Israel
Supreme Court overturns key element of Netanyahu’s controversial judicial reform
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suffered a serious defeat in the Supreme Court.
© Menahem Kahana/Pool AFP/AP / DPA
Israel’s Supreme Court has overturned a key element of judicial reform. In a ruling published on Monday, the judges declared a change in the law passed in July null and void.
Israel’s Supreme Court on Monday invalidated a key element of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government’s controversial judicial reform. As the court announced, eight out of 15 judges voted against a change to the law on the so-called adequacy clause passed by Parliament in July. The amendment to the clause was intended to deprive the Supreme Court of the ability to classify government decisions as “unreasonable” and overturn them.
The right-wing religious government’s plans to restructure the judiciary have deeply divided the country. The plaintiffs against the law restricting the so-called adequacy clause had argued that it weakens the judiciary as a pillar of Israeli democracy. They fear that disempowering the judiciary could pave the way for an authoritarian state.
Parliament passed the law restricting judicial powers with a narrow majority in July despite ongoing protests. Netanyahu’s government, a coalition of his Likud party and right-wing extremist and ultra-Orthodox parties, considers the legal changes necessary to readjust the balance of power in the separation of powers.