Israel's Supreme Court Strikes Down 'Draft Evasion' Law

Israel's High Court of Justice has nullified a controversial law that provided a legal exemption from criminal prosecution for ultra-Orthodox men evading military service. The ruling came 51 days after the Knesset, Israel's parliament, passed the law, marking the fastest-ever judicial cancellation of legislation in Israel. This is only the second time in Israeli legal history that a law has been voided due to flaws in its legislative process.

The expanded nine-judge panel, led by Justice Noam Sohlberg, based its decision on two grounds: procedural defects in how the law was passed and its substantive content, which violated the right to equality. Sohlberg's opinion, which likely swayed the entire panel, highlighted the law's discriminatory nature. Only Justice David Mintz based his support solely on the procedural aspect, suggesting he would have upheld the law if passed correctly.

The procedural flaw stemmed from the bill's transformation during its legislative journey. Initially intended to integrate yeshiva students into the IDF, it evolved into a law granting a blanket exemption from military service for the entire ultra-Orthodox sector, and finally became a measure blocking criminal enforcement against draft evaders. The court ruled that the final content of the law was fundamentally different from its initial proposal, thus failing to undergo proper legislative review, including a first reading.

The ruling establishes new criteria for determining what constitutes a "new subject" in legislation, focusing on discrepancies between the original and final bill's purpose, scope, and enforcement mechanisms. This aims to prevent the manipulative use of existing legislative proposals to pass unrelated laws. The court emphasized that even temporary measures, like this one, are subject to judicial review if they severely impact equality and the rule of law.

Despite the government's failure to formally defend the law, with even the Knesset's legal counsel not appearing to support it, the judges stressed the law's extreme violation of equality and the rule of law. Justice Ofer Grosskopf described the legislation as "a corrupt and invalid legislative act" contradicting Israel's democratic and Jewish character. The decision underscores the judiciary's role in upholding fundamental principles even under political pressure.