Opposition submits ‘unprecedented’ 27,000 reservations to delay reasonableness bill
Opposition MKs say massive number of reservations, designed to delay passage of controversial bill limiting judicial oversight, is part of their ‘struggle against the regime coup’
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
Opposition MKs in the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee have submitted a staggering 27,676 reservations, or amendment proposals, to the coalition’s controversial bill to drastically limit the courts’ use of the reasonableness test, in a bid to slow down its advance.
With the bill now in the final stages of its legislative process, opposition MKs are seeking to hinder further progress. They charge that the committee’s discussion and debate on the bill as it was being prepared to be sent to the Knesset was superficial and deficient.
The committee was set to begin voting on the submitted reservations Monday morning and will likely take at least the next two days to vote on all the proposals made by the opposition MKs. Two advisers to lawmakers on the committee told The Times of Israel they believed the number of reservations submitted was “unprecedented.”
Because of the massive number of reservations submitted, committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman is expected to move to batch voting, which is allowed if more than 2,500 reservations are submitted, although it requires approval from the Knesset legal adviser and the committee legal adviser.
By contrast, the committee’s opposition MKs submitted 5,400 reservations in March against legislation that sought to grant the coalition control over judicial appointments.
Once voting on the reservations is completed, the committee will vote on the final draft of the legislation, likely on Wednesday or Thursday.
The bill will then be ready for its final readings in the Knesset plenum, and could be brought for a vote there as early as Sunday.
Any reservations approved by the committee will come to a Knesset floor vote alongside the bill’s second reading, and in the unlikely case that any are accepted, will be integrated into the bill and delay its third, and final, reading — the final stage before it becomes a law.
“Since the committee did not hold a substantive debate as is required for a law that will harm the economy, security, and Israeli citizens, and the chairman of the committee continued with his repressive behavior, opposition members of the committee are determined to continue the struggle against the regime coup that is destroying Israel democracy,” the committee’s opposition members said in a statement to the press on Monday morning after submitting the reservations.
The bill, an amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary, would ban the courts from invalidating or even discussing government and ministerial decisions, including appointments and dismissals of officials, based on the judicial test of reasonableness, although it would allow for such review over decisions made by professional civil servants.
The coalition argues that use of the reasonableness standard constitutes elevating the judgment of unelected judges over the policies of the government and elected officials, and gives the courts too broad a scope for judicial intervention in policy decisions.
Opponents of the bill argue that it is a blunt tool that will open the door to corruption and reduce scrutiny of elected officials when making sensitive decisions, including those impacting civil rights.
Concern has been voiced specifically over the reduced level of review courts will have over the dismissal of key civil servants such as the attorney general, state attorney, and police commissioner as a result of the legislation, which could make such officials less independent and so harm the rule of law.
Coalition members have insisted, however, that numerous effective tools will remain in the hands of the judiciary to effectively review problematic government decisions even if they cannot use the reasonableness test.
According to the Student Protest Movement, its activists helped opposition MKs Yorai Lahav-Hertzano, Moshe Turpaz, and Yoav Segalovich draw up the 27,000 reservations over the last few days.
“This historic mobilization of over 1,000 activists, who don’t know one another, for the common goal of delaying anti-democratic legislation, is the embodiment of civil democracy,” said Nadav Salzberger of the Student Protest Movement.
“While the government is behaving in an unreasonable way, the citizens have come together to hold up a mirror to it. This inspiring act will be taught as part of the history lesson of Israel’s fight for its democracy.”
The Times of Israel Community.