This evening, the High Court of Justice in Israel issued its positive ruling in a Suit filed against the law to abolish the cause of reasonableness. This is a flashback to the pre-war reality and the long discussions about Minister Yariv Levin’s legal reform, with the cancellation of the cause being the first of the main parts of the reform to pass through the Knesset. The law passed in the Knesset in July, and the discussion took place about 4 months ago – as we recall, in a full composition of all 15 judges.
The ruling was passed by a majority of 8-7 (a fairly small majority, but exactly the same as the bill’s passage in the Knesset – 64:56) in favor of the strike. However, it should be noted that 2 of those who support the disqualification, the judges Baron and Chayot (the president), have since retired from the jurisdiction, so this indicates a shift in power relations in the outgoing court and in the future court – so the future resilience of this judgment is unclear.
To invalidate the law, which constitutes an amendment to the ‘Basic Law: Judiciary’, The High Court of Justice granted itself the authority to invalidate basic laws – a fairly radical move that many call a ‘second constitutional revolution’. However, it should be noted that of the 7 judges who opposed the ruling, 4 expressed substantive agreement with the Supreme Court’s ability to invalidate basic laws (i.e., 12 out of 15) – quite a solid majority.
While before the war there was concern that such a ruling by the High Court of Justice would cause a constitutional crisis, it seems that today, in the shadow of the war, the government has no ability or desire to deteriorate the situation further in internal conflicts, and this is reflected in much of what they have said since the verdicts were issued. It would be best If even after the war, when we deal again with trifles such as the principles of government, we would do so in a more dignified and moderate manner toward each other.
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