State President Moshe Katsav swore in Justice Eliezer Rivlin as deputy president of the Supreme Court in a ceremony at the President's Residence on Thursday afternoon.

The ceremony was attended by Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit, Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch and former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak.

Katsav decided that he would conduct Rivlin's swearing-in ceremony and would not ask the Knesset to declare him "temporarily incapacitated" on account of the criminal investigation against him, as he did when Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch was installed.

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Sheetrit defended Katsav's decision, telling reporters there was nothing wrong with him presiding over the event.

Rivlin, who had planned to begin a vacation in the United States in a few days and be sworn in after he returned, was instead notified Wednesday that he would be sworn in on Thursday.

Sources in the President's Residence said that Katsav declared himself "temporarily incapacitated" during Beinisch's inauguration because the installation of a Supreme Court president is a rare and special event, and Katsav did not want to divert public and media attention from the incoming chief justice.

However, the sources said, Katsav intends to fulfill all his presidential duties as long as he is president, and he remains innocent until proven guilty. Among other things, Katsav plans to attend the opening of the Knesset's winter session and continue handling pardons.

Rivlin, 64, married and a father of four, is a seventh-generation Israeli. After graduating from Hebrew University with a bachelor's degree in law, he worked as a lawyer in Be'er Sheva.

Thirty years ago, he was appointed a traffic court judge. He later served as a magistrate's court judge in Kiryat Gat, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Dimona and Be'er Sheva, then moved up to the district courts, and in 1999 was appointed a Supreme Court justice. He has a master's degree in law from Tel Aviv University and specializes in torts, constitutional law, economic law and freedom of expression.

Meanwhile, Beinisch and her recently retired predecessor, Aharon Barak, attended a ceremony sponsored by the Haifa Bar Association on Wednesday to mark the start of the legal year. Barak said that he is leaving the stage "peacefully. I know that when the curtain comes down, one must leave the stage. It's pathetic to see people wandering on stage after the curtain has come down."

Barak added that contrary to previous statements, he does not intend to leave Israel; rather, he plans to sit in his room and write essays on the law.

Barak said that Beinisch was the most "emotionally, physically and intellectually suitable person to serve as Supreme Court president."