The Knesset has passed the Judicial Selection Law this morning in its second and third readings. The opposition boycotted the vote as a protest move, after it became clear that the government had a clear majority to approve the new law.
Minutes after the law was passed, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) filed a petition to the Supreme Court claiming, "The bill to change the Judicial Selection Committee that was advanced in 2023 does not differ significantly from the amendment that was passed in March 2025. The government's goal, then and now, has been to increase the government's influence on the selection of judges, in the Supreme Court but also in all other courts, so that it can force the appointment of loyal judges, for reasons that are mainly political. Judges who judge, 'yes-men' whose election and promotion are beholden to politicians, instead of independent and self-reliant judges."
Politicians will dictate the choice
According to the law, which will come into effect with the next Knesset, the Israel Bar Association members will be excluded from the committee, which will include nine members: two ministers including the Minister of Justice, two MKs representing the coalition and opposition, three Supreme Court judges including the President, and two jurists appointed by the coalition and opposition - in other words six of the nine members will be political appointees.
According to the proposal, a simple majority will be required to appoint a judge, but in the lower courts a majority will be required that includes at least one member elected by the coalition, a member elected by the opposition, and one judge. To appoint a Supreme Court judge, a majority will be required including a member elected by the coalition and a member elected by the opposition.
This means that the power of professionals in selecting judges will be reduced, while politicians from both sides will dictate the selection.
A "tiebreaker" mechanism is also proposed, in which if two Supreme Court Justices are absent, and one of them has been absent for at least a year (which is the current situation) - the coalition and the opposition will be able to propose three candidates on their behalf, from which the other side will be obliged to choose.
The law contradicts the position of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, and will be ruled on by the Supreme Court. The main argument against the bill is that the political elements in the Judicial Selection Committee will be the ones who will choose the judges, professional considerations will be suppressed, and the legal independence of the judges will be harmed, as they will now be dependent on politicians for their appointment.
Oppositions MKs addressed huge demonstrations against the law outside the Knesset last night.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 27, 2025.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.