Attempts to ‘bypass’ Israel’s High Court will create a ‘tyranny of the majority’

Supreme Court in session

Joshua Liefer, in +972, writes, “The Israeli government has in recent days advanced legislation to limit or strip the country’s High Court of Justice of its ability to strike down laws it deems unconstitutional. Critics warn that would create dictatorial powers for the executive, put the rights of the country’s Arab population and other minority groups at risk, and set Israel up for a constitutional crisis. Israel does not have a formal constitution that codifies a balance of power or system of checks and balances, a situation that leaves the court’s authorities extremely vulnerable to being eroded and even revoked by the legislature.”

“It’s basically the end of constitutional protection of basic rights in Israel,” explained Alon Harel, professor of law at Hebrew University. “Having a parliamentary system without a judiciary is basically a dictatorship of the executive branch. We as citizens will not have anyone to defend us from the tyranny of the majority,” added attorney Debbie Gild-Hayo, policy advocacy director for the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), Israel’s equivalent of the ACLU. Yousef Jabareen, a legal scholar and member of Knesset who sits on the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, noted that in the Israeli system the High Court’s role is to defend the rights of minorities and marginalized groups. “There is no real democracy that does not have meaningful judicial review.”

Yusef Jabareen legal scholar and MK

“Limiting the High Court’s power has been a stated goal of the Israeli right for years. Last December, Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked — both of the far-right Jewish Home party — unveiled a bill that would allow the Knesset to override a High Court decision with a simple majority, bar the High Court from overturn laws on procedural grounds, and increase the threshold required for the Court to strike down a law.” (read more)