Jerusalem (Israel) : Israel's Supreme Court on Tuesday opened the first case to look at the legality of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's contentious judicial overhaul deepening a showdown with the far-right government that has bitterly divided the nation and put the country on the brink of a constitutional crisis.
In a sign of the case's significance, all 15 of Israel's Supreme Court justices are hearing appeals to the law together for the first time in Israel's history. A regular panel is made up of three justices, though they sometimes sit on expanded panels. The proceedings were also being livestreamed.
The law, which parliament passed in July, cancels the court's ability to strike down government decisions it deems to be unreasonable. It is the first piece of the wider plan by Netanyahu's government to weaken the Supreme Court and give more power to the governing coalition, according to a report of the Associated Press (AP).
Also Read : Israel's top court to hear petitions against first part of contentious judicial overhaul
In July this year, the Apex Court of Israel said that it would hear petitions challenging the far-right government's plan to overhaul the country's judiciary. The Israeli civil society groups and other organisations had then filed petitions asking the top court to strike down the law enacted as part of Prime Minister Netanyahu's ambitious programme to overhaul the country's judiciary.
