President of the National Labor Court Judge Steve Adler has brought forward his retirement to allow his deputy Judge Nili Arad to become the next president. Adler yesterday notified Minister of Justice Yaakov Neeman and President of the Supreme Court Dorit Beinisch that he will be retiring as of November 15.

He wrote in his letter of resignation, "I give thanks for the privilege of serving Israel's justice system for 35 years as a district court judge, head of a district court, a national labor court judge, deputy president of the national labor court and president of the national labor court."

Adler immigrated to Israel from the US. He grew up in Flatbush, Brooklyn and received a law degree from Columbia University

Adler will be 70 next February, which is the official retirement age for judges and he would be entitled to carry on serving until that date. However, that would prevent his deputy Arad from succeeding him. Regulations dictate that only a person who will serve for at least three years can serve as president of a court. This would disqualify Arad who turns 67 in December. Therefore, Adler is retiring in November.

Adler has served as National Labor Court president since 1997 and has frequently been criticized for being too proactive in rulings that according to his detractors favor employees. This is in contrast to his predecessor, the late Menachem Goldberg, who tended to favor employers.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 28, 2010

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