Israel’s High Court on Monday took the historic step of overturning the government’s highly controversial law that would have curtailed the ability of the courts to review and annul government decisions and appointments that fail to meet the judicial standard of “reasonableness,” The Medialine reports.
The judgment was reported in all media outlets, but coming amid the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, it failed to garner the massive headlines and furious public debates that it would have prompted only a few months ago.
Before the war, the country was torn apart by deep divisions over the government’s planned judicial reforms, which largely aimed to reduce the powers of the judiciary.
On Monday, the court overturned the law by a vote of 8 to 7, strictly along ideological affiliations. It was the first time that any court has struck down a Basic Law or an amendment to a Basic Law. It was noteworthy that 13 of the 15 judges, including some sworn in under right-wing conservative governments led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, agreed that the courts do have the authority to review Basic Laws or amendments to Basic Laws.
“The verdict has essentially decided the fate of the whole reform,” attorney Ze’ev Lev, legal counsel for the Movement for Governability and Democracy, told The Media Line. “The reform was an attempt to regularize the regime through legislation. This verdict means that any reform will not be through legislation, because the High Court will not allow for this.”
We are now in a type of anarchy. The court ruled that the Basic Law won, meaning it can use the reasonableness standard, but the Knesset and the government claim that the court does not have the authority to strike down a Basic Law, making the verdict void.
However, Lev said the verdict had left a vacuum in the judicial-political balance.
“We are now in a type of anarchy,” he said. “The court ruled that the Basic Law won, meaning it can use the reasonableness standard, but the Knesset and the government claim that the court does not have the authority to strike down a Basic Law, making the verdict void. This essentially means there is no democratic process in Israel regarding the authority of the High Court, making it omnipotent.”
Opponents of the judicial reforms expressed satisfaction with the verdict.
Dr. Amir Fuchs, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, told The Media Line that the ruling means that the courts have the reasonableness standard at their disposal when deliberating cases.
