A law passed in Israel makes it harder to declare a prime minister unfit to hold office. Critics see it as tailored to incumbent Netanyahu and are calling for it to be repealed.
Israel’s Supreme Court has again heard petitions against a law that makes it more difficult to remove a prime minister from office. 11 of the 15 judges met today in Jerusalem. The hearing ended in the evening after around eight hours. According to media reports, a decision is expected by January at the latest.
Israel’s parliament passed the amendment in March. Accordingly, removal from office would only be possible for psychological or other health reasons. In addition, a majority of 75 percent of the government and at least 80 of the 120 MPs are necessary. This is intended to prevent the Supreme Court or the Attorney General from exerting influence.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara had called for the law to be repealed because it was personally tailored to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu is currently charged with fraud, breach of trust and bribery.
Law to benefit Netanyahu?
According to Chief Judge Esther Chajut, Thursday’s deliberations focused on the question of whether the change in the law should only come into force after the next parliamentary election.
It is assumed that the head of government wants to use the law to protect himself against being removed from office due to a possible conflict of interest.
Netanyahu’s government has been pushing ahead with a highly controversial restructuring of the judiciary since the beginning of the year. As part of the comprehensive legislative proposal, parliament passed a further amendment to a basic law in July, which was part of a court hearing around two weeks ago.
No written constitution
Eliad Schraga of the Movement for Quality Government said at the hearing: Netanyahu had “built a kind of golden cage” to protect him from justice and called on the court to take action against it.
Members of the government argued again today that judges lack the authority to decide on changes to basic laws because – unlike MPs or ministers – they are not directly elected by the people. Justice Minister Jariv Levin said before the deliberations that the hearing was comparable to a debate on the annulment of election results.
The State of Israel does not have a written constitution and is instead based on a collection of basic laws. In Israel’s history, no basic law or amendment to a basic law has ever been repealed. If this happens and the government does not accept the decision, the country will face a national crisis.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
