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del.icio.us Digg It!  new Last update - 22:56 07/11/2007 Former Supreme Court chief slams planned justice system reforms By Yuval Yoaz and Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondents tags: Justice Ministry  Retired Supreme Court President Aharon Barak harshly criticized Wednesday the planned series of reforms the government intends to implement in the legal system. This marked the first time Barak publicly criticized Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, who intends to introduce legislation that is meant to increase the authority of the political system and decrease the power of the Supreme Court. Until now, Barak stayed silent regarding the planned reforms, and even attempted to broker between Friedmann and Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch, along with retired Supreme Court President Meir Shamgar. Barak made his comments in the presence of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, at an awards ceremony for the Emet Prize for Art, Science and Culture in Jerusalem, where he himself received an award. Advertisement Barak made referrals to numerous reforms Friedmann plans to implement, such as the proposal to change the arrangement of the committee to select judges, the proposal to authorize the justice minister to transfer cases between courts, and the proposal to allow the Knesset to overcome a Supreme Court ruling. "This we must know. There won't be judges in Jerusalem if political considerations have an increased power in judicial appointments. There won't be judges in Jerusalem if the government manages the court system," Barak said. "There won't be judges in Jerusalem if the court cannot give support to whoever turns to the court claiming a severe blow to the rule of law?If there won't be judges in Jerusalem, there won't be democracy in Israel. One who asks to defend the democracy must defend the judges in Jerusalem," he continued. Barak also commented on the government's decision to cut power supplies to Gaza Strip, saying there is a constant need to balance between human rights and security. "I hope that the Knesset and the government will not attempt to tip this gentle balance," he said. He also expressed hope that Olmert will oppose any action that would harm the balance between human rights and security needs Bookmark to del.icio.us And again... Olmert was voted the most corrupt politician for the 2nd year in a row. Political transfer Lieberman wants to outlaw the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee.   1.   Former Supreme Court chief slams planned justice system reforms 01:31  |  Norman Winter 08/11/07

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