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Last update - 01:32 03/07/2008 A ruling of protest and warning By Haaretz Editorial Tags: israel, edmond levy  Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy decided on Tuesday to release a sex offender until a ruling is given on his appeal. The man, Moshe Gorelik, was convicted by the Tel Aviv District Court of raping and molesting minor girls under the age of 16. Last month he was sentenced, among other things, to 30 months in prison. Justice Levy explained that he granted the motion to delay the sentence not because he was convinced that the defendant's appeal would be successful, but out of fear that "the Supreme Court will not be able to hear the appeal at an early date due to its heavy workload." The judge stressed that, under the current conditions, the defendant may serve out most of his prison sentence before he is able to enact his right to appeal. The words of Justice Levy, who is known for his sensitivity on civil rights matters, carry a special legal-moral validity because the right of appeal is guaranteed as a basic constitutional right anchored in Israel's Basic Law on the Judiciary. This right is revoked de facto if a defendant finishes serving out a sentence before his appeal is heard. In the absence of conclusive, unequivocal proof that the criminal will repeat his crimes, it is hard to justify his imprisonment if there are appropriate guarantees that he will appear for trial. Advertisement In any case, Justice Levy's ruling is a protest and warning sign against the unreasonable workload faced by most Israeli courts, including the Supreme Court. Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann and Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch discussed this urgent issue this week during their meeting with the judges of the Tel Aviv District Court, which is buckling under the weight of its case load. The overload problem is shared by the entire judiciary, which does not make enough of an effort to move cases from courts with a large backlog to less busy ones. Many more judges are needed, and the ones added in recent years are not enough. While the problem as a whole must be addressed, there is no ignoring the particular burden faced by the Supreme Court. Unlike the top courts in other countries, Israel's Supreme Court hears not only cases that involve weighty issues of principle, it also functions as an appellate court, to which any defendant whose case has been heard by a district court may appeal. The feeble way this problem has been handled is in large part due to disputes over the appointment of new judges. The Supreme Court currently needs three new justices to fill the existing 15 positions. The justice minister opposes the appointment of acting justices on a temporary basis to the Supreme Court, and has even proposed a bill that will state this explicitly. The current legislation makes it possible to appoint retired judges to temporary positions on Israel's various courts, but for some reason it does not permit this in the case of Israel's top court. The appointment of new Supreme Court justices requires an urgent overhaul: Acting justices must be named to the Supreme Court for a limited period to hear appeals on criminal cases, and the law must be amended so that retired Supreme Court justices might be named to temporary seats on the court. The heads of Israel's legal system must join forces to prevent judicial delays that are tantamount to a distortion of justice. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Killing spree Police conclude Jerusalem bulldozer killer acted alone. The Bar exam Attention celebrities: Israeli start-up company can save you from paparazzi   1.   A warning about judges priorities 12:16  |  Jessica 04/07/08   2.   Ideological Court 20:16  |  Ben Hamarav 04/07/08   3.   So short a sentence? 17:10  |  Joseph 06/07/08   4.   Judiciary 09:24  |  Fussion 07/07/08

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