Dror Choter Yishai, the maverick chairman of the Israeli Bar
Association chairman, is not afraid to fight for a better
justice system in Israel, even if that means challenging the
power of Israeli High Court Presdient Aharon Barak.
At a luncheon at Tel Aviv's Sheraton Hotel, Mr. Choter Yishai
who was the guest of the Industry and Commerce Club, noted
that Chief Justice Aharon Barak has been serving as a justice
for 20 years, but has never heard testimony by a witness.
He said that after being appointed to the Supreme Court,
Barak asked then Chief Justice Shamgar to enable to him to
gain experience listening to witnesses, but Shamgar told
Barak that his request could not be filled at that point.
According to Mr. Choter-Yishai, a judge who has never heard
witnesse lacks the skill in reading protocols containing
cynical nuances, which are not written in the formal court
protocol in the tone they were made.
Mr. Choter-Yishai also said that the Supreme Court prefers to
deal in issues which generate widespread media coverage.
Appeals filed in the Supreme Court receive preference over
other cases that the court should handle, he said.
Every year 1,700 appeals are filed with the Supreme Court. If
one takes into account all of the vacations and holidays,
this boils down to 200 appeals a month. Under such
conditions, Mr. Choter-Yishai said, the court cannot dispense
justice properly.
"Justice Barak thought that these remarks were contempt of
court," Mr. Choter-Yishai said, "but I had to make them."
Mr. Choter-Yishai also criticized the fact that the
professional suitability of judges, who are appointed until
they retire, is not examined during any stage of their
career.
His remarks were echoed during a recent seminar run by Tel
Aviv University, entitled, "The Image of the Judge in Israeli
Society," which included harsh criticism of judges and the
entire legal system in Israel.
Atty. Avigdor Feldman chided the judicial system for being
"simply unable to recognize its mistakes."
Professor Ze'ev Segal, of Tel Aviv University, concurred.
"The judges do not like or accept criticism," he said. "Some
of them have become dizzy with power, such as one judge who
had a woman arrested because her cellular phone went off in
the courtroom, and another judge who ordered the arrest of
the man in charge of court stenographers because they didn't
show up for work..."
Others criticized the High Court for intervening in the
domain of the Knesset.
Even former Chief Justice of the Tel Aviv District Court
Eliyahu Vinograd felt obligated to agree with some of the
criticism, saying that some of the judges have "lost their
proportions, and their position has made them dizzy. Some of
them act without sensitivity towards private citizens who
arrive at the court to have or to see justice done."
