1 in 1 police officers try to control a wave of “Resistance Day” protesters in Tel Aviv, Israel on March 9, 2023 — Photo: Ronen Zvulun/Portal Aviv, Israel on March 9, 2023 — Photo: Ronen Zvulun/Portal
Since January, Israel has been experiencing one of the greatest internal tensions in its history over the controversial judicial reform plan put forward by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Michel Gherman, professor of sociology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the Brazil Israel Institute, explains why Israel does not have a Magna Carta.
“It is an impossibility to reach a consensus between different groups, mainly secular and religious, which led Israel to constitute itself in a project based on organic laws,” he explains.
If passed, the proposal would give the government control over the appointment of judges and limit the Supreme Court’s ability to strike down legislation passed by the ultraconservative Majority Parliament that could endanger minority groups.
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How does the Israeli judiciary work?
Israel does not have a constitution like Brazil. Instead, the country’s legal system has a set of laws that define issues ranging from presidential assignments to guaranteed individual rights: the “Basic Laws.”
The Israeli legislature, known as the Knesset, legislates on these “fundamental laws,” which are linked to the decisions of the Supreme Court and set the principles that guide their administration.
Originally, the “Basic Laws” were created as part of a project for a future Israeli constitution, enshrined in the Declaration of Independence of May 14, 1948.
The plan, according to Gherman, “was never consistent.” Contradictions related to “civil law matters, marriage, divorce and burials and the equality debate” grew louder. According to him, the reform would guarantee the conservative majority in parliament more power over these decisions.
However, the “Basic Laws” are used daily by the judiciary as a formal constitution.
This set of laws outlines basic characteristics of a government, such as: B.: the President, the Knesset, the government, the judiciary, the Israel Defense Forces, state control, freedom of occupation and human dignity and freedom (in relation to human rights). civilians).
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