The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5-0 to recommend approval of Associate Justice Mark Recktenwald’s appointment as chief justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court.

The recommendation goes to the full Senate, which is scheduled to vote on the appointment tomorrow.

Recktenwald would be the state’s fifth chief justice, replacing Ronald Moon who stepped down this week because of the state constitutional mandatory retirement provision requiring judges and justices to retire at age 70.

Moon turns 70 on Saturday.

Paula Nakayama, the most senior associate justice on the five-member high court, is acting chief justice until the new one is sworn in.