Netanyahu commits to court override clause in next government

Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to form a government within a week or two, after a deal which allows him to avoid judicial oversight.

Officials from Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party said on Wednesday that the coalition agreement with the heads of the right-wing parties that are likely to join the government will contain a commitment to enact a parliamentary override clause.

The party heads made it clear they would not be satisfied with anything less, and would not sign a coalition agreement that only includes the distribution of ministries and a promise to reverse the previous government's legislative agenda.

According to the officials, in order to  finalise a coalition agreement, mentioning the exact scope of an override clause will be avoided as disagreement has emerged among the likely coalition partners.

Bezalel Smotrich, chairman of Religious Zionism, argues that Supreme Court rulings can be overturned by any size majority while others maintain a simple majority of 61 lawmakers should be required. A further group is asking for a special majority of at least 70 lawmakers to overturn Supreme Court rulings. The absence of political consensus regarding this cardinal issue means that Netanyahu is free to delay the decision until after the next government is established.

The override clause is a proposed legislative tool that will allow Knesset members to override Supreme Court decisions and exempt parliamentary legislation from judicial review.

This would enable the Knesset to re-enact laws overturned by the
Supreme Court even if they contradict Israel's Basic Laws.