Knesset passes Judicial Selection Law

Knesset approved the law of the judicial selection this morning in its second and third readings. The opposition boycotted the vote as a protest step, after it became clear that the government has a clear majority to agree to the new law.

Minutes after the law was approved, the Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) submitted a petition to the Supreme Court claiming, “the draft law to change the judicial selection committee that was developed in 2023, is not significantly different from the amendment approved in March 2025. Loyal judges, mainly for political reasons.

Politicians will dictate the choice

According to the law, which will enter into force with the upcoming Knesateet, members of the Israel Association will be excluded from the committee, which will include nine members: two ministers, including the Minister of Justice, MKS representing the alliance and the opposition, and three judges from the Supreme Court, including the president, and two jurists appointed by the coalition and the exhibitors – in other words, there will be nine political members.

According to the proposal, the simple majority will be asked to appoint a judge, but in the lower courts, the majority will be asked to include at least one member elected by the coalition, a member elected by the opposition, and one judge. To appoint a judge in the Supreme Court, a majority, including a member elected by the coalition and a member elected by the opposition, will require.

This means that the strength of professionals in choosing judges will be reduced, while politicians from both sides will dictate the choice.

The “sweeping” mechanism was also proposed, if there are two judges of the Supreme Court absent, and one of them was absent for at least a year (which is the current situation) – the alliance and the opposition will be able to propose three candidates on their behalf, which will be the other side of which is obligatory.

The law contradicts the position of Public Prosecutor, Galle Bharaf Mayra, and will be ruled by the Supreme Court. The main argument against the draft law is that the political elements in the judicial selection committee will be the ones that will choose the judges, and professional considerations will be suppressed, and the legal independence of the judges will be affected, because they will now rely on politicians to appoint them.

The opposition MKS dealt with huge demonstrations against the law outside the Knesset last night.

It was published by Globes, Israel Business News – En.globes.co.il – on March 27, 2025.

© Copy Publish Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. , 2025.