Coalition lawmaker Rothman proposes new bill to limit judicial review of government decisions
Opponents say creating government policy is not the same as making political appointments
Knesset Member Simcha Rothman, who heads Israel's Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, is reportedly preparing a bill that would severely limit judicial review of government decisions.
Rothman has emerged as one of the leading architects behind the Netanyahu government’s judicial reform plan, which has led to sharp divisions in Israeli society and weeks of protests since it was first announced earlier this year.
The text of the proposed bill was released to the public on Tuesday.
If implemented, the bill would prevent Israel's Supreme Court from holding hearings concerning the “reasonableness” of government decisions. In other words, the judiciary would, in effect, become virtually powerless in this area.
Israel's former justice minister, Knesset Member Gideon Sa’ar is opposed to the bill and said it was important to differentiate between government policies and the decision-making process of political appointments.
“When it comes to policy decisions, the court does not have additional weight, additional knowledge or additional ability to decide more than those who have been elected,” stated Sa’ar.
“But in issues of corrupt appointments, there is no reason, and it’s not for the good of the public, to limit the test of ‘reasonableness,'” he added.
While Sa’ar appears to be in favor of a limited judicial reform, he warned that Rothman’s bill “is much broader, extending to any decision of any elected official,” and concluded that he thinks "it’s very, very extreme and very, very dangerous.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has vowed to do whatever he can to help resolve Israel's internal crisis. “We must not give up on Israeli unity. We must not give up the Jewish and democratic state,” said Herzog during a speech at a naval ceremony in March.
Herzog has hosted judicial overhaul negotiation talks between coalition and opposition representatives for months, however, the two sides have so far not been willing to compromise, resulting in the Jewish state's ongoing political crisis.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
