MK Simcha Rothman, the outgoing chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, submitted no fewer than 85 bills at the opening of the 26th Knesset, including about 20 concerning changes to the judicial system and further advancement of the judicial reform.
Of the bills Rothman submitted, 82 are private members' bills, while three were submitted by the Constitution Committee under his chairmanship in the previous Knesset.
The key proposals include three bills that passed their first reading in the previous Knesset and were being prepared for their second and third readings.
The first is the proposed Basic Law: Authority to Investigate and Prosecute; the second is the proposed Basic Law: The Judiciary (Amendment No. 4); and the third is the Attorney General and Prosecutor General Bill, which is co-sponsored by 16 other Knesset members.
The third proposal is intended to regulate the appointment of the attorney general and prosecutor general following the division of the existing position into two separate roles.
Alongside these proposals, Rothman submitted seven additional bills concerning the judicial system that had passed preliminary readings in the previous Knesset and were being prepared for their first reading.
These include the proposed Basic Law: Override Clause, a proposal to deny legal standing to those who reward terrorism, the assignment of Supreme Court panels through a computerized system, and a proposal to allow the state to appeal acquittals in criminal proceedings.
Rothman made clear that he intends to continue advancing the judicial reform in the new Knesset, regardless of which government is formed.
He said, "Anyone who thought the judicial reform was off the agenda is getting an answer today. The 85 bills resubmitted at the opening of the 26th Knesset, including about 20 to reform the judicial system, show that the reform is continuing not through slogans, but through legislation. We will continue to advance it under any government that is formed."