An unprecedented 15-judge panel on Tuesday began deliberating petitions against the reasonableness law passed by the Knesset in July. The debate marks the first time in Israel’s history that a full panel of Supreme Court judges are deliberating a case – that is another historic first – invalidating one of Israel’s Basic Laws. The vast majority of legal scholars believe that the Supreme Court does not have the authority to invalidate a Basic Law and doing so risks sending Israel into a constitutional crisis. The chairman of the Knesset’s Constitution Committee, MK Simcha Rothman, told the court that it has no right to interfere with a Basic Law: “The Knesset has the right to establish Basic Laws, in line with the will of the people,” he said.
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