Justice minister, Supreme Court president butt heads
Ayelet Shaked argues that Supreme Court is 'distorting democracy' by intervening with the legislature and the executive; Miriam Naor says, 'Judicial independence is a prerequisite of a democratic society.'
The damage to democracy and the independence of the Supreme Court was brought into the spotlight on Thursday at the gathering of the upper echelon of Israeli justice in Zihron Ya'akov when Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked attacked the country's top court and accused it of committing "a distortion of democracy" when it intervened in the work of the Knesset and government.
Shaked delivered a speech at the Law and Society Forum, which was intended by, inter alia, Supreme Court President Miriam Naor and Emeriti Presidents Aharon Barak, Dorit Beinisch and Asher Grunis, as well as Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.
The justice minister said, "There are those who want to make the public believe that any governmental model that does not fully conform to the platform of the leftist parties does not meet the basic requirements of the democratic system. This is not so. The attempt to paint the political camp, which seeks to establish the classic model of the separation of powers, with the label 'democracy destroyer' will not succeed.
"The rumors about the death of Israeli democracy are premature. I say here in the clearest way possible: a judicial branch that interferes with the work of the legislative or executive branch, when these were established duly and legally, is not operating according to the accepted democratic model and must be returned to its course."
Shaked has sought to appoint judges according to their political opinions. Naor said that leading to the appointment of four new justices to the Supreme Court, she would like to appoint justices who would rule according to facts and the law alone.
"They must not be influenced by anyone," said the president. "They must not be deterred from their path by personal or public attacks. We, as a society and a judicial system, must not expect from a candidate for a judgeship or from a judge to commit themselves ahead of time—explicitly or implicitly—to ruling one way or another in a certain future matter.
"This undermines the essence of the work of the judiciary and the principles of our democratic system. It is inappropriate to prematurely assume that a judge would rule in a certain way. And truth be told, this kind of assumption also isn't realistic. The only promise that a judge is permitted to commit to in advance is a declaration of allegiance that they declare before the president of the state: to maintain allegiance to the State of Israel and its laws, to dispense justice, not to bend the law and not to be biased. Judicial independence is a prerequisite of a democratic society. It must be carefully safeguarded."
