Tardy judges will lose sabbatical - Haaretz

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Wed., December 12, 2007 Tevet 3, 5768

Israel Time: 02:59 (EST+7)

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Tardy judges will lose sabbatical

By Yuval Yoaz

A judge who is behind in more than five cases will not be allowed to go on sabbatical, the Courts Administration has decided.

A judge will be considered behind if no verdict has yet been issued despite the fact that more than 60 days have elapsed since both sides in the case delivered their final summations, or alternatively, even though more than six months have passed since the last witness was heard.

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The new regulations also state that in deciding whether to approve a judge's sabbatical, the Courts Administration will consider how many active cases that judge is currently hearing, as the sabbatical would delay their resolution.

Each judge is entitled to a 30-day sabbatical every year, which they can either take or save up until they have accumulated enough time for a full year off. These sabbaticals are supposed to be used for professional study or research, and after finishing one, the judge must report to the Courts Administration as to what courses have been taken or what subject researched.

In another change, Moshe Gal, the director of the Courts Administration, has decided to almost completely bar the employment of relatives in the court system. Over the last few years, the system has increasingly been criticized for the fact that many judges are related to other judges. During Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's previous tenure as justice minister, she reached an agreement with representatives of the judges that they would voluntarily restrict this practice, in order to forestall legislation on the subject.

The new regulation published yesterday defines a close relative as a spouse, parent, parent-in-law, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, cousin, stepchild or adopted child. It states that the Courts Administration will automatically reject applications for the bench from close relatives of serving judges unless the applicant obtains a written waiver from the director of the Courts Administration.

In the case of more a distant relative, the administration will examine various factors before deciding whether to hire the candidate, including the sitting judge's role in the system, the job for which the relative is applying, the number of relatives the applicant has in the system, and whether the applicant would be serving in the same district as a relative.

Finally, applicants for clerkships will be accepted or rejected by a committee rather than by the judge who needs the clerk, and applicants will have to state whether they have any relatives in the judiciary.

The Courts Administration has also set up, in coordination with the Justice Ministry and Finance Ministry, a committee to examine ways to streamline legal proceedings. This panel is due to submit its recommendations in next May.

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