Israel's Supreme Court strikes down controversial judicial overhaul

Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Israel's Supreme Court has struck down a controversial amendment to the country's so-called "reasonableness" law, which would have limited judiciary oversight amid Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.

The court ruled against the amendment by a nearly split vote of eight to seven, calling it a "severe and unprecedented blow to the core characteristics of the State of Israel as a democratic state."

Israeli lawmakers in the Knesset passed the "reasonableness" law, which would have prevented courts from weighing in on the reasonableness of government and ministerial decisions, in July of 2023. The new law drew celebrations from supporters and massive protests from those who said it "seriously damaged" the "system of checks and balances in the state of Israel," as U.S. President Joe Biden called the vote "unfortunate."

The organization Movement for Quality Government immediately filed a petition with Israel's Supreme Court.

"The government of destruction has raised its malicious hand against the state of Israel: now it's the Supreme Court's turn to step up and prevent this legislation," organization head Eliad Shraga said in July.

Israel's court ruling was announced Monday after a media leak last Wednesday. The leak followed a Knesset proposal that would have delayed publication of the verdict due to the war, according to The Jerusalem Post which also published the high court's ruling.

"The Basic Law constitutes a significant deviation from 'the evolving constitution' and therefore must be accepted with broad consensus and not by a narrow coalition majority," outgoing President of the High Court, Esther Hayut, wrote in the verdict.

Justice Ofer Grosskopf agreed, stating, "The demand to apply the law to those at the top of the pyramid is at the heart of our rules, no person is exempt from the rule of law."

While Justice Yechiel Kasher opposed the judicial overhaul, he argued the court did not have the authority to invalidate it.

"The task of legislating basic laws is within the purview of the Knesset and not of this court," Kasher wrote.

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not commented on the ruling, his ally Minister of Justice Yariv Levin blasted the timing, calling it "the opposite of the spirit of unity required these days for the success of our fighters on the front," as he referenced Israel's war in Gaza following Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

The "citizens of Israel expect the Supreme Court not to publish during a war a ruling that is controversial even among its judges."