Neither coalition nor High Court respects Basic Laws. Urgently needed: A constitution

More than eight months of fevered political and legal wrangling have come to a head. For the first time in its history, the High Court is sitting in judgment of a constitutional Basic Law, the so-called “reasonableness law,” the only part of the government’s judicial overhaul legislation, unveiled in early January, that has actually passed into law.

The reasonableness law is an amendment to the Basic Law: The Judiciary passed by the Knesset in July that curtails the High Court’s ability to rule on the “reasonableness” of government actions. The court, that is, will spend the coming weeks ruling on the constitutionality of a constitutional limit being placed upon it.

No wonder many observers expect a “constitutional crisis.” Whether or not a compromise on rewriting the reasonableness law is hammered out in the Knesset, the larger crisis will remain. If the politicians reach a compromise that still clips the court’s wings, would the court abide by it? And if the court strikes down the law altogether, as many expect, will the Netanyahu government acquiesce? READ MORE