Why Israel is in chaos: The reasonableness doctrine

[Colonoscopy]

I can see how this evolved into a contentious issue.

What is Israel’s “reasonableness” legislation and why is it so contentious?

The Israeli Knesset (Parliament) has initiated a legislative process that would limit the High Court of Israel’s ability to review the “reasonableness” of government decisions. This highly contentious legislation is part of Israel's protests against judicial reforms.

www.ajc.org

What do proponents of the reasonableness legislation say?

Supporters of the legislation argue that the current standard for judicial intervention is too subjective and, because it allows the High Court to subvert government authority, it contradicts the rule of law. Further, proponents say that such a broad judicial review of administrative action is also not seen in other democratic countries.

Elected officials, they say, are chosen by the voters to make decisions on matters great and small, and it is not for judges to decide questions of values. This has become particularly sensitive in regard to the appointment of government ministers, such as the decision earlier this year by the High Court to block Shas chairman Aryeh Deri as interior and health minister using the reasonableness doctrine. Proponents argue that it is the prime minister’s job to select members of their cabinet, and the judiciary is undemocratically interfering in the executive’s ability to govern.

Reasonableness, they say, has become one of the many expanded powers used by the “activist court” to undermine a democratically elected government.

What do opponents of the reasonableness legislation say?

Critics of the legislation, including Israel’s attorney general, say that “reasonableness” is an essential standard in the Israeli legal system and one of the few measures that the judiciary has to check on the excess of Israel’s heavily centralized executive branch of government. Canceling that standard, they say, would remove the only tool for reviewing arbitrary and highly unreasonable decisions by the government. This is made more important in countries without a written constitution, like Israel.

This would harm law enforcement and other agencies, including unreasonable appointments to key positions based on political or personal association. For example, the decision to appoint Aryeh Deri as health and interior minister by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was made despite his past criminal convictions. Deri, as part of his 2022 plea bargain, promised he would not return to public life. The High Court ruled that due to Deri’s criminal history – he has been convicted twice of crimes (2000, 2022) and served a stint in prison in 2002 – was “unreasonable in the extreme” and allowed the application of the reasonableness doctrine to disqualify him from serving as a minister.

As such, opponents of the bill fear that since the legislation is limited to elected officials, it could lead to a growth in corruption.

 

[Bonerfarts]

Unchecked government power is usually a contentious issue.

 

[Colonoscopy]

Unchecked government power is usually a contentious issue.

Are we talking about unchecked government power?

Does American law have the reasonableness veto at the level of the supreme court?

But they're not built like us, so maybe that's not the question to ask.

 

[Colonoscopy]

Their method for selecting supreme court judges is seems less democratic than in the US.

(granted, it would become more straight-forwardly political like it is in the US, if a change were made)

Israel’s Reformers Look to US as Model for Selecting Judges

In Israel, Supreme Court justices effectively appoint themselves and their successors. Reformers says that's undemocratic.

www.israeltoday.co.il

 

[pablow]

We would not tolerate our Supreme Court having a "reasonableness" veto.

 

[mnole03]

We would not tolerate our Supreme Court having a "reasonableness" veto.

We also wouldn’t develop our legal framework by incorporating the Talmud.

 

[win4jj]

Are we talking about unchecked government power?

Does American law have the reasonableness veto at the level of the supreme court?

But they're not built like us, so maybe that's not the question to ask.

Our representative know it all is back at the forefront. Colon, are you Bonney?

 

[ft254]

Unchecked government power is usually a contentious issue.

Nuntanyoohoo is Israel's Orange Turd/DieSantOS.