Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana Faces Pressure to Convene Session on Judicial Overreach
A demand for a special Knesset session to address perceived judicial overreach into legislation, initially submitted in July, has resurfaced following recent High Court of Justice rulings. Twenty-five coalition lawmakers first called on Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to convene the plenum for an extraordinary debate after the High Court temporarily suspended parts of Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi's media law. The lawmakers argued that the court was overstepping its authority and undermining the Knesset's sovereignty.
Despite the initial request on July 24, the special session has not yet been convened. The issue has gained renewed urgency after the High Court issued two significant rulings this week: an interim order delaying key provisions of the law separating the Police Internal Investigations Department from the State Attorney's Office, and a unanimous decision by nine justices to cancel the law freezing the arrest of draft dodgers, with eight justices deeming it unconstitutional.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi has publicly urged Ohana to reconvene the Knesset immediately, stating, "This time the Knesset must restore its lost honor." He criticized the High Court's decisions, particularly the one regarding the draft dodger law, which he described as being made by "only three judges, and even among them a dissenting opinion." Karhi reiterated the coalition's demand for a special session to pass a resolution asserting the Knesset's exclusive authority to legislate and repeal laws, and to declare that judicial review does not grant the power to freeze or suspend enacted laws.
In response, Ohana's office stated that the original request was improperly submitted, as it was initiated by a minister and included signatures from only six lawmakers, not the required 25 non-ministerial Knesset members. They noted that the Knesset operates according to the law, unlike the High Court, and that the request can be corrected and resubmitted properly.
