‘Regime Coup’: Former AG urges Supreme Court to void gov’t judicial reform laws

Former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit decries “regime coup,” urges opposition not to negotiate with ruling parties regarding compromise to the reforms.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit called on the Supreme Court to unilaterally strike down laws passed by the Knesset that would create major reforms to the current legal system, categorizing the legislation as a “regime coup” that the court has a “duty” to stop.

Speaking at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) at Tel Aviv University on Tuesday night, Mandelblit said that the proposed changes to the judiciary – which would shake up the way that judges are selected, among other aspects – are tantamount to a hostile takeover over the country.

“We are experiencing a regime coup, not so-called legal reforms,” Mandelblit said.

The potential reforms “totally abolish the independence of the legal system in the State of Israel,” Mandelblit charged. He argued that the changes are so egregious that the Opposition should not engage in negotiations with the coalition regarding the reforms “until the legislative abominations are totally withdrawn and annulled.”

“What laws are they advancing these days? The precise laws that will damage the independence of the legal institutions and abolish their role as democratic safeguards in the State of Israel,” he continued.

“The politicization of judicial appointments, the elimination of their ability to strike down a Basic Law, the abolition of the professional independence of legal advisers to government ministries.”

Notably, Mandelblit did not mention former Chief Justice Aharon Barak’s 1992 ruling to dramatically expand the matters in which the Supreme Court is permitted to intervene, beginning a policy of voiding laws passed by the legislature – something that had not occurred prior to his decision.

The Supreme Court should act swiftly “to annul all acts of legislation that come to abolish the liberal democratic regime in Israel, [and] it will be their duty to do so,” Mandelblit said.

“And I trust them that these two lines of defense will not be breached and they will fulfill their legal duty in the spirit of the commandments of the founding fathers.”

Ironically, Mandelblit’s comments can be viewed by proponents of the reforms as strengthening their argument that the Supreme Court’s expansive powers should be curbed, as he is advocating for the body to unilaterally cancel legislation passed by the government.