Aharon Barak accuses defense establishment of misleading high court

Former High Court President Aharon Barak accused the defense establishment on Sunday of having misled the court on several occasions in its filing of petitions pertaining to security matters.

Speaking at the annual bar conference in Eilat, Barak said that it was the duty of the judiciary branch to examine "whether this is really a defense issue or whether we're being misled, and things like that have happened. The name of security has been taken in vain more than once or twice."

Barak added that it would be a serious mistake to give the executive branch the final say on defense matters and leave the court system out of the picture. The former justice said that while judges do not determine policy – a balance must be struck between the branches.

The judiciary branch, he said, "should examine whether the security additives are balanced opposite the harsh infringement on citizen's rights. There is no security without human rights and any attempt to limit the court's authority on defense issues is a blow not only to human rights but to defense as well."

Deputy Attorney General Shai Nitzan also took part in the panel, and said that in times of conflict there are many cases where the court does not have to debate issues of a clear operational nature as the judiciary process is not applicable in the handling of these matters.

"The state presents merited positions to the High Court, and sometimes the state loses, and looking back on it later it's not so bad. The High Court sees things better than us," said Nitzan.