The judicial reform reasonableness standard bill may be voted on at the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee session on Tuesday after panel members and experts finish giving their thoughts on the legislation.
The bill would prevent the application of the reasonableness standard in court judgments and acceptance of appeals on the administrative decisions of elected officials.
The reasonableness standard is a common law principle in which the court can engage in judicial review of government administrative actions that are deemed beyond the scope of a reasonable and responsible authority.
Coalition members argued at the committee session on Tuesday that the standard is too subjective, and because it can allow the court to subvert government authority, it is contrary to rule of law.
Labor MK Gilad Kariv and Yesh Atid MK Yoav Segalovitz argued that without the bill to check administrative decisions, political corruption would be allowed to flourish.
MK Simcha Rotman, Head of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee leads a committee meeting on the planned judicial reform, at the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on July 4, 2023. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)“You are permitting legal corruption,” said Segalovitz. Kariv called the legislation a “corruption bill.”
Clashes over protests and the Jenin operation
Opposition and coalition members continued to clash in the committee over the protests and military operation that unfolded during the week.
Likud MK Moshe Saada said that the opposition didn’t care about the price that anti-reform protests had for the average citizen, or that people were breaking the law in these demonstrations.
“Protest is needed and legitimate, but disruptions are forbidden,” said Saada. “Not in Huwara and not in Ben-Gurion.”
Kariv attacked Rothman by asserting that his moral compass was spinning out of control since he was continuing with legislation while IDF soldiers were fighting in Jenin in a military operation. Kariv and other opposition MKs had repeatedly called for a delay in reform legislation until the end of the operation.
Ta’al MK Ahmad Tibi said that his faction was against the bill, but said that one couldn’t protest the “dictatorship in Tel Aviv and not object to the “dictatorial attacks” on Jenin.
Tensions were high in the committee, with personal attacks and interjections. Opposition members attacked Rothman as operating on behalf of the Kohelet Forum, an NGO that has advocated for many of the principles espoused in the reform provisions. Segalovitz was ejected from the session for talking over expert witnesses.
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