Justice: Israel: Impeachment law will only apply later

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Justice
Israel: Impeachment law only applies later

Another ruling by the Supreme Court in Tel Aviv thwarts the judicial reform plans of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet. (archive image) photo

© Menahem Kahana/Pool AFP/AP/dpa

Abuse of its authority – the Supreme Court is once again very clear in its response to Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial reform: Laws should not be allowed to give him a direct advantage.

A change in the law that… The measure, which makes it more difficult for Israel to remove a head of government from office, will only come into force in the next legislative period. The Supreme Court in Jerusalem decided this in a judgment. Six out of eleven of the 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. 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”.

The influence of the judiciary should be weakened

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.

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.

dpa

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