Israel's Supreme Court Freezes Communications Law

Israel's High Court of Justice has issued a conditional order freezing a recently passed communications law and demanding the government justify why it should not be nullified. The court's decision came after the legal advisor to the government requested an interim order to halt the law, which she described as having been passed through a flawed process and containing a severe number of substantive defects. She argued that legislation impacting freedom of expression, the press, and media independence requires meticulous scrutiny, especially during an election period when structural changes to the media market could have sensitive implications for public discourse. The law, approved by the Knesset in July, establishes a new broadcast authority to replace the Second Authority and the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council, with an annual budget of NIS 25 million. Under the law, the policy-setting board for this new authority would be appointed by the Director General of the Ministry of Communications. It also permits the establishment of new, minimally regulated news channels and eliminates the structural separation between broadcasters and their news companies. The Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karhi, acknowledged that he advanced the law at the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite Netanyahu being barred from making decisions related to Israeli media due to an ongoing trial.