After nearly a year and a half delay, the appointment of Supreme Court President Isaac Amit will finally be published in the state gazette, a declarative step formally announcing his appointment, following a ruling Tuesday by the Supreme Court in its capacity as the High Court of Justice.

The ruling comes after a hearing in the High Court earlier in the morning in which Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who has steadfastly refused to publish Amit’s appointment in the gazette, did not object to Director of the Israel Courts Administration Tzahi Ouziel taking the necessary steps to publish the appointment.

The resolution of the impasse came after the High Court ruled on Sunday that Amit was lawfully appointment president in January 2025 despite Levin’s objections, and that Levin had acted unlawfully by refusing to cooperate with Amit for the appointment of senior figures in the judiciary, such as court presidents and deputy presidents, and a Supreme Court registrar, among others.

The ruling is the denouement of a nearly three-year war Levin has fought against Amit and the High Court, starting in October 2023 when he first refused to convene the Judicial Selection Committee to elect a new Supreme Court president, and then refused to complete the procedural steps for confirming and announcing his Amit’s appointment for 17 months.

Levin has also driven forward the government’s general boycott of the head of the judiciary, which has seen Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana refuse to invite Amit to several key events at the Knesset, including the historic addresses of US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the chamber.

Tuesday’s ruling does not, however, mean that Levin will necessarily comply with the court’s more substantive order from Sunday to cooperate with Amit to make the senior judicial appointments.

Eliad Shraga, head of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel which petitioned the court against Levin’s refusal to cooperate with Amit, lauded his organization’s legal victory, describing it as “another knockout” against the justice minister delivered by the High Court.

“For many months, the justice minister tried to gut [Amit’s] lawful........

© The Times of Israel