01528pab a2200145 454500008004000000100001700040245010800057260000900165300001300174362001200187520110500199650002701304650001801331773003301349180718b2001   xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d  aAmado, Rivka  aChecks, balances, and appointments in the public service: Israeli experience in comparative perspective  c2001  ap.569-84  aSep-Oct  aThis article explores the process of appointing government ministers and senior executive officials in Israel.  It provides several case studies of the appointment process in the 1990s, a period of hyperfragmentation in the Israeli parliament.  These studies reveal evidence of gross irresponsibility in the appointment process, as well as a lack of a meaningful oversight and checks in the process.  One consequence is that the Israeli High Court was asked to intervene and review and reject a number of these appointments.  The article argues that although well meaning, this intervention represents a dangerous new trend; this new role for the Courts is both inappropriate and counterproductive.  It is inappropriate because judicial intervention imposes a legal solution when a political solution is called for, and it is counterproductive because frequent judicial intervention weakens both the judiciary and the political process.  The article concludes with a proposal for an alternative approach to cope with the lack of meaningful oversight in the political-appointment process. - Reproduced  aCivil service - Israel  aCivil service  aPublic Administration Review