Israel’s democratic standing has long been questionable, as it operates as an apartheid state. However, the current Netanyahu coalition government, the most right-wing administration the nation has ever seen, is set to erode democracy even further.
Israeli justice minister Yariv Levin published a series of draft bills in January that provide the Knesset, Israeli parliament, with the power to appoint judges and overturn precedents set by the courts, whilst eroding the judiciary’s power to strike down unjust laws.
Mass public demonstrations against the judicial reforms have occurred ever since. These escalated on Sunday, after Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed defence minister Yoav Gallant over having publicly called for the reforms to be dropped.
During a speech last Saturday, Gallant asserted the reforms were proving so divisive that they pose a threat to national security. And in response to scenes on the street, Netanyahu suspended the legislation, then before parliament, until after a parliamentary recess.
Similar to the Australian system, Israeli democracy involves the separation of powers, which sees government divided into three branches – the executive, the legislature and the judiciary – with each serving to limit the power of the others.
In this manner, the judiciary has the ability to strike down laws passed by the legislature that it finds to be unjust or, as in the case of Israel, aren’t in accordance with the nation’s basic laws, which operate as Israel’s de facto constitution.
Read the article by Paul Gregoire from Australian Criminal Lawyers.