An unprecedented "marathon" hearing
△ On September 12th, local time, the Supreme Court of Israel held a hearing.
On the 12th, local time, the Supreme Court of Israel held a hearing attended by 15 Supreme Court judges, the number of which was the first time in the country’s history. The hearing lasted from the morning of local time until late at night, and dozens of lawyers representing NGOs, lawyers representing the Israeli government and judges of the Supreme Court of Israel took turns to make statements and debates, which made the whole hearing last for nearly 14 hours, which was extremely rare after the founding of Israel. So what makes all parties in Israel argue endlessly in the highest judicial hall of the country?
Main topic: Is the "Rationality Principle" bill reasonable?
△ In July this year, members of the Israeli ruling Coalition celebrated the passage of the "Rationality Principle" bill in the Knesset.
The core content of this hearing is the so-called "principle of rationality" bill passed by the Knesset. The bill is a part of the judicial reform promoted by the current ruling Coalition, aiming at prohibiting the Israeli Supreme Court and other judicial departments from examining administrative decisions made by elected government officials, including Israeli prime ministers and ministers, on the principle of "rationality". Supporters believe that the bill can limit the judicial system from abusing its power and hinder the implementation of government policies; However, opponents believe that this will weaken the independence of the judicial system and the supervision of government actions, and give the government and parliament more legislative power and override the judiciary.
△ In July this year, the Israeli people gathered near the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office to protest against judicial reform.
However, relying on the absolute majority of the ruling Coalition in the Knesset, the bill was passed on July 24 this year. This has aroused strong dissatisfaction from the parliamentary opposition and a large number of Israeli people who oppose judicial reform, which has led to the continuation and expansion of large-scale demonstrations in the country since January this year. Dozens of non-governmental organizations, including Israeli legal circles, scientific and technological circles, civil rights organizations, and veterans organizations, submitted petitions to the Supreme Court, demanding the repeal of the bill. In the end, the Supreme Court of Israel accepted eight of these petitions, and held this hearing on the 12th. The lawyers represented by petition organizations and the lawyers represented by the Israeli government debated this. It is worth noting that Baharaf, the country’s attorney general who should have been the representative of the Israeli government’s judicial cases, also refused to support the current government’s position and publicly called on the Supreme Court to overturn the "principle of rationality" bill.
Core of the bill: Who has the highest judicial power in Israel?
As the hearing went on, the focus of the debate quickly focused on a core issue of the bill. Does the Supreme Court have the power to repeal laws passed by Parliament?
△ Simca Rothman, Chairman of the Knesset Committee on Constitution, Law and Justice, said at the hearing that the Supreme Court has no right to overturn laws passed by the Knesset.
Looking back at the history of Israel’s founding, we will find that since the founding of the country, the political map has been chaotic for a long time, there are many political parties, and it is always difficult to unify the opinions of all parties. Coupled with the external environment of constant conflict, Israel has never formed a formal written constitution, only a series of "basic laws" involving government arrangements. In view of the fact that the "principle of rationality" bill has been passed by the parliament and has become a part of the basic law, there has not been a precedent for the Supreme Court to veto the basic law in history. Therefore, there was a heated debate between lawyers representing the Israeli government and judges of the Supreme Court on whether the Supreme Court had the right to overturn the bill.
△ In May 1948, the first Prime Minister of Israel, Ben Gurion, read Israel’s Declaration of Independence.
Earlier, the ruling Coalition, which occupied an absolute majority in the current Knesset, insisted that the Supreme Court should uphold the authority of the laws passed. Many senior officials warned the Supreme Court that it had no right to repeal the Basic Law, otherwise it would destroy the Knesset and the democratic system, which was an insurmountable red line for them. Many Israeli judges retorted at the hearing that day that the fact that the Basic Law has not been overturned in history does not mean that the Supreme Court has no corresponding power, especially in view of the fact that Israel is a "Jewish democratic country" as indicated in the Declaration of Independence. At the moment of fierce political contradictions, we should comprehensively consider the judicial mechanism of the country from the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.
