Israeli lawmakers are set to vote on the first part of the government’s sweeping plan to weaken the power of the country’s courts on Monday, despite six months of street protests, parliamentary maneuvering, compromise talks and increasingly urgent warnings from the White House.
What’s in the bill?: The Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, will vote Monday evening on what has been dubbed the “reasonableness” bill. If passed, the law would strip the Supreme Court of the power to declare government decisions unreasonable.
What do its supporters say?: Prime Minister Netanyahu and his allies call the measures “reforms” and say they are required to rebalance powers between the courts, lawmakers and the governments.
Why do many oppose it?: But opponents of the plan call it a “coup” and say it threatens to turn Israel into a dictatorship by removing the most significant checks on government actions and concentrating power in the hands of the executive.
The Israel Bar Association is already preparing a legal challenge to the bill, the lawyers’ group said Sunday.
Its executive, the Bar Council, is holding an emergency meeting to approve the decision to petition the Supreme Court to cancel the reasonableness law if it passes on Monday, the Bar said.
The Bar is also warning it will shut down “as an act of protest against the anti-democratic legislative process,” the statement said. That means the Bar Association would not provide professional services to its members, not that lawyers would go on strike.
What else is in the package?: Other elements of the judicial overhaul would give the far-right coalition government more control of the appointment of judges, and would remove independent legal advisers from government ministries. Those bills have not advanced as far in the legislative process at the reasonableness bill.
