Israel's High Court postpones judicial hearing after Levin's demand

The hearing on petitions to convene the judicial selection committee was postponed again on Friday by the Supreme Court of Justice, after a dispute over a conditional order.

The hearing had been for Tuesday, but will now be delayed until a date no later than October 23. The hearing had already previously been delayed from September 7 due to Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s demand for representation outside of the attorney-general. 

Time pressure for the case

With a deadline of October 9 to issue further documentation if the respondents should so choose, it is possible that Justice Anat Baron, who is presiding over the case, would need to be replaced with another justice. 

Baron is retiring on October 12. The hearing could also be held outside the court presidency of Chief Justice Esther Hayut, who retires on October 16.

The court rejected Levin’s call to cancel the conditional order it had issued on September 14, ordering the justice minister to explain why he had decided not to convene the Judicial Selection Committee. Levin has said that the court had no authority to issue the order, and it was within his power to make the decision in light of ongoing political and public constitutional debates related to the panel. 

Levin previously stated that he would not convene the Judicial Selection Committee until it had undergone reform.The respondents asked on Tuesday to be able to file response affidavits, which the court granted and gave them until October 9 to do.

N12 reported that Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara had issued an opinion saying that the conditional order should not be canceled, but that Levin and the government should be allowed to file another response. 

Yesh Atid and the Movement for Quality Government in Israel filed petitions against the government and Levin in July, arguing that his refusal to convene the Judicial Selection Committee was an abuse of power for political ends, and would damage the judicial system.

The court system is under strain, they argue, and being unable to appoint new judges would only add to the burden on Israeli citizens. The Attorney-General’s Office has said that dozens of judge positions will be left open by the end of the year, if the judicial selection committee does not convene.

Ariella Marsden contributed to this report.