The Coalition announced Wednesday afternoon that a planned vote on the Override Clause, a key element of the judicial reform plan, has been cancelled. The Override Clause is a controversial amendment to the country’s Basic Laws which would explicitly empower the Knesset to veto Supreme Court rulings overturning Knesset laws and curb judicial activism by the high court.
Coalition chairman Ofir Katz said the decision to nix the planned votes was made in response to the request by President Isaac Herzog. It was done to foster goodwill between the Coalition and the Opposition and in the hopes of facilitating talks towards a compromise. This was denied by MK Simcha Rothman and Justice Minister Yariv Levin.
Despite this, the passage of the judicial reform plan will continue without delay. MK Rothman remains firm on his goal: “Returning power to the Israeli democratic process and bringing Israel in line with almost every known Western democracy.”