Netanyahu government unanimously votes to refuse to recognize Supreme Court ruling on the state media regulator, setting up a constitutional crisis between the judiciary and executive branches.
By World Israel News Staff
The Israeli government unanimously approved a declaration Sunday saying it will not recognize decisions by the Second Authority Council if the media regulator continues operating under a High Court of Justice ruling that ministers say contradicts the law, escalating the coalition’s confrontation with the judiciary ahead of expected elections.
The proposal, brought by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and Justice Minister Yariv Levin, states that the government will not accept any decision, approval, appointment or action taken by the council if it does not meet the minimum membership threshold set out in statute.
The Second Authority for Television and Radio regulates Israel’s commercial television and radio broadcasters.
The dispute centers on whether the existing council may continue to act after the number of serving members fell below the legal requirement.
The government’s declaration said that “the rule of law in the State of Israel means the subordination of all governing authorities to the law,” and that neither the government, the Knesset nor the Supreme Court stands above the law.
Ministers argued that a court decision requiring a public body to act contrary to what they called the explicit language of a statute “is not an expression of the rule of law” and does not constitute legitimate judicial review.
The government said it was responding to a June 17 High Court decision that allowed the Second Authority Council to resume activity despite the coalition’s claim that its membership no longer met the threshold required by Section 21 of the Second Authority Law.
Karhi framed the decision as a refusal to accept what he called judicial rewriting of legislation.
“High Court justices are not the Knesset, and an abuse of power does not give them the authority to erase an explicit statutory requirement simply because they find it inconvenient,” Karhi said. “The rule of law is not the rule of judges.”
“Today, the government made its position clear: when the High Court tramples the law, the state will not cooperate. A two-thirds majority is a legal requirement, not a recommendation, and a council that does not meet the statutory threshold established by the legislature has no legal standing, and its decisions are null and void.”
Levin said the government would continue challenging the ruling through legal channels.
“The government has a duty to ensure that the law, and only the law, serves as the source of governmental authority,” Levin said. “We will continue to use every lawful means available to restore the rule of law.”
The move is the latest confrontation between the government and the High Court over judicial authority, media regulation and public appointments.
In May, Justice Alex Stein issued a temporary order freezing the activity of the new Second Authority Council, barring it from convening or making decisions while petitions against the government’s appointments were pending.
The petitions challenged Karhi’s effort to reshape the regulator after his broader communications overhaul stalled.
The confrontation over the Second Authority comes days after the High Court invalidated the Knesset vote appointing Michael Rabello as state comptroller, ruling that the secrecy of the ballot had been compromised.
The Movement for Quality Government, which petitioned against the vote, said the court had protected “one of the fundamental principles of democracy – the secrecy of the vote.”
The court’s ruling on the state comptroller vote drew sharp criticism from coalition lawmakers. Simcha Rothman, chairman of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and one of the leading architects of the government’s judicial overhaul, accused the court and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of overstepping their authority.
“When it acts within its authority, its rulings should be respected,” Rothman told Ynet. “The moment it ignores the law, we will follow the law.”
Rothman also criticized judicial review of parliamentary procedures, saying: “Judicial review of proceedings in the Knesset is a serious jurisdictional problem. The High Court cannot serve as the Knesset’s internal auditor.”
He said he hoped the coalition would revive an “override clause” after the election, allowing the Knesset to reenact laws struck down by the Supreme Court with a parliamentary majority.
The override proposal was one of the most contentious elements of the government’s 2023 judicial overhaul, which triggered months of mass protests and a constitutional crisis.
The dispute has since resurfaced in a series of clashes over judicial appointments, the powers of legal advisers, the attorney general’s authority and court intervention in government and Knesset decisions.
Rothman also accused Baharav-Miara of improperly limiting ministerial action ahead of the expected election.
“Legal advisers are limiting ministers’ actions during the election period based on absurd legal arguments,” he said. “The attorney general is preventing the government from acting, citing the upcoming election period.”
The post Israel faces constitutional crisis as gov’t rejects Supreme Court ruling appeared first on World Israel News.