The Israeli Supreme Court convened recently to hear petitions against a judicial reform amendment set to annul the country’s reasonableness standard. Initially introduced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the reforms have sparked nationwide protests.
Notably, all 15 of the Israeli Supreme Court justices attended the hearing. Typically, cases are presided over by a panel of only three or nine justices, making the full panel’s attendance underscore the legal and social significance of this case.
Base of the petitions is an amendment to Israel’s Basic Law: The Judiciary, which was passed in a unanimous vote by the Knesset, Israel’s legislature. The lack of opposition votes resulted from the opponents leaving the chambers in protest. This amendment limits the Supreme Court’s ability to apply the ‘reasonableness standard’ when assessing the legality of laws passed by the Knesset.
The cases at hand revolve around numerous petitions filed by individuals and groups, including the Israeli Bar Association and Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara. The reasoning behind their opposition stems from concern that the elimination of the reasonableness standard would grant too much power to the government. The government’s defense, led by private attorney Ilan Bombach, counters this argument by stating the democratically elected government’s right to dispense with the reasonableness standard, a policy they claim gives the Supreme Court an excessive scope of power.
Proceedings concluded at 10:00 PM local time, and the Supreme Court’s decision is anticipated after the forthcoming Jewish High Holidays. Unusually, even if the court strikes down the amendment, it may not hold much weight. This is due to Coalition member and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana’s speech, later retweeted by Netanyahu, insinuating the coalition may not accept the court’s ruling. Given this is a first, the potential fallout of such an event remains uncertain.
Read more: Israel Supreme Court hears petitions against judicial reform amendment.