Top officials in the coalition met Sunday night to discuss potential changes to the judicial reform package planned by the government.
Rothman Offers Judicial Committee Compromise; But Is Anyone Else Negotiating?
Under consideration is a proposal from Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman, chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, that would soften the current proposed bill that would change the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee.
Lawmakers from both the coalition and the opposition were quick to reject the outline, according to Israel’s Channel 12 News. Coalition MKs claimed Rothman’s compromise was “too soft” and the opposition claimed that for the first time in Israel there would be politically-appointed judges.
Under the proposal, the Judicial Selection Committee would expand from nine to 11 members and would include:
3 government ministers from 3 different parties;
3 coalition MKs from three different parties;
2 opposition MKs from two different parties; and
3 Supreme Court justices, including the Chief Justice.
Appointments would require a majority of six committee members, but Rothman also proposed that the majority include support from at least one opposition MK and one judge on the committee for the first two vacancies on the Supreme Court during the government’s tenure.
The coalition officials may decide to focus solely on the bill to change the judicial selection committee in the coming weeks, and push off the other legislation until after the Passover holiday in mid-April.
