Shaked: If a judge has transgressed, he won't remain a judge
In wake of outcry over apparent coordination between judge and attorney in Case 4000, justice minister says she would impeach any judge found to have committed a criminal offense, adds Ombudsman for Complaints against Judges expected to submit opinion on matter to her on Monday evening.
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said Monday she would impeach any judge who commits a criminal offense, noting "If we learn of a judge who transgressed, he won't remain a judge."
"If the need arises, I will convene the Judicial Selection Committee and we will enact the impeachment authority," she said.
Shaked delivered a statement at the outset of a Bayit Yehudi party meeting after the release of an exchange of text messages between a judge and a prosecution attorney in which the two appear to be coordinating on the remand extension of suspects.
"I was outraged along with all Israeli citizens," Shaked said. "The correspondence that was revealed constitutes a serious blow to the public's trust in the judicial system."
The justice minister said she and Supreme Court Chief Justice Esther Hayut turned to the Ombudsman for Complaints against Judges on Sunday night and asked him to hold an urgent examination of the matter.
"If the examination raises suspicions of criminal activity, the Ombudsman will pass on the case to the attorney general," Shaked said.
She said Judge Poznanski-Katz, who has been replaced on the case, was already questioned by the Ombudsman for Complaints, former justice Eliezer Rivlin, on Monday morning, while attorney Shacham-Shavit was questioned under caution as well.
"The Ombudsman will submit an opinion on the matter to me and to the chief justice this very evening," Shaked noted.
The justice minister went on to say that "a regular person who is put under arrest loses his world in an instant. Every person has the right to the presumption of innocence, and this must not be taken lightly."
"I want to stress that the State of Israel is not a corrupt state. The judicial system in Israel is not corrupt. In a corrupt country, yesterday's report would have been covered up. Not in the State of Israel and not on my watch," she vowed.
Yesh Atid leader MK Yair Lapid also weighed in on the issue, stating that “what happened yesterday was the worst thing and we need to think what steps need to be taken."
The matter, he said, could not remain limited to a disciplinary hearing and “must be dealt with seriously.”
“I don’t think that this says a thing about the Israeli judicial system and I don’t think that we need, at the moment, to throw the baby out with the bathwater because of one bad incident, however serious it may be,” he said.
Lapid remained adamant that the multiple investigations had to continue will full force. “The cases are serious. They need to continue to be investigated and I suggest that if everyone is so shocked, they should save some of that shock for the last few cases that have been exposed,” he stated.
Lapid also called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign or to appoint a replacement leader from the Likud while he is enveloped in the the corruption cases.
“Netanyahu should appoint a permanent replacement for himself. He should take one of the senior Likudniks and nominate him as the deputy prime minister,” Lapid argued.
“He should make sure that he is apprised of the sensitive security matters and on the sensitive diplomatic matters.”
In the coming weeks, the prime minister is going to be extremely busy with the investigations, Lapid continued, “and in order to ensure that the state continues to fully function, he should have someone next to him who knows the system. Even in normal times, it is not reasonable for a prime minister not to have a permanent deputy,” Lapid said.
“Is there not even one minister, not one Cabinet member, who can be the deputy prime minister?” he asked.
On Monday afternoon the Ombudsman Rivlin, notified Hayut and Shaked of his intention to complete collecting materials related to the inquiry into the conduct of Judge Poznanski-Katz within the day.
Rivlin will then put together his conclusions, replying to the request made by the chief justice and justice minister, and submit them by Tuesday afternoon.
The Justice Ministry said Hayut and Shaked intended to allow Rivlin's decision to be made public after they receive it, and upon its review will jointly decide which steps—if any—should be taken against Judge Poznanski-Katz.
