Voting starts on reasonability curb for High Court after opposition nixes any compromise
The Knesset began voting Monday on the second and third readings of the government’s judicial reform bill which is designed to curb the High Court’s power to use the “reasonable” criterion for striking down its decisions.” This was the first parliamentary vote to be held on the government’s judicial overhaul program. It takes place in the face of fierce, massive protests by tens of thousands of demonstrators, including reservist members of key IDF units. The session began with opposition leader Yair Lapid announcing that negotiations for an agreed formula had been cut short. He put the blame for the impasse on the government “with which no accord is possible.” He ordered opposition deputies to boycott the vote.
PM Binyamin Netanyahu insisted on the Knesset going through with the first segment of the government’s legal reforms. He said there was time in the summer recess to hold a serious dialogue for consensus on the main body of the measure.