The Israeli Judiciary is the New Government’s First Victim
There’s a lot of political news happening in Israel right now.
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All of it bad.
The newly elected political parties have agreed to a coalition — the most radical and extreme right in Israel’s short history.
Rather than get into the nitty-gritty of each and every detail of their plan, let’s dive into one of the arguably most consequential moves this new government is planning on making. One that has the potential of destroying Israel’s standing as a liberal democracy while putting the final nail in the coffin of its international accountability.
Judicial reform. Or, what would be more appropriately called, the destructions and restructuring of Israel’s judicial system as we’ve come to know it.
All rise for the honorable judge!
First, a quick overview of how the Israeli judicial system works:
In case you are unaware, Israel doesn’t have a constitution of any kind. The government is controlled by a series of Basic Laws, which perform the function of a constitution without having anywhere close to the same authority as an actual constitution.
The best way to explain this is to compare Israel to the United States. Both countries have the same separation of powers divided between the three branches: Executive (American President and Israeli Prime Minister and his or her cabinet), Legislative (Congress and Knesset), and Judicial (US Supreme Court and Israeli High Court).
The difference is how the 3 balance powers between themselves. In the US, the constitution lays out a very clear framework that limits the powers of each branch and allows them to check each others’ powers.
In Israel, this framework is flimsy at best. The Israeli judiciary has the power of judicial review over the legislative and executive, allowing it to determine the legality of any new laws based on the principles outlined in the Basic Laws. Like how a new law might infringe against the Basic Law of Human Dignity, which protects human rights.
The problem is that these Basic Laws are subject to the whims and wishes of the Legislative. A simple…
