The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee this morning approved the reopening of discussions on the plan to change the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee. Opposition MKs boycotted the meeting.
MK Simcha Rothman, chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, immediately put to a vote, without any discussion, a motion to return the bill from its introduction in the Knesset to committee discussions, in order to amend the bill in accordance with the plan proposed last week by Minister of Justice Yariv Levin and Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar. Three coalition MKs voted in favor with no votes against.
Yesh Atid MK Yoav Segalovich, a member of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, who boycotted the meeting, said, "This is a fraudulent way to bring back the judicial overhaul, as if by consensus. We just have to remember that Gideon Sa'ar is a minister in the cabinet of which Yariv Levin is a member. We will not allow fraudulent practices."
The heads of the opposition factions announced, "Since this is a discussion about the agreements that the coalition reached within itself, we see no point in the opposition's presence in a discussion that removes the law from the plenary agenda and returns it to the committee. The opposition will later come to discussions that will deal with the substance of the law and not with the procedure."
At the end of March 2023, the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee approved for second and third reading the bill to change the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee, so that it would be controlled by the coalition and would appoint 11 members. The bill includes an amendment to the Basic Law: Judiciary and the Courts Law. The bill was placed on the Knesset table but has not yet been brought to a vote in the plenary, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stopped the move following the mass protests that broke out after he dismissed the then Minister of Defense Yoav Galant.
Now, following the plan presented by Levin and Sa'ar, MK Rothman is promoting a motion to change the bill in accordance with the new outline. Levin aims to pass the legislation by the end of February.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 15, 2025.
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