Judicial reform has become the "curse" of Israeli society.
△ Israeli President Herzog presided over the political consultation meeting of various political parties.
In January this year, the newly established Netanyahu government announced its plan to reform the judicial system, but it caused a wave of large-scale opposition across the country. Although under the auspices of Israeli President Herzog, Netanyahu’s government and the opposition party have held many consultations on the contents of judicial reform, it is difficult to reach a broad consensus because of the huge differences between the two sides.
△ In January 2023, ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel protested against the sale of smart phones in religious communities in Jerusalem and clashed with the police.
Local media believe that judicial reform is not only related to Israel’s so-called democracy and justice, but also detonated the huge contradictions between different ethnic groups that already exist in Israel.
△ In September 2023, Israeli ultra-orthodox Jews gathered in Jerusalem and refused to perform military service.
According to local media analysis, judging from the people who support and oppose the judicial reform, the judicial reform is promoted by the current ruling Coalition composed of Likud Group, multiple religions and far-right parties. In addition to the traditional right-wing camp, its supporters mainly include Israeli ultra-orthodox Jews, religious nationalists and Jewish settlers in the West Bank of the Palestinian Jordan River. Their political stance is relatively conservative and religious, and they are tough on Palestine. The political forces that oppose judicial reform come from the center right and the center left, as well as the country’s middle class, which generally includes high-tech and industrial people, lawyers, teachers, businessmen and others, as well as college students and active and retired soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces. There are great differences between the two sides in ideology, life and social organization. The Supreme Court of Israel has been classified as supporters of the Israeli left and Palestinians because it has repeatedly failed to support the positions of some right-wing and religious figures on issues such as Jewish settlement construction and religion.
△ Since January this year, people who oppose judicial reform have held a large-scale rally in Tel Aviv every Saturday.
As far as the judicial reform bill is concerned, this series of bills includes that Parliament can overturn the Supreme Court’s judgment by a simple majority, change the selection mechanism of the National Committee for electing judges, and change the appointment of legal advisers in various government departments from the judiciary to the appointment of officials alone. The "principle of rationality" bill targeted at this hearing is just one of them. Opponents believe that this almost gives the parliament an overwhelming advantage over the judicial system, making the government composed of the parliamentary majority lose supervision, especially the current government is considered to be the most right-wing government in Israeli history. Supporters say that the government is elected by the people in the Knesset, and opposing judicial reform is a betrayal of Israel’s elected system and an obstruction of the government’s policy implementation.
△ In July this year, Israeli reserve soldiers signed a statement refusing to participate in training to protest judicial reform.
The confrontation between the two sides has seriously aggravated the tearing of Israeli society, and has had a great impact on social life and economic development. In addition to the routine large-scale demonstrations every week, some people in business, science and technology, education and medical circles have successively held strikes and strikes, and even hundreds of Israeli defense forces soldiers in active service and reserve have refused to participate in training, which has directly affected Israel’s strategic security.
Judicial reform has become a "curse" in Israeli society, and the more you read it, the tighter it gets.
The unprecedented hearing is difficult to solve the unprecedented problem of division reform.
After the hearing, the Israeli Supreme Court will not make a judgment in a short time, but it needs to announce the final result before January 16 next year. Possible outcomes include rejecting the petition against the bill, or sending the bill back to parliament for amendment, or directly announcing the abolition of the bill. However, the latter two methods are facing great challenges from the current ruling Coalition. If the current ruling Coalition refuses to accept the verdict of the Supreme Court, the judicial crisis in Israel may continue, and the country’s political situation and socio-economic life may continue to experience oscillation without a constitution and a corresponding mechanism to resolve conflicts between the parties.
Producer Mu Muli
Producer Li Chao
Reporter Zhao Bing
