The Supreme Court of Israel has struck down a significant element of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial judicial reform law this week. This disputed reform sought to prevent judges from nullifying government decisions that they considered to be unreasonable.
In July 2023, after seven months of arduous debate and widespread unrest, Netanyahu’s government passed a bill that abolished the “reasonableness” clause. This clause enabled the Supreme Court, as well as other courts in Israel, to counter the government’s decisions if they deemed them to be “extremely unreasonable.” The implementation of this law was followed by heated demonstrations, with hundreds of thousands of Israelis protesting and the military threatening to refuse to serve. It also led to international condemnation, including from the US and several European allies, eliciting concerns over the law.
A typically unanimous decision, a slim majority of 8 to 7, on the fifteen justice panel, decided to strike down the law. The court stated that it could compromise Israel’s standing as a democratic state. However, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, the primary architect of the law, accused the court of overstepping its boundaries and absorbing all powers that would typically be divided among the three governing branches in a democratic system.
The Israeli Civil Rights Association, which represented 38 human rights organizations challenging the law, made a public statement claiming that they would fight against any attempt to damage the independence of the court and the judges’ autonomy. They reiterated the importance of human rights and an independent judiciary that can provide checks against potential governmental tyranny.
The judgement could have larger implications for the ongoing Israel-Hamas War and the escalating violence in the West Bank, according to the Civil Rights Association.