Israel’s parliament approved a bill that will reduce judges’ ability to overrule government decisions and appointments.
The move is part of a wider plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition to limit the power of the judiciary. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets in recent months, saying the overhaul threatens the country’s economy and security.
The opposition, which has 56 lawmakers to the coalition’s 64, left the plenum in protest and was not present for the vote. That allowed the government to pass its bill 64 to zero, Bloomberg reports.
Meanwhile, at least 19 protests have been arrested around the Knesset as thousands demonstrated against the vote to limit the Supreme Court’s power, Israel Police spokesperson Dean Elsdunne told CNN,
Protesters have been surrounding the Knesset since early Monday morning, locking arms and sitting in the streets to show their opposition to the bill.
The reasonableness doctrine is not unique to Israel’s judiciary. The principle is used in a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, CNN reports.
The standard is commonly used by courts there to determine the constitutionality or lawfulness of a given legislation, and allows judges to make sure that decisions made by public officials are “reasonable.”
The standard was used this year when Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed key ally Aryeh Deri from all ministerial posts, in compliance with an Israeli High Court ruling that it was unreasonable to appoint him to positions in government due to his criminal convictions and because he had said in court last year that he would retire from public life.
