Between 1978 and 2006, the former president of Israel’s Supreme Court, Justice Aharon Barak, commanded a vigorous and impudent effort to raise the judiciary, especially the Supreme Court and the High Court of Justice, above the other two branches of government––the Knesset and the government. He did this through intricate rulings, ever-increasing power grabs and installing his agents as legal counselors in all the government ministries––to the point where, despite the shrinking political power of the old leftist elites that established the state of Israel 75 years ago, Justice Barak’s clique of dedicated judges continued and even increased their tyrannical hold on the country’s legal system, and its legislative and executive branches.
A little after 8 PM on Wednesday, Justice Minister Yariv Levin took the podium at the Knesset in front of all the media outlets in the country and announced a series of moves that, in a relatively short time, could be weeks, would bring down Barak’s entire magnificent array of sandcastles, returning Israel to the sanity of the days when justices ruled based on the law, and not on what they believed the law should be.
Here is an outline of the initial four changes Levin will submit to the Knesset:
A change in the composition of the committee to select judges. The judges will no longer choose themselves in chambers without a protocol.
The disqualification of laws by the high court will be regulated. The court may no longer question the basic laws, which are Israel’s equivalent to a constitution.
The High Court may no longer use the “unreasonable cause” argument to invalidate government action. From now on, if it’s legal, it’s legal.
Finally, the legal counselors installed in every government ministry are just that – they offer their legal advice – and the minister is free to use or reject it.
It’s imperative that Israel’s public trust be restored with a drastic reform of its judicial system. While drastic sounds like a revolutionary way to describe this, it’s what is required for a return to sanity – a return to the rule of law and not personal interests taking priority. The court exists to work on behalf of the interests and wishes of the people who voted them in. A return to what is right, lawful, and just can only strengthen Israel’s democracy.