Public trust in the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, and the State Prosecutor's office rose in 2016, according to the 15th annual public sector performance index published by Haifa University and Ben Gurion University of the Negev (the index began in 2001, but was omitted in 2015). According to the index, public trust was the highest it has been since the index was first published in 2001, following a prolonged downtrend in public trust in the legal system in recent years.
The data, which were gathered until September 2016, show that public trust in the Attorney General and the State Prosecutor's Office is at the highest level since the index began. Trust in judges in general, especially military judges, is high. "This finding is particularly prominent in view of the conflicts and confrontations typical of relations between the political and judicial systems in recent years. The judicial system seems to be the recipient of greater public trust," write Haifa University social sciences faculty dean Prof. Eran Vigoda-Gadot and Haifa University School of Political Sciences lecturer Dr. Nissim Cohen, two of the study's authors.
The index, compiled by Vigoda-Gadot, Cohen and Ben Gurion University Department of Public Policy and Administration Prof. Shlomo Mizrahi, examines public trust in a large number of institutions and public servants and rates them on a scale of 1 to 5, with ratings of 1 and 2 corresponding to great distrust and distrust, respectively, 3 corresponding to medium trust, and ratings of 4 and 5 corresponding to trust and great trust, respectively. The index, currently the most comprehensive in Israel, is based on conservative and reliable methodology providing consistent reporting using tools for a comparative assessment of the public's views and concepts towards a wide range of the services it receives. This is the only index currently capable of providing a comprehensive long-term perspective on the connection between the public, public administration, and government in Israel. A representative sample of the entire adult population in Israel numbering 453 people participated in the survey. The data were gathered in May-September 2016.
Public trust in the legal system reached a peak of 3.25, the highest level since the index was started in 2001, compared with 3.07 in 2014. This puts the legal system in fifth place in Israel among the 22 public institutions examined.
Highest rating in eight years
The highest level of trust - 3.18, compared with 3.07 in 2014 - was in the Supreme Court. This is the highest level since 2008, when measurement of public trust in the Supreme Court began. The District and Magistrates Courts received a 3.12 rating, compared with 2.99 in 2014, also the highest ratings for these institutions since 2008.
Three institutions on which controversy has focused in recent years, the Attorney General, the State Prosecutor's Office, and the State Comptroller, also enjoy a high level of public trust. Trust in the Attorney General rose from 3.01 in 2014 to 3.05 in 2016, the highest rating in the eight years since its measurement began.
The increase in trust in the State Prosecutor's Office was steeper, rising from 2.97 in 2014 to 3.11 in 2016, also the highest level in the past eight years. Public trust in the State Comptroller, however, is rated at 3.12, its lowest level in 15 years, compared with 3.3 in 2014.
Medium rating for courts
The level of trust in the judges themselves is high to very high. The level of trust is in military judges 3.47 and 3.38 in non-military judges. "The index was compiled before the recent case of Elor Azaria, the soldier who shot a wounded terrorist, and it will be interesting to see whether this case has much effect on public trust in the military judges, which has been consistently high for the past 15 years," the researchers wrote.
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on January 23, 2017
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