Israel Supreme Court Strikes Down Judicial Reforms

Israel's Supreme Court has struck down a controversial judicial reform that triggered nationwide protests last year against the Netanyahu government.

The Supreme Court struck down an amendment to Israel's Basic Law on the Judiciary passed by the Netanyahu government this July.

The change would have limited the power of the Supreme Court in overturning laws it deemed unconstitutional, Shaimaa Khalil and Ali Abbas Ahmadi reported for BBC News.

Justin Porter of the New York Times reported the law would have barred judges from using the legal concept of “reasonableness” to overrule decisions made by lawmakers and ministers.

In a country that has one house of Parliament, no formal written constitution and a largely ceremonial president, many people view the Supreme Court as the only bulwark against government power.

The government argued that “reasonableness” was ill-defined and subjective. Reporting for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Dahlia Scheindlin said the court issued a 738-page ruling on the case with a razor-thin majority of eight justices out of a full 15.

It struck down an amendment to Israel's Basic Law on the Judiciary passed by the Netanyahu government this July.

The amendment would have barred Israel's courts, including the High Court, from judging actions of the executive branch – limited to decisions of the prime minister or other ministers – based on the standard of reasonability.

It's worth noting that Israel's system is also unusual for having almost no institutional constraints on executive power other than judicial review.

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