At a recent Government meeting, Deputy Housing and
Construction Minister, Rabbi Meir Porush, sharply protested
the Justice Minister's raising of the three Basic Laws at the
Ministerial Committee for Legislation. By doing so, Justice
Minister, Tzachi Hanegbi broke their six-month-old agreement
to the effect that these laws would be subject to a
discussion at a forum of the coalition heads before any
decision is made on the issue.
These statements were made last week at a meeting on the
proposed reforms in the courts. The Justice Minister says
that he will not pressure the various committees to complete
the procedures for legislating the Fundamental Laws during
the Government's current tenure.
All religious ministers, which include Ministers of the
Interior, Religious Affairs, Transportation, Education, Labor
and Welfare, strongly opposed the passing of the Basic
Laws.
Throughout the discussions, Rabbi Porush said that those who
are pushing for expansion of the Court's authority, would one
day regret their actions. "I am not scorning the judges'
ability, just like I never scorned the abilities of Ben
Gurion and Sapir, who were among the founders of the state.
Today, attempts are being made to institutionalize what at
that time was achieved by the `tzetlach method.' I am
certain that in the future, eyes will be opened and everyone
will regret that the Court received paramount status and the
ability to nullify Knesset legislation."
Rabbi Porush added: "The judges' behavior in their rulings
mandates their being elected by the public at large, because
only then will it be possible to determine whether they are
acting in the name of the nation. Democracy is not the
unlimited rule of the minority. If we have democracy, then it
must be democracy in its fullest sense, as is the case in
many Western countries," he concluded.
After a lengthy discussion, the Justice Minister's proposal
to implement reforms in the structure of the judicial system
was approved by the Knesset at a first reading. Ten
ministers, among them the prime minister, supported the
proposal. Four religious ministers, from Shas and the NRP,
voted against it.
Justice Minister Tzachi Hanegbi announced that at next week's
Knesset plenum he would present the law implementing the
conclusions of the public committee headed by Justice Or.
After the Knesset's decision, Hanegbi said that the purpose
of the structural changes anchored in the proposal of the law
is to reduce by half the duration of legal procedures as well
as to complete the implementation of the reforms by the year
2001. According to Hanegbi, "The Government's decision is
good news for the millions of citizens who bang on the doors
of the judicial system in the hope of meriting justice at a
reasonable speed."
The Or Committee's main goal is to transform the Magistrate's
Court into a central court within the judicial system and to
grant it authority to handle the majority of civil and
criminal cases. According to committee recommendations, the
regional courts will become forums whose main function will
be to hear appeals on magistrate court rulings and will serve
as the first courts for serious crimes as well as a limited
number of civil topics.
