2024-01-02 11:47:02
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Israel, December 24, 2023. POOL /VIA REUTERS
The war did not influence his decision. The Israeli Supreme Court invalidated, Monday January 1, a key provision of the very controversial judicial reform promoted by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, which planned to remove from the judiciary the right to rule on “reasonableness” decisions of the Israeli executive or parliament. Architect of this reform and number two in the government, the Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, accused the Court of “assume all powers”. “In fact, the judges hold in their hands, with this decision, all the powers which, in a democratic regime, are distributed in a balanced manner between the three powers [exécutif, législatif et judiciaire] »he castigated, not without criticizing the publication of this judgment “in the middle of war, which goes against the unity necessary for the success of our combatants on the front”.
Rejected by eight of the fifteen judges, the invalidated measure had triggered one of the largest protest movements in the history of Israel, eclipsed, since, by the war waged by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the bloody attack launched on October 7 by Hamas on Hebrew territory. The Supreme Court’s decision brings to the forefront a subject that has deeply divided society, leading to the most massive protest in the history of this country of nine million inhabitants.
Every week for seven months, from January until the summer, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in unison, according to polls, with a majority of public opinion. The power of the movement, however, did not make Benjamin Netanyahu back down. After pretending to negotiate, the Prime Minister finally supported the reform passed, in a first stage, in July 2023.
An institutional void filled
This consisted mainly of an amendment, by simple majority, of a Basic Law – a body of rules serving as the Constitution in Israel – removing from the high court the power to annul a government decision for reasons judged “unreasonable”. This power was used to prevent appointments in the executive or to invalidate administrative decisions, for ethical issues or against risks of corruption or conflict of interest. It was notably used to remove, in February 2023, Arié Déri, the leader of the Shass party, a powerful ally in Benyamin Netanyahu’s coalition, from a ministerial post, even though he had committed not to seek a portfolio. .
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