Israel’s attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, defended before the Supreme Court the repeal of the law, approved by Parliament in March, which prevents Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from being declared incapable of holding office.
“There was a misuse of the authority of the Knesset (Parliament) to improve the personal situation of the prime minister and allow him to act in defiance of the court’s decision,” Baharav-Miara argued in a text sent to the Supreme Court of Justice of Israel and released Tuesday by local media.
The Movement for Quality Government, an Israeli pro-democracy non-governmental organization that filed an appeal against the law, supported Baharav-Miara’s position.
“Today [terça-feira]the Attorney General reminded everyone, once again, that the rule of law also governs the Government and that, in a democratic country, there are checks and balances between the powers,” said the president of the movement, Eliad Shraga, in a statement.
The Israeli Parliament, where the right-wing coalition government has a majority, approved a law on March 23 that protects Netanyahu from being ousted or declared unable to perform the duties of his office, despite facing trial on three counts of fraud, bribery and breach of trust, which the prime minister rejects.
For the opposition, the legislation was “tailor-made” to protect Netanyahu.
The law is part of the controversial judicial reform that Netanyahu and his ultra-Orthodox and ultra-nationalist partners are promoting in Parliament with the aim of strengthening the powers of the executive over the judiciary, despite having unleashed a historic movement of protest and polarization in the country.
Under impeachment law, only a three-quarters majority of government ministers, followed by ratification by the same percentage of MPs (at least 90 out of 120), can compel a prime minister to take temporary leave, and only for mental or physical health reasons.
In the middle of the judicial process, Netanyahu cannot be politically involved in legislation that affects the judicial system and, therefore, cannot promote or vote on the laws that make up the judicial reform, according to an agreement reached with the Public Ministry in 2020.
In February, Baharav-Miara had already warned Netanyahu that he cannot participate in the judicial reform proposed by the government he heads, due to the conflict of interests it represents.
The judicial reform aims to give the government full control over the appointment of judges, including those of the Supreme Court, which could have a direct impact on an eventual appeal against the verdict of the current trial.
In addition, it also includes a controversial “nullification clause”, which will allow Parliament to overturn Supreme Court decisions or even shield laws from judicial review of their constitutionality.
On Monday, amid strong protests across the country, Parliament approved one of the pillars of judicial reform, a law that strikes down the “reasonableness” doctrine, which allowed the Supreme Court to review and overturn government decisions or appointments it deemed unreasonable.
Passage of the measure could pave the way for ultra-Orthodox Shas party leader Aryeh Deri to return to the cabinet as interior and health minister, after being ousted by the Supreme Court in January for racking up several corruption convictions and accepting a plea deal last year barring him from holding public office.
Source: TSF
