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The Newsletter of the Israel Policy Center
Volume III Issue 4.. .. 4 Av 5768 / August 5, 2008
What Happens After Olmert Resigns
On September 17 the Kadima party will hold primaries for a new leader. If no candidate receives a plurality of over 40% of the vote, a runoff between the two leading candidates will be held on the 25th. Soon after the primaries are over, probably within a week, Ehud Olmert will resign as Prime Minister.
According to article19 of Israel’s Basic Law: The Government, the resignation of the Prime Minister is equivalent to the resignation of the entire government. A new government must be formed; if this proves politically impossible, the Knesset is dissolved and new elections must be held. The process whereby this happens can be complex and lengthy. more...
 Landmark Law Reforming Judicial Appointments Passes Knesset
In the last week of its summer session, the Knesset passed a landmark law reforming the method of appointing judges to the Supreme Court. The previous issue of Liberty Monitor reported that the law had passed the Knesset Constitution and Law Committee.
The law provides that appointments to the Supreme Court require a special majority of seven members out of the nine-member Judicial Appointments Committee. Given the structure of the committee, this means that the government of the day will have a veto over Supreme Court appointments, and will be able to negotiate deals over appointments with the judiciary. more...
Last month’s change in the system of appointing Supreme Court judges, which for the first time gives the government of the day a veto over appointments to the Supreme Court, represents a significant achievement for the cause of Parliamentary democracy in Israel. For the first time since 1953, the Knesset has given elected officials real power in the judicial appointments process.
Advocates of the new law, particularly its author, MK Gideon Saar, regard the change as a compromise between the old system, which gave the Supreme Court de facto control of appointments to the Judiciary, and those who believe that judges ought to be appointed by the people’s elected representatives. Saar, once an employee of the State Prosecution who worked closely with now-Supreme Court Justice Edna Arbel, may have used his influence to get the judges to accept the new law without visible opposition. more...
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Olmert Threatens to Resign if Indicted
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