The Israeli Supreme Court announced on Monday that its full bench of 15 judges would hear petitions brought against last week’s judicial overhaul legislation aimed to curb the court’s own power.
The hearing, which will take place on September 12, is the first time in Israel’s history that the full court will preside over a single case.
Israel’s Knesset passed a law on July 25 limiting the Supreme Court’s ability to rule on government and ministerial decisions via the “reasonableness standard.” Immediately following, several petitions were brought to the Supreme Court against the legislation, claiming that it “fundamentally changes the structure of Israeli parliamentary democracy and the character of government.”
The law’s proponents argue that the measure is a necessary check on what they see as the Supreme Court’s overreach, while its critics say that it could lead to unrestrained power in the executive branch, unbalancing Israel’s already fragile democratic system.
“Israel’s governments have always made sure to respect the law and the court’s rulings, and the court has always made sure to respect the basic laws,” the Likud party said in a statement. “These two elements form the basis of rule of law in Israel and of the balance between the authorities in any democracy.”
The “reasonableness standard” legislation was passed as an amendment to one of Israel’s basic laws, which stand in for the formal constitution that Israel lacks. The Supreme Court has heard petitions related to basic laws but has never struck one down.