The independence of the legal profession is a critical requirement for maintaining the rule of law. An important subset of the independence of the legal profession is the independence of the judiciary. One particularly invidious form of attack is the subtle and non-obvious approach of undermining or hijacking the judicial appointments process. Where the judicial appointments process is unduly influenced or controlled, it results in the appointment of judicial officers who have lost their independence even before they get onto the bench, as they are beholden to those who facilitate their appointments. These facilitators could be members of the executive arm of government, influential politicians or businessmen, or sitting or past judicial officers.

This approach to undermining judicial independence is coming to a head now in Israel, where the Executive arm of government is no longer relying on subtlety but is seeking to take absolute control of the judicial appointments process and to arrogate powers to itself to overrule judicial decisions.

Please note that even if you are unable to join the Annual Conference, you can still register for the Rule of Law Symposium for free. If you are NOT already registered for the Annual Conference and would like to attend the Rule of Law Symposium, you must pre-register by Wednesday 1 November by completing the Rule of Law Symposium registration form. There is no registration fee to attend the Symposium.