The Standard of (Extreme) Unreasonableness

The Standard of Unreasonableness has roots in English law and is commonly used in many other countries. It is utilized in areas where a level of vagueness exists within legislation and allows the court to oversee government decisions where the government’s decision “disproportