Judiciary

Gov’t tells High Court it lacks authority to order state inquiry into October 7 failures

The government told Israel’s High Court of Justice it has no authority to compel a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 failures, citing separation of powers.

High Court Justice Daphne Barak-Erez arrives for a hearing on petitions calling to halt or substantially limit State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman’s investigations into the failures surrounding the Hamas's October 7 massacre, December 29, 2025; illustrative.
 A voting station for the head of the Israeli Bar Association, at the Magistrate's Court in Jerusalem, June 20, 2023

Israeli bar exam passed by nearly 68% of first-time examinees, as divide widens

 Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi addresses the National Cooperation Convention in Munich, July 26, 2025.

President Trump must invite Reza Pahlavi to the White House - opinion

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit arrives for a court hearing at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, December 23, 2025

Israeli government's attack on the judiciary is a warning from history - opinion


Levin-Sa’ar compromise politicizes judicial selection process, A-G says

A-G warns that the proposed judicial selection reform prioritizes politics over professionalism, risking judicial independence and altering the balance of Israel’s legal system.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar (L) and Justice Minister Yariv Levin (R) at the Supreme Court (illustrative)

Knesset bill increases government control over judicial ombudsman appointment

How will the government’s proposal politicize the judicial watchdog appointment?

A court hearing on the government's drafting of yeshiva students for the IDF, at the High Court of Justice in Jerusalem on June 2, 2024

We should all compromise to protect Israel’s judiciary from political strife - opinion

The incoming president of the Supreme Court could raise the flag of compromise in the form of the victor’s outstretched hand and allow Levin’s candidate to be appointed to the court.

 JUSTICE MINISTER Yariv Levin (right) and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, a former justice minister, attend a Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting last week. Their proposal is significantly better than the original plan that roiled the country in 2023, but has substantial flaws

Yariv Levin requests delay of Supreme Court chief justice appointment over allegations

Israel has been without a chief justice since October 2023, when former chief justice Esther Hayut’s tenure ended.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin seen in the Knesset plenum, in Jerusalem, December 4, 2024

US federal judge delegation explores Oct 7 challenge to Israeli legal system

The judges' trip included an exploration of International Humanitarian Law and the laws of war from the Israeli perspective.

 Florida Judge Roy Altman and his delegation of 14 US federal judges in front of Israel's Knesset.

Vogelman: Reform ruling part of constitutional process, need last Basic Law

Acting Supreme Court president Uzi Vogelman called to permanently fill the top justice position.

 Supreme Court justice Uzi Vogelman at the High Court of Justice in Jerusalem, on December 31, 2023

Justice Minister Levin to convene judicial selection panel within 15 days

Without new judges being appointed, Israel was on track to be short more than 50 judges by the end of next month.

 JUSTICE MINISTER Yariv Levin attends a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.

The judicial reform is a wholesale uprooting of the judiciary's power - opinion

This specific amendment is not a limitation placed upon the judiciary’s power of review over acts of the executive. It is indeed the uprooting of this power.

The writer wonders whether all the High Court justices themselves understand the severity of the reasonableness standard amendment.

Israel's government attorney questions 'hasty' Declaration of Independence

Justice Yitzhak Amit said that democracy doesn’t usually die all at once, “democracy dies in small steps.”

 A colorized image of David Ben-Gurion reading Israel’s Declaration of Independence in Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948.

Should Israel's High Court strike down or uphold judicial reform law?

Some 37% of the poll's respondents said that the High Court should dismiss the petitions as opposed to 34% who said it should strike down the law.

 (L-R) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, High Court President Esther Hayut