Concerns over "improper administration" as a result of
apparent or alleged nepotism have been brought before the
High Court recently as part of appeals to prevent Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon from sending his son on diplomatic
assignments. Since then several reporters pointed out a
similar problem that could develop within the legal system
itself where appointing relatives has become an established
practice and an open secret.
This parallels an article recently published in the legal
section of Globes. The financial daily reports that
court presidents generally use various ways of dealing with
slow judges, such as not allowing judges who delay handing
down rulings to take vacations or to participate in advanced
study programs, ". . . but this tough policy somehow skipped
over the vice president of the National Labor Court,
Elisheva Barak, who is not known to be particularly
efficient."
Recently the High Court President's wife received approval
for a five-week course of study in Frankfurt. The many cases
awaiting her ruling will have to continue to wait.
The newspaper reports that the following incident can be
used as an indication of the vice president of the Labor
Court's output: In 1998 Elisheva Barak issued a ruling in a
suit filed in 1994. When the decision was handed down, one
of the sides requested that it be repealed or changed. For
Barak, this matter was not particularly pressing: she took
two years to hand down another ruling. One year ago the same
party filed a request with the Labor Court for an early
decision. To bring the case to an end, the other side agreed
to the request. Since the request was filed another year has
passed, and no decision has been issued.
The court administration was asked by Globes why the
trip was approved, despite the standard policy of not
allowing judges who delay handing down a ruling to take
vacations or study leaves.
The reply: "Barak was summoned personally by the Faculty of
Law at the University of Frankfurt to take part in Labor
Department activities there. It should be noted that the
professors at this law faculty are among the leading
academics in the field of European labor law and there is no
need to belabor the importance of this opportunity to meet
with them to develop and enrich labor law here in Israel. In
addition the Vice President was invited to tour Germany's
various labor courts. By studying their system and
evaluating the possibility of implementing aspects of it
here, there can be no doubt that everyone stands to benefit.
She will also participate [together with German professors]
in a conference in Oslo on work relations. The Vice
President, who speaks German, was chosen to make the trip
because she was invited there personally due to her long-
standing acquaintance with the German hosts, after preparing
to make such a trip for several years. The trip is at her
own expense [in terms of vacation days and is not considered
part of a sabbatical or a study-break] and is not being
financed by the court administration. We view this trip as a
one-time opportunity to forge contact and unmediated ties
with the `framers' of progressive German labor law, both in
theory and practice, and it is clear to us that the
information to be gained from this trip is relevant to cases
pending in our own courts. It goes without saying that
backlog rulings and more will have to be completed during
the course of the vacation."
Nevertheless, the newspaper maintains, this trip is not
consistent with the policy regarding slow judges.
Globes notes that Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit, who
addressed the issue during recent visits to magistrate
courts in Tel Aviv and Ashkelon, said that he would not
approve vacations, study breaks, lectures and absences-or-
leave for book writing for judges who delay rulings. "For
now, based on the case of Barak, it does not seem that
Sheetrit is serious about carrying out his threats."
