Judicial reform in Israel
New law to secure Netanyahu’s power
03/23/2023, 3:15 p.m
For weeks, thousands have been protesting in Israel against a planned weakening of the judiciary. Now Jerusalem is passing a new law that makes it more difficult to remove a prime minister from office. The opposition calls the law “corrupt” and wants to sue.
Despite ongoing protests, the Israeli government is moving forward with its plan to further weaken the judiciary. The parliament in Jerusalem passed a law that will make it much more difficult in future to declare a prime minister incapacitated. This is the first change in the law as part of a highly controversial judicial reform by the new right-wing religious government around Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
For more than two months there have been regular, massive protests against the government’s plans. In the future, Parliament should also be able to overrule decisions of the Supreme Court with a simple majority. In addition, government politicians should gain significantly more influence in the appointment of judges. The coalition around Netanyahu accuses the Supreme Court of excessive interference in political decisions. Critics see the separation of powers in danger and warn of a dangerous state crisis.
Law is considered tailored to Netanyahu
The change in the law is particularly controversial because it is seen as personally tailored to Prime Minister Netanyahu and his needs. A corruption process has been going on against the 73-year-old for a long time. In the future, a prime minister could only be removed from office for mental or other health reasons. This is intended to prevent the Supreme Court or the Attorney General’s Office from influencing matters.
In the last reading, 61 of the 120 MEPs voted in favour. 47 MPs were against, the others were absent or abstained. If the law is not stopped by the judiciary, a three-quarters majority would be required for impeachment in the future. The opposition condemned the new law as “indecent and corrupt”. The opposition politician Avigdor Lieberman announced that he would take action before the Supreme Court.