MK Yuli Edelstein will not be allowed to propose private bills, raise topics for discussion or speak in the Likud’s name in the Knesset plenum for the next three weeks due to his intentional absence from Monday night’s judicial reform vote, coalition whip and Likud faction head Ofir Katz said Tuesday.
Edelstein was absent from the Knesset plenum during the voting sessions – something that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reportedly known about in advance – to protest the continuation of the legislative process without broad consensus. He was the only Likud MK to do so.
Despite his absence, the reform bill on judicial review, including the override clause, passed its first reading in the Knesset plenum after midnight on Monday.
Officially an amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary, the bill proposes that the High Court of Justice will have the power to strike down a law if it directly contradicts a Basic Law, but only with an 80% majority out of the full bench (12 out of 15 judges).
A second provision says the Knesset may insert an “override clause” into a law, and the law applies even if it contradicts a Basic Law. The High Court cannot hear an appeal against such a law.
The bill passed its first reading in a 61-52 vote. The law requires a full Knesset majority of 61 votes (as opposed to a majority of legislators present) since it is an amendment to a Basic Law.
Edelstein’s absence was significant, as it gave the Likud a scare because if one more MK would have been absent, the bill would have been toppled. Out of the coalition’s 64 members, Justice Minister Yariv Levin was also absent due to the death of his father earlier this week, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was absent for reasons related to his role.
Source: JPost/ Photo: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90