April 19, 1982

In the more than four years Mayor Koch has been making judicial appointments, he has kept his pledge to erase politics from the system, both critics and admirers say. Despite Mr. Koch's sometimes harsh criticism of the judiciary as too lenient, he has not appointed judges who, as a group, reflect his hard line. Instead, most criminal-justice experts contend, he has named men and women of generally high quality who have proved to be balanced in their approach to criminal justice and independent of the Mayor's philosophy. The Mayor's appointments have been based on standards set by an independent review panel. In a shared judgment usually meant as praise - but not necessarily taken that way by Mr. Koch - a broad range of judges, lawyers and public officials said in interviews that the Mayor's actions bore little resemblance to his often strong public statements.

Secretary of State Alexander M.Haig Jr., in remarks here apparently aimed at exerting pressure on Argentina in the Falkland Islands crisis, reaffirmed Sunday that the United States had longstanding obligations to Britain. At the same time, amid signs that his talks with Argentine leaders were becoming increasingly strained, Mr. Haig suggested that both sides put off for now the problem of dealing with the crucial issue of sovereignty for the disputed islands in the South Atlantic. Mr. Haig's latest round of talks ended at almost 2 A.M. this morning, after some 11 1/2 hours of in the presidential palace. A State Department spokesman, Dean Fischer, said the talks would continue at 9:30 A.M. this morning. In a clear attempt to put further pressure on the Argentines to begin to compromise more, Mr. Fischer said that Mr. Haig would decide today whether to go to London to continue his shuttle diplomacy or return to Washington, an apparent threat to break off his efforts to avert a war.

It will not be easy to watch the New York City Fire Department's new public service message - a message delivered by a woman whose family perished and who was disfigured in a fire that started when her husband fell asleep while smoking a cigarette. The television spot is supposed to be as striking as the statistic cited by its sponsors: Nearly one-third of the deaths and injuries in residential fires occur in blazes started by smoldering cigarettes, far more than any other single cause. Legislators in four state houses and on Capitol Hill have been considering one solution, the self-extinguishing cigarette. The debate over its merits will be coming soon to Albany.

''There is something positive, which is the fact that negotiations continue.

The Israeli Army began evicting Jewish protesters from one of the northern Sinai settlements this morning as Israel's two chief rabbis pleaded with other militants not to carry out their threats to commit suicide. The Defense Ministry ordered all journalists out of the area as the army moved into a small encampment called Talmei Yosef. There were no immediate reports of injuries on either side, although the more militant protesters, located in the township of Yamit, have threatened violence against Israeli troops.