"The Supreme Court ruling on the natural gas plan is a move in the wrong direction. The ruling striking down the government's gas plan is liable to cost billions of shekels. I hope the world does not interpret the ruling as meaning that Israel abuses its investors," Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked said today in criticism of the Supreme Court following its March 27 ruling striking down the government gas plan.
Speaking at an Israel Bar Association conference in Eilat, Shaked remarked, "I regard the legal result of the ruling as more serious than the enormous economic damage the ruling caused in the gas sector. The Court has once again become a place for adjudication of purely political and macroeconomic questions that should be decided in other places by Knesset vote, not in Court."
Shaked added, "The Court's job is to defend those who have been directly harmed, not to deal with questions like the gas plan. We have reached a ridiculous situation in which the petitioners against the gas plan are non-profit organizations and MKs seeking to promote their views through misuse of the legal arena, instead of through the Knesset."
She continued, "The argument that the parts of the plan other than the stability clause were approved is like saying that a car is perfect except that its engine doesn't work. We are once again seeing the exercise of authority without responsibility."
In an unprecedented attack against the Supreme Court, Shaked charged, "The dramatic ruling rests entirely on judicial legislation. The ban on restriction of administrative discretion (the argument used in the Supreme Court ruling, C.M.) constitutes judicial legislation. I don't understand why the same reasoning did not deprive the government of the right to sign the Oslo Accords and other agreements."
According to Shaked, the ruling against the stability clause in the gas agreement will lead to legal instability. "A ruling like the one we saw last week shows me how important it is that those exercising judicial authority maintain the strength of the Supreme Court, but not if it means interfering with matters of policy at the expense of paying attention to human rights. We need justices who trust the people's choice."
Shaked concluded her remarks with a promise to change the composition of the Supreme Court by promoting the appointment of conservative justices. "A ruling like the one we saw last week, with the enormous gap between the majority and minority opinions on the Court, is for me a map and compass. It helps me realize that the justices I want to see are those who are able to see the "governing spaces," not just the "black holes." It helps me realize how important it is for the justices to maintain the Supreme Court's strength and prestige, but not if it means weakening the Knesset and government's ability to carry out policy that does not violate human rights. Justices should rely on the people's power and election of its representatives, who are responsible for matters of the sword and the purse. Such justices will grant us the blessings of strength, in addition to peace."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 4, 2016
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