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27 Teves 5767 - January 17, 2007 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
MK Rabbi Ravitz Proposes Law to Limit High Court's Power

By Eliezer Rauchberger

The Knesset took a first step toward reining in the High Court this week when the House Committee unanimously exempted MK Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz from having to table a bill he drafted that would forbid the High Court from annulling laws legislated in the Knesset.

According to Knesset regulations, from the moment an individually sponsored law is tabled in the Knesset it cannot be raised for discussion and a preliminary vote for at least 45 days in order to provide MKs and the government time to study the proposal and decide how to relate to it. However, the House Committee is authorized to grant an exemption from the 45-day wait requirement.

Rabbi Ravitz' proposal would take away the High Court judges' power to override the Knesset. The Knesset, as a forum of political representatives, reflects a wide range of opinions in Israeli society. Instead of rejecting laws legislated by the Knesset, the High Court would only be permitted to call the Knesset's attention to its legal opinion that a given law violates a Foundation Law. The Knesset would then have the option of altering the law to accommodate the Foundation Law or leaving it unchanged despite the High Court's objection.

Rabbi Ravitz told the House Committee that the Knesset "should hurry to put an end to the unfair competition between the legislative and judicial branches. It cannot be that 120 members of Knesset, who are elected by the public and represent society in its entirety, work hard at the task of legislation, attend Knesset plenum sessions three times, run around at the various committees and pass a law with a democratic majority only to have the court come along and cancel the legislation in one fell swoop and call it unconstitutional."

 

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