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Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Religious Zionism party presents plan for overhaul of legal system
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Religious Zionism party leader Bezalel Smotrich presents his plans to overhaul the justice system.
Leading the plan is the abolition of the criminal charge of fraud and breach of trust, currently faced by former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his current trial.
Smotrich is expected to be a senior partner if Netanyahu can form a government after the November 1 elections.
Smotrich argues that the current fraud and breach of trust laws are too ambiguous and lead to cases being “trumped up” for many politicians.
“We will insist that these amendments be carried out. There will be a democracy in which the authorities work in a balanced way with each other,” Smotrich says, also arguing that the State’s Attorney office needs “a restart and to be rebuilt.”
The plan also calls for an overhaul of the Judicial Selection Committee.
Right-wing politicians have long attacked the legal system, with particular emphasis on the Supreme Court over its composition and its rulings, claiming it overreaches to impose a liberal agenda, and have called for drastically limiting its powers of judicial oversight.
The Judicial Selection Committee is made up of nine members — currently five judges from the Supreme Court and representatives of the Bar Association, and four MKs.
The Times of Israel Community.