Judges ask AG representative if reasonableness bill actually harms democracy

In his first comments in the hearing, conservative justice David Mintz questions Aner Helman representing the attorney general as to what source there is for the court to strike down a Basic Law such as the one that eliminated the use of the reasonableness standard.

Aner argues that the Declaration of Independence, which stipulates that Israel is a Jewish and democratic state, is the ultimate source for ensuring that the country remains a democratic country.

“By referring to the Declaration of Independence you are creating something out of nothing, there is no implied authority [from the Declaration of Independence],” says Mintz, who has previously written that the court has no authority to strike down Basic Laws.

The justices also ask Helman if the government’s legislation is so damaging to Israeli democracy as to justify striking down a Basic Law.

“Are we not living in a democracy today?” questions Justice Noam Sohlberg.

Helman replies that the test for striking down a Basic Law is not if democracy no longer exists but if the legislation damages Israel’s core democratic principles.

But Supreme Court President Esther Hayut joins Sohlberg’s line of questioning, pointing out that damage to democratic principles “has to be a mortal blow” to justify striking down a Basic Law.