It’s a setback for Prime Minister Netanyahu: Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled that the impeachment law will not come into force until the next legislative session. The reasoning behind the law was that it came about out of personal interest.
A change in the law that makes it more difficult to remove a head of government from office in Israel is not due to come into force until the next legislative period. This was decided by the High Court in Jerusalem in a ruling published on Wednesday. Six out of eleven judges were in favor of such a postponement.
The reason given was that the law was clearly tailored to a specific person. Parliament therefore abused its authority by approving the change in the law. It decided in March that a three-quarters majority would be required to remove a prime minister from office.
Opposition: Law “indecent”
The change was particularly controversial because it was seen as personally tailored to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his needs. He is accused of wanting to protect himself against impeachment. A corruption trial has been ongoing against the 74-year-old for a long time. The opposition condemned the new law as “indecent and corrupt”.
According to the change in the law, a prime minister could only be removed from office for mental or other health reasons. This was intended to prevent the Supreme Court or the Attorney General from exerting influence.
Core element of the judicial reform overturned
On Monday, the Supreme Court had already overturned a core element of the controversial judicial reform in Israel in a dramatic decision.
The core of the rejected change in the law was that the Supreme Court was deprived of the opportunity to take action against “inappropriate” decisions by the government, the Prime Minister or individual ministers. Critics had warned that this could encourage corruption and the arbitrary appointment of key posts.