Jerusalem (EFE).- The leaders of the Israeli government coalition, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, announced today that they have agreed to soften the most controversial aspects of their judicial reform plan, after more than two months of citizen protests against that legislation that seeks to reduce the independence of Justice.
In addition, given the controversy caused by this reform, criticized by broad sectors of society, the Government has decided to delay its parliamentary process until after the recess in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) of almost a month for the Jewish Passover, except for the law on the appointment of judges, the coalition reported in a statement.
Initially, the coalition intended to approve all the basic legislation of the reform by April 2 -when the parliamentary pause begins until the 30th of that month- something that it would achieve without problems by enjoying a large majority of 64 deputies, despite of widespread social rejection.
However, the coalition has proposed to give the final green light in the next two weeks, before the end of the current parliamentary session, to the law that modifies the system of election and appointment of judges, one of the central issues of the controversy reform and in which the government does not seem willing to give in despite citizen pressure.
“The proposal represents the correction of a historical injustice: for the first time, the automatic veto of judges in the judge selection committee will be canceled to allow balance and diversity in the composition of the Supreme Court, eliminating the representatives of the Bar Association,” the coalition statement reported.
The selection committee is maintained to go from 9 to 11 members, as initially planned, but the influence of the government among them is reduced: in the initial bill, that panel would include three ministers, two coalition legislators and two public figures chosen by the government; with a majority of 7 votes to 4.
With the change introduced yesterday, the committee would be made up of three ministers and three legislators from the coalition, as well as three independent judges and two legislators from the opposition; which would grant the government a tighter majority and would give more room for the negotiated agreement of the candidates for Supreme Court judge.
“The heads of the coalition parties call on the opposition to take advantage of the month-long recess, without legislative procedures in the Knesset, to carry out real negotiations in order to reach an understanding on the pieces of legislation that will be submitted for approval later of the recess”, urged the Government to the opposition.
Among the pending legislative projects of the reform is the law on the “annulment clause”, which allows shielding laws so that they are not submitted to Supreme Court review in the event that they include aspects that violate the Basic Law of Israel, with constitutional rank ; or the law that allows the positions of legal advisers of the ministries to be held by politicians.
“We are extending a helping hand to anyone who genuinely cares about national unity and a desire to come to an agreed deal,” said the coalition, which last week vehemently rejected an alternative judicial reform proposal devised by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who sought to reconcile the country, plunged into an unprecedented social fracture and on the verge of a constitutional crisis.