(Newsweek) Prof. Avi Bell - Israel's newly elected government has proposed a judicial reform package that has elicited fretting from political opponents and foreign critics who claimed it will sound the death knell for Israel's vibrant democracy. These cries are simply lacking in historical context. One reform would give the Israeli Supreme Court explicit statutory authorization to overturn legislation, while also preserving the Knesset's authority to legislate. A second would slightly modify Israel's existing process for appointing judges by adding more elected representatives to the committee that does so. The third would reduce the ability of the Supreme Court to overrule elected officials' decisions on the grounds of the Court's mere policy preferences. Calls for legal reform have been a facet of Israeli society since the 1990s. The proposed measures would actually bring Israel closer in governance to other democracies, such as Canada and the U.S. Israel's radically democratic political culture is healthy and vibrant. Judicial reform will ensure it remains so. The writer is professor of law at the University of San Diego and Bar-Ilan University.
2023-01-12 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive