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Netanyahu Government Passes Key Judicial Coup Law Amid Mass Protests Across Country [1]

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Date: 2023-07-24

The bill to overturn the reasonableness standard, which would end the High Court's authority to strike down government decisions that it deems unreasonable, passed the third and final Knesset vote needed to ratify it into law on Monday afternoon.

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This bill is a key component of the plan to weaken the judiciary led by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mass protests against the legislation have taken place throughout Israel in recent weeks, including a four-day march of tens of thousands of people from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. A large-scale rally in support of the judicial overhaul also took place in Tel Aviv on Sunday night.

Ahead of the vote, hundreds of anti-overhaul protesters blocked roads in the capital, as police deployed water cannons to try to clear them out. President Isaac Herzog called on the coalition and opposition to reach an agreement, calling the divide "a national emergency."

In a major step, over 1,000 Israeli Air Force reserve officers, including pilots, navigators and special forces, signed a letter published on Friday saying that they would not report for voluntary reserve duty should the legislation pass. Should they follow through, the air force will no longer be in a state of operational preparedness. They were joined by some 10,000 IDF reservists on Saturday night, who said they were suspending their voluntary service due to the judicial overhaul plan as well.

The bill to overturn the reasonableness standard is part of a package of legislation unveiled by Justice Minister Yariv Levin in January. The reasonableness standard gained prominence later that same month, when Israel’s High Court of Justice disqualified Shas party chairman Arye Dery from serving as health and interior minister on these grounds, due to his conviction on charges of tax evasion, corruption as a public official, bribery and fraud.

The basis of the disqualification is that his appointment was “unreasonable in the extreme," as Dery has been convicted three times of criminal offenses and failed in his previous public positions to “serve the public loyally and lawfully.” The decision and legal doctrine behind it sparked immediate backlash on the right and put Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the uncomfortable position of having to deny a minister position to a most loyal and powerful ally in his coalition.

The standard, which has its roots in British law but was never officially legislated in Israel, applies only to administrative, rather than constitutional law. That means that it cannot be used to strike down legislation, but is relevant in cases of political appointments.

According to Dr. Amir Fuchs, a Senior Researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, by definition, the standard of reasonableness refers to a balance between political and public interests in decision-making. An "unreasonable" decision is therefore one which “disproportionately focuses on political interests without sufficient consideration for public trust and its protection.”

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[1] Url: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-07-24/ty-article/.premium/netanyahu-government-passes-key-judicial-coup-law-amid-mass-protests-across-country/00000189-8704-def4-a7ef-a735dd5d0000

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