Israeli lawmakers on Wednesday braced themselves for a marathon 20-hour debate to determine the future of a committee responsible for appointing the country’s judges.
In an attempt to delay legislation changing the makeup of the Judicial Appointment Committee, opposition MKs filed a record 71,367 objections. The government invoked an article of the Knesset rules limiting the order of the debate. As a result, Knesset discussion will last a maximum of 20 hours followed by a vote on no more than 220 of the objections. The final vote — likely to take place around noon on Thursday — is expected to pass.
The legislation, part of the government’s controversial judicial overhaul initiative, revamps the nine-member judicial selection committee chaired by the Minister of Justice. The committee will be made up of one government minister, one coalition MK, one opposition MK, two lawyers — one each appointed by the government and the opposition — and three sitting Supreme Court Justices.
A simple majority would be required to elect judges for any court as long as one government and one opposition member are part of the majority.
