Israel Passes Judicial Reform Law Curbing Powers Of Supreme Court In Striking Down Govt Decisions
The contentious judicial reform plan of the Netanyahu administration, which wants to limit the Supreme Court's ability to overturn executive orders, has received approval from Israeli lawmakers in a key provision.
According to AFP, Israeli lawmakers on Monday gave their approval to a controversial plan for judicial reform that intends to limit the ability of the country's Supreme Court to overturn executive orders.
Massive demonstrations against divisive judicial reform proposals supported by the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have rocked the nation at the time of this.
The measures sparked months of protests and have drawn criticism from Israel's closest friends, including the US.
The two proposals in dispute aim to restrict Supreme Court decisions while enabling political appointees to fill the majority of the court's justice positions. As a result, the Supreme Court's authority to examine or overturn legislation will be greatly diminished.
The first measure suggests that the Israeli Parliament adopt a simple majority in order to overturn rulings from the Supreme Court.
Netanyahu, however, said last month that he was no longer aiming to give Parliament the power to reverse Supreme Court decisions in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
In the interview, Netanyahu stated, "I threw out the idea of an override provision, where the Knesset could override the Supreme Court's rulings with a simple majority.
The second bill suggests expanding the government's participation on the panel that selects judges, including the Supreme Court, in order to give it final control over who is appointed to the position.
Due to the absence of a written constitution and a second legislative chamber, like India's Rajya Sabha, Israel's Supreme Court serves as a vital check and balance on the executive branch.
By eliminating the most important check on the government's actions, Netanyahu's detractors have referred to the planned court reform as a step toward dictatorship.
Critics have also emphasized that the reforms were implemented to protect Netanyahu, who is currently the subject of three different criminal prosecutions for corruption, according to the BBC. The charge has been refuted by Netanyahu.
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