Levin on Supreme Court judges: "In the next term, there is no need for a reform - they will simply die out"
In recordings published by Kan News, the Minister of Justice is heard telling Likud activists about a conversation with one of the Supreme Court judges, who allegedly said that his candidates are "not up to our standard." In the next term, ten positions are expected to become vacant, and according to him, the new appointments "will change the court from the ground up."
Minister of Justice Yariv Levin addressed the struggle over the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court this week in a conversation with Likud activists, and revealed a conversation he claims to have had with one of the Supreme Court judges. According to recordings published this Wednesday on Kan News on Reshet Bet, Levin clarified that he sees the next term as an opportunity for a significant change in the composition of the court.
Levin told the activists:
"A year and a half ago, I received a phone call from one of the Supreme Court judges, who told me: 'You have to understand, people like Dr. Bakshi and Dr. Biton' — and he made a gesture like this — 'they are not up to our standard. And if you insist, we will wait for the next minister after you, and when he is elected, everything will be much easier.'"
According to the Minister of Justice, he replied to the judge that he believes the Likud will continue to be in power even after the elections and that the composition of the Supreme Court is expected to change significantly in the next term. "I told him, and I tell the judges all the time, that I believe we will win. We will wait for the next term, in which two-thirds of the Supreme Court judges will be replaced, and you will have no choice — you will get Dr. Bakshi and Dr. Biton and a series of such appointments that will change the court from the ground up," said Levin. "I keep saying: in the next term, there is no need for a reform — they will simply die out."
During the conversation with the activists, Levin also clarified that in the event that the Likud continues to hold power after the elections, he intends to ask to remain in the position of Minister of Justice in the next government as well.
In the next term, six additional judges are expected to retire from the Supreme Court. Along with the four positions that are currently unfilled, this means that the next Minister of Justice may be involved in the appointment of ten judges — about two-thirds of the full composition of the Supreme Court.
Levin even highlighted two names he would like to see on the court: Dr. Aviad Bakshi, head of the legal department at the Kohelet Forum, and Dr. Rafi Biton, who was among the drafters of the judicial reform. According to him, these appointments, along with other appointments, "will change the court from the ground up."
During the current term, Levin has not succeeded in advancing his candidates to the Supreme Court. Today, only 11 judges serve on it, after four positions remained vacant against the backdrop of the ongoing dispute in the Judicial Selection Committee. Neither the minister nor the judges' representatives have a majority that would allow either side to promote the candidates they are interested in on their own.
