Attorney Michael Rabello, who represents Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stated during the Supreme Court hearing today (Thursday) on the petition to overrule the incapacity law that the Prime Minister will respect the court's ruling in the case, Kan News reported.
Near the end of the hearing, the panel of justices asked for a clarification from Rabello regarding a section from Netanyahu's response to the petitions which could be interpreted as suggesting that he would not abide by the court's decision. Rabello replied that this was not the case.
The judges asked for clarification on Section 19 of Netanyahu's response, which reads, among other things: "Without the supreme authority of the Basic Laws enacted by the Knesset, there is no basis for the authority of a court, no basis for the validity of orders on its behalf, and no basis for the obligation to follow them. If there is no Basic Law, then the judiciary, there is no excess validity for the honorable court's position over the position of the law of the academy or of a person from the street. As stated above, when the honorable court questions a Basic Law, it cuts the branch on which its authority rests."
Justice Isaac Amit told attorney Eliad Shraga, the chairman of the Movement for the Quality of Government, which filed the petition on which the hearing was held: "If attorney Rabello says that the prime minister will respect every court ruling, I believe his words."
It was also reported that Netanyahu is considering re-legislating the Basic Laws if they are struck down by the Supreme Court.
The petition seeks to strike down a recently passed amendment to a Basic Law, which have quasi-constitutional status in Israel. The Supreme Court has never before considered striking down a Basic Law.