The purpose of the law, the Israeli Bar contended, was to “immunize” the heads of the executive authority from acting within the bounds of reason.
The Israel Bar Association submitted a petition to the High Court of Justice on Tuesday against the reasonableness standard bill that passed in the Knesset on Monday, joining a barrage of petitions from NGOs and public interest groups.
L’Association du barreau tient une réunion d’urgence pour lutter contre la refonte https://t.co/EbZPtxt1bZ
— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsraelFR) July 20, 2023
The petition called for the amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary, to be repealed, or to consider why the provisions of the legislation shouldn’t come into effect only with the following Knesset.
The Bar, which represents at least 77,200 Israeli attorneys, reasoned that the bill is part of a broader effort to fundamentally alter the legal system and cause irreversible damage to the ability to maintain a rule of law and separation of powers. The bill needed to be understood in the context of the other judicial reform provisions that were already in process, and a Basic Law amendment passed at the beginning of the year that allowed Shas chairman Arye Deri to become a minister despite his criminal convictions.
Bill meant to immunize politicians, Bar charges
The bill passed on Monday limited the use of judicial review against extremely unreasonable administrative decisions made by the government, the prime minister, or ministers.
The purpose of the law, the Bar contended, was to “immunize” the heads of the executive authority from acting within the bounds of reason. It created a “blank check” for corruption, as these officials no longer had to explain their reasoning.
The government could also appoint and dismiss officials without providing an explanation, which would crush the independence of professional bureaucrats and legal advisers, explained the Bar. Those included in such appointments would be politicians like Deri, who had already acted corruptly in office.
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https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-752384
https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2023/07/ronen-avraham-knesset-reasonableness-amendment/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Israel
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Israel’s Bar joins barrage of High Court petitions against new law
