![]() ![]() In a sign of the case’s significance, all 15 justices are hearing the appeal together for the first time in the country’s history, rather than the typical smaller panels. The hearing puts Israel’s Supreme Court in the unprecedented position of deciding whether to accept limits on its own powers. Israelis protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system and in support of the Supreme Court ahead of a pivotal appeals hearing beginning Tuesday, in Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. The case that opened Tuesday focuses on the first law passed by parliament in July - a measure that cancels the court’s ability to strike down government moves it deems to be “unreasonable.” Judges have used the legal standard in rare cases to prevent government decisions or appointments viewed as unsound or corrupt. The country’s president has largely ceremonial powers, and there is no firm, written constitution. They say the court is a key counterweight on majority rule in a country with an otherwise weak system of checks and balances - just one house of parliament where the governing coalition is headed by the prime minister. ![]() Netanyahu’s coalition, a collection of ultranationalist and ultrareligious lawmakers, unveiled the overhaul earlier this year, saying it was necessary to rein in an unelected judiciary they believe wields too much power.Ĭritics say the plan - which would weaken the Supreme Court - is a profound threat to Israeli democracy and that it would concentrate power in the hands of Netanyahu and his allies. JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel’s Supreme Court heard the first challenge Tuesday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious judicial overhaul, deepening a showdown with the far-right government that has bitterly divided the nation and put it on the brink of a constitutional crisis.
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