Justice Esther Hayut chosen next head of Israel’s Supreme Court

Esther Hayut, 63, was chosen Tuesday by the Judicial Selection Committee as next chief justice of Israel’s Supreme Court. Associate justice since 2003, Hayut will later this month be sworn in as chief justice for a six-year term, in place of the outgoing Miriam Naor. The committee elected associate justice Hanan Melcer as Hayut’s deputy. Committee member MK Nurit Koren (Likud) abstained from Tuesday’s vote in protest of the tradition of selecting the chief justice solely according to seniority and only from among serving court members.