Chief Justice Barak opposed to Gavison's High Court nomination
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After months of speculation in the legal system over the candidacy of Professor Ruth Gavison to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Aharon Barak on Friday expressed his opposition to her nomination, staking a position that puts him at loggerheads with Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who is working to promote her candidacy.
Speaking at a conference in Netanya, Barak said that "Ruthie is a good friend of mine. I think she's a legitimate candidate. She's a talented person and completely apt to be named a High Court Justice, but that's not the question."
Barak went on to explain that Gavison's professional view on the High Court's role in balancing the other government braches - which Gavison has often made public - is what raises his opposition.
"Had Ruth not expressed her views on the role of court in a democratic society, I wouldn't have asked her myself," the president of the Supreme Court said. He added that in such an event he would have agreed to her candidacy as justice, but hinted that it would have depended on other considerations, too, such as "judgmental temperament."
Unlike past candidates, Barak said, Gavison has made public her personal "agenda."
"Since the creation of the Supreme Court, we have never asked candidates for their opinion on the role of court. These are things that a judge learns, internalizes and defines in the process. We always looked for the most talented judges, and that's the best way."
By not exposing their 'agenda,' Barak said, the justices represented a wide spectrum of different views. "This is pluralism. I don't want everyone to think like me, but to have the most talented people."
"Ruthie has an agenda, which is in itself not good. This is not our method," he said.