The Knesset in Jerusalem Image: AFP
Israel’s parliament voted Monday’s first reading on the ‘adequacy clause’, a core element of the controversial judicial reform. A total of three readings are required to pass the bill.
On Monday, the Israeli parliament voted in its first reading on the “adequacy clause”, a core element of the controversial judicial reform. According to the draft, the Supreme Court will no longer be able to classify government decisions as “inappropriate”. Critics fear that high-ranking positions will be filled arbitrarily and that corruption will be encouraged. The government argues that the judiciary unduly interferes in political decisions. A total of three readings are required to pass the law.
The judiciary reform of the right-religious governing coalition of conservative, ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties aims to limit the powers of the independent judiciary and to strengthen the position of parliament and the prime minister. The project is dividing society – tens of thousands of people have been demonstrating against it across the country since the beginning of the year. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then put the plans on hold at the end of March. A compromise with the opposition mediated by President Isaac Herzog did not materialize. The organizers of the protests announced further mass demonstrations for Tuesday.
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