Last update - 00:00 22/11/2006
Ex-Supreme Court pres. pulled from panel over conflicts of interest
By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondent and Haaretz Service
Supreme Court of Justice President Dorit Beinisch on Wednesday removed the court's former president, Aharon Barak, from a panel of justices ruling on a petition for reforms in Israel's child adoption policy, due to conflicts of interest.
Barak officially heads a panel of seven justices reviewing a petition submitted by the Center for Pluralistic Judaism, the legal arm of the Movement for Progressive Judaism, against the Welfare Ministry. The petition calls for an end to the custom of placing non-Jewish children for adoption with Orthodox families only.
Barak was recently awarded an honorary doctorate from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, the movement's academic arm, and his decision to remain at the head of the panel has raised public ire.
The court administration clarified before Barak accepted the degree that the panel's ruling would be written by another justice. According to the law, the outgoing court president has three months in which to write the rulings in all the cases in which he or she was involved.
Panel member Justice Mishael Cheshin was replaced after his retirement by Justice Edmond Levy. However, Barak, who finished his term on September 14, still appears in the file as head of the panel.
The Movement for Fairness in Government, the ultra-Orthodox version of the Movement for Quality Government, last week accused Barak of receiving favors from a party in a legal proceeding. The Movement for Progressive Judaism said it had waited to grant the degree to Barak until after he retired.