MK Yariv Levin, the second highest ranking lawmaker in the Likud, a close ally of party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu, and chief of the party’s coalition negotiating team, has drawn up a comprehensive reform plan for the Israeli judicial system, along with some major changes aimed at limiting the power of the Knesset.
According to a report by Israel Hayom Friday morning, Levin, who is considered the top candidate within the Likud for Justice Minister, has assembled a series of proposed reforms which would curtail judicial activism by the Supreme Court, while also restricting a ruling coalition’s ability to amend the country’s Basic Laws.
Included in the reform package are plans to give the government greater control over the appointment of judges, as well as passage of the Override Clause, an amendment to Israel’s Basic Law which would enable the Knesset to overrule Supreme Court rulings overturning laws passed by the Knesset.
The Override Clause, favored by right-wing and religious parties as a step to limit judicial activism by the Supreme Court, has drawn criticism from left-wing, center-left, and even center-right lawmakers who fear the move could leave the high court effectively powerless. Outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid has called on his coalition partners to renew their alliance to block the clause’s passage.
In addition, Levin has proposed an amendment to the Basic Law which he claims would remedy concerns of opponents of the Override Clause, limiting both the Supreme Court’s ability to reject amendments by the Knesset to the Basic Law, as well as a single Knesset’s ability to alter Basic Laws.
Under this proposal, the Supreme Court would be categorically barred from overturning such amendments.
However, amendments to the Basic Law would now require four votes by the Knesset with at least 61 MKs voting in favor – rather than the three votes currently needed, with the fourth reading of the amendment taking place in the next Knesset.
This change would delay the final passage of the amendment until after new elections are held and a new Knesset sworn in, requiring the next Knesset to ratify the alterations voted upon by the previous Knesset.