Knesset investigation: 50 laws not implemented

The government has failed to implement at least 50 laws legislated by the Knesset, a Knesset Legal Department investigation has revealed.

The investigation, led by Knesset legal adviser Eyal Yinon, examined 150 recently approved laws to determine whether government ministries had complied with the legislation within deadlines set in the new laws. The team found that a third of laws were never implemented, and another third were implemented significantly later than the deadline stipulated in the law, often years later.

Only laws that stipulated a deadline for implementation were examined.

In a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent Wednesday morning, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein urged the prime minister to instruct cabinet ministers to implement — and publicize — new laws related to their fields.

“It is a widespread and problematic phenomenon that in practice means, occasionally, thwarting legislation,” he wrote. “This practice is beneath the dignity of the government, and the Knesset will not tolerate it.”

Among the 50 laws that have yet to be put into practice is the Special Education Act, passed in 2002, that would integrate children with special needs into the mainstream school system; the Employment Service Act, also from 2002, that establishes rules and regulations regarding the rights of employees with disabilities; and a 2011 law ordering the government to clear minefields in former battlefields.

Speaking at the Knesset on Wednesday, Edelstein said that the “role of the Knesset is not just to legislate, but also to monitor that the government implements the legislation.”