Israel's Legislation Committee chairperson proposes ‘British model’ of judicial review
The coalition has made several concessions despite lack of formal negotiations with the opposition
During the Monday morning session of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Chairperson Simcha Rothman proposed two models for judicial review.
One model, called the ‘British model,’ proposes a less formal process of judicial review. This model would see the High Court of Justice declaring which laws are incompatible with Basic Laws, rather than striking them down.
The High Court president would then notify the prime minister and the Knesset speaker of the declaration. The non-binding declaration would allow the legislature to correct elements of the bill that made it incompatible. Furthermore, the declaration would only require the agreement of three justices.
In this model, officially striking down legislation would only happen with a majority of justices and a number of readings. The required number of justices would be four-fifths of the full bench.
The previous version of the bill required a unanimous decision of 15 justices.
The proposal also contained changes to the override clause. While the clause would still allow a simple majority of the Knesset to immunize the legislation from review, it would allow judicial review one full year after the end of the term of the Knesset that passed the bill.
The committee vote to pass the bill to the Knesset is expected on Wednesday.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
