Last update - 00:00 06/02/2007
Cabinet unanimously okays Supreme Court critic as Justice Minister
By Mazal Mualem and Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondents
The cabinet on Tuesday unanimously approved Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's choice for the next justice minister, Professor Daniel Friedmann.
At the opening of the cabinet meeting, Olmert said the appointment of Friedman "will ensure the preservation and protection of the rights of Israeli citizens, and first and foremost the protection of the Supreme Court's honor."
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz called the selection "an exemplary appointment."
The appointment will be brought before the Knesset plenum on Wednesday.
Friedmann has spoken out strongly for curbs on the Supreme Court's powers, and his expected nomination may spark head-on confrontations with Chief Justice Dorit Beinish and Attorney General Menachem Mazuz.
The position is being temporarily filled by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Olmert had hoped that Kadima MK Haim Ramon would return to the post, but that hope was dashed last week when Ramon was convicted of indecent behavior.
Friedmann, a professor of law for decades, is seen as a prodigy in the field of civil law, in particular contract and insurance law.
Livni said in response to Friedmann's appointment, "We must strengthen public faith in the justice system and law enforcement. This is the mission facing Professor Friedmann, and I am sure he will know how to do this in a most fitting matter."
Taking on Supreme Court
In recent years, however, he has come to public attention through a series of articles he wrote in Yedioth Ahronoth, lambasting the Supreme Court, the State Prosecutor's Office, and the judiciary system.
Among Friedmann's stances on judicial issues: