Legal experts have warned that it is quite probable that the
budget for the year 2000 will not be approved on time. The
delay was caused by complications arising as a result of the
appearance of a representative of the Attorney General at a
Finance Committee meeting at which the Religious Affairs
Ministry budget was discussed.
At the meeting, the Attorney General's representative warned
members of the Finance Committee that if they are to approve
budgeting for religious affairs contrary to the High Court's
decision not to discriminate against the Conservative and
Reform movements, such a budget may be invalidated by the
High Court. As a result of these remarks, a storm erupted in
the committee. Its members said that due to the Attorney
General's demand, the entire budget should be returned to the
Government. UTJ representatives demanded that each individual
clause of the government ministries' budgets be examined in
order to make certain that no unequal appropriation of funds
has occurred.
Legal experts note that developments ensuing after the High
Court's decision are liable to snowball after the huge
disparities in other government ministries' budgets are
revealed. "The office of the Attorney General and the members
of the Finance Committee," they say, "will have to take all
of the budget and review it, clause after clause in order not
to approve an budget which does not meet the terms of the
unprecedented decision of the High Court regarding the
budgeting of religious institutions. Under these
circumstances, there is no possibility of the budget being
approved on time."
