In Israel, the Supreme Court rejects a major provision of the highly contested justice reform carried out by Benjamin Netanyahu

2024-01-01 19:12:56

The fifteen judges of the Israeli Supreme Court rejected on Monday January 1 a key part of Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial judicial reform. The Prime Minister’s project has deeply divided Israeli society since the start of 2023. Numerous demonstrations have taken place.

In a ruling Monday, the court narrowly voted, by an 8-7 majority, in favor of overturning. The Supreme Court considered appeals filed against a first clause of the reform bill, which was adopted by Parliament at the end of July. This measure aims precisely to prevent Supreme Court judges from overturning government decisions on the grounds that they are “unreasonable”which she has done several times so far.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin accused the court of “assume all powers”after his decision. “In fact, the judges [de la Cour suprême] take into their hands, with this decision, all the powers which, in a democratic regime, are distributed in a balanced manner between the three powers”executive, legislative and judicial, wrote the minister on Telegram. He also criticized the publication of this judgment “in the middle of war [dans la bande de Gaza]which goes against the unity necessary in these days for the success of our fighters on the front..

Likud, Mr. Netanyahu’s party, criticized the timing of this decision, asserting that it was “regrettable that the Supreme Court decided to publish its verdict at the heart of a social debate in Israel while soldiers from the right and the left fight and risk their lives in the countryside”. “The Court’s decision is contrary to the people’s desire for unity, especially in times of war”added the party.

Protest movement

Since its announcement at the beginning of January 2023, the government project has given rise to one of the largest protest movements that Israel has experienced since its creation in 1948.

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According to the government, the reform aimed, among other things, at rebalancing powers, by reducing the prerogatives of the Supreme Court for the benefit of Parliament. Opponents of the reform, for their part, fear that the proposed changes, by removing safeguards against the action of the legislative and executive power, will tip Israeli democracy towards an illiberal system.

They accuse Mr. Netanyahu, on trial for several cases of corruption and conflict of interest, of wanting this reform to get out of his legal troubles. The Prime Minister has not yet reacted to the decision.

Israel does not have a Constitution or the equivalent of an upper house of Parliament, and the doctrine on “reasonableness” was specifically used to allow judges to determine whether a government is overstepping its prerogatives.

The Supreme Court also ruled that it had the authority to invalidate a basic law “in rare and exceptional cases in which Parliament exceeds its authority”. The Basic Laws serve as the Constitution in Israel.

Also read the analysis: Article reserved for our subscribers In Israel, irreparable divisions after the Supreme Court battle

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