The Likud party rushed to distance itself from the statements of Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who claimed today (Wednesday) that the 'reasonableness standard' was the reason Attorney General Gali Barahav-Miara has not been dismissed.
In an interview with Channel 12 News, Karhi said that when he assumed his current office he told Baharav-Miara "not to bring a lot of personal possessions with her, because she'll be going home very soon."
"This is why we're reforming the judicial system," he explained. "As I see it, she needs to go today, but it seems that we can't make that process happen so quickly because of the reasonableness standard."
Karhi stated that "when there is no more of 'rule of law gang' that can overthrow the government and oust a sitting prime minister, things will be better."
The reasonableness standard allows the Supreme Court to strike down laws or government decisions not based on an established legal standard or preexisting law, but on the basis that in the court's opinion, no 'reasonable' government would engage in such an action. The reasonableness standard was used to disqualify Shas chairman Aryeh Deri from serving as a minister given his multiple convictions for crimes committed as Interior Minister. A key component of the government's planned judicial reforms is the restriction of the court's ability to apply the reasonableness standard.
The Likud party said in response: "Minister Karhi's words are completely baseless and do not represent the Prime Minister's position. The restriction of the reasonableness standard is being advanced in accordance with the outline of [former Supreme Court] President Solberg and the platform of [former Justice Minister] Gideon Sa'ar's party. The question of the attorney general's dismissal is not on the agenda."