"The bill pertaining to the authority of the Supreme Court, which was drafted by Minister Friedman and adopted today by the government by a small majority, undermines Israeli democracy and puts it in grave danger," says Dr. Arye Carmon, President of the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), in response to the government's decision to adopt Minister Friedman's bill and, thus, minimize the powers granted to the Supreme Court.
"This is an unprecedented decision. Except for Canada (where a similar law exists, although with many limitations), not a single advanced democracy has adopted such a law. The relationship between the branches of government in the State of Israel must be balanced, but the appropriate way to achieve such a balance is through the legislative process of drafting a constitution, as is being done by the Knesset."
According to Carmon, the Court should be allowed to examine and challenge the legality of laws passed by the Knesset in accordance with a set bill of rights, which does not yet exist in Israel. The State of Israel is still in the process of drafting a constitution, which will establish a comprehensive bill of rights as well as the powers of the Supreme Court.
"The Knesset must be strengthened through an improved legislative process and the tension between the different branches of government must be resolved by means of a constitution. Under the present circumstances, which are already very tense, the government should be working to ease the tension rather than intensify it. By adopting this bill, the government has limited the power of the Supreme Court to critique legislation approved by the Knesset while at the same time failing to provide a bill of rights according to which laws could be examined and critiqued. We hope that the MKs and ministers will demonstrate responsibility by opposing the bill when it reaches the Knesset for approval."