From the BBC:
“Israel Supreme Court strikes
down judicial reforms”
Israel's Supreme Court has struck
down a controversial judicial reform that triggered nationwide protests last
year against the Netanyahu government. The change would have limited the power
of the Supreme Court in overturning laws it deemed unconstitutional. Critics
say it would have severely undermined the country's democracy by weakening the
judicial system. There is strong opposition to the current Netanyahu
government, seen as the most right-wing in Israeli history. The Supreme Court's
decision to overturn the law passed by the government in 2023 follows months of
internal turmoil.
In July, the government passed
into law what is now known as the "reasonableness" bill. This removed
the power of the Supreme Court and lower courts in Israel to cancel government
decisions it deemed to be "extremely unreasonable". The law caused
widespread anger and division, prompting hundreds of thousands of protesters to
take the streets calling for the reforms to be scrapped - and for the
resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Organisers said the weekly
protests were the biggest street demonstrations in Israel's history.
At the time, hundreds of military
reservists - including air force pilots - threatened to refuse to report for
service, which led to warnings that this could impair Israel's military
capabilities. A statement from the Supreme Court said that 8 out of 15 judges
ruled against the law, adding it would have caused "severe and
unprecedented damage to the basic characteristics of the State of Israel as a
democratic state". Israel's justice minister and architect of the law
Yariv Levin criticised the judges for "taking into their hands all the
powers" and called their decision to strike it down undemocratic. But
opposition leader Yair Lapid welcomed the verdict, saying on X (formerly
Twitter) that the country's top court had "faithfully fulfilled its role
in protecting the citizens of Israel". One of the organisers involved in
last year's large-scale protests against the law also welcomed the court's
ruling. Shikma Bressler said in a video statement that the Supreme Court had
for the moment removed "the sword of dictatorship from around our
necks".
The "reasonableness"
law was part of a wider series of judicial reforms introduced by the Netanyahu
government. These would have weakened the power of the Supreme Court to review
or throw out laws, enabling a simple majority of one in the Knesset
(parliament) to overrule such decisions. The government has also attempted to
gain greater power over appointing judges, and to scrap the requirement for
ministers to obey the advice of their legal advisers.
Mr Netanyahu has argued that the
changes are required to redress the balance between the judges and the
politicians. The Supreme Court's ruling threatens to further undermine
confidence in his government. Mr Netanyahu's Likud party said the decision
opposed "the will of the people for unity, especially during
wartime". Israel's leadership has been under pressure domestically for its
perceived failure for preventing Hamas's attack on 7 October, and for so far
proving unable to rescue all the Israeli hostages who were taken into Gaza.
^ This was the right decision for
the Israeli Supreme Court to make. ^
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