Supreme Court president denounces leaders’ ‘blatant disregard for the rules of law’

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit implicitly accuses the government of undermining the rule of law by failing to abide by court rulings in a speech at an inauguration ceremony for newly qualified lawyers, saying that by ignoring court rulings, those with power are making the law “worthless.”

“We are witnessing a blatant disregard for the rules of law, and the treatment of binding rulings as mere recommendations,” Amit tells the assembled lawyers.

“Being obligated to the law and to the implementation of judicial decisions is a basic condition for the existence of a functioning democratic society. When public figures ignore judgments that they do not like – what message does this send to the public at large?” Amit asks.

The government and some of its ministers have recently come close to disobeying High Court orders.

The government has failed to draw up policies to enforce ultra-Orthodox enlistment as ordered by the court; National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has been found by the High Court to have violated an interim order not to give operational orders to the police; and several cabinet ministers have explicitly called on the government not to obey specific court orders.

“If someone in a position of power or influence allows themselves to ignore a judicial decision that they do not like, why would the average citizen consider themselves obligated to it? Why would defendants agree to pay damages they were ordered to pay? Why would parents pay child support? Why would prisoners report to serve their sentences?” asks the Supreme Court president.

“This undermines the very idea of ​​an equal and equitable legal system, binding on each and every resident of the country,” he says. “The message is simple: if the law is not equal for everyone, the law is worthless.”