proposal that I proposed to the judges is still on the table. Fairness and the good of the state both require that it be accepted. I reiterate what I have said all along - the path of agreement and dialogue was and remains the correct and preferable path. At the same time - there will be no acceptance of unilateral orders that trample on the majority of the people." Meanwhile, the heads of the coalition parties will hold a discussion tomorrow with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the request of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, to discuss the dismissal of the Legal Advisor to the Prime Minister, Gali Baharav Mayara. In light of recent developments, the heads of the factions will also discuss the possibility of changing the composition of the committee for selecting judges.