Justice - Israel: Impeachment law will apply later after all
An amendment to the law that makes it more difficult to remove a head of government from office in Israel will not come into force until the next legislative period. This was decided by the Supreme Court in Jerusalem in a ruling. Six out of eleven of the judges were in favor of such a postponement. The reason given was that the law was clearly tailored to a specific person. Parliament had therefore abused its authority by approving the amendment.
It had decided in March that a three-quarter majority would be required in future to remove a prime minister from office. The amendment was particularly controversial because it is considered to be personally tailored to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his needs. He is accused of using it to protect himself against impeachment. The 74-year-old has been on trial for corruption for some time. The opposition had condemned the new law as "indecent and corrupt".
Influence of the judiciary should be weakened
According to the amended law, a prime minister could only be removed from office for mental or other health reasons. This was intended to prevent the Supreme Court or the Public Prosecutor General's Office from exerting influence.
On Monday, the Supreme Court had already overturned a core element of the controversial judicial reform in Israel in a dramatic decision. The amendment to the law that was overturned was essentially about the Supreme Court being deprived of the opportunity to take action against "inappropriate" decisions by the government, the prime minister or individual ministers. Critics had warned that this could encourage corruption and the arbitrary appointment of important posts.
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- The decision to delay the implementation of the reform that makes it harder to impeach a prime minister in Israel was made by the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, with six out of eleven judges in favor.
- The amendment to the law, which was favored by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, requires a three-quarter majority to remove a prime minister from office in the future, a move criticized as being tailored to protect Netanyahu against impeachment.
- In its ruling, the Supreme Court stated that the amendment was a clear abuse of authority by Parliament, as it was tailored to a specific individual rather than serving the broader interests of the Israeli public.
- The overturned amendment to the law in Israel would have prevented the Supreme Court from challenging inappropriate decisions made by the government, the prime minister, or individual ministers.
- Critics of the controversial judicial reform in Israel cautioned that the amended law could have encouraged corruption and the arbitrary appointment of important posts, as it weakened the influence of the judiciary.
Source: www.stern.de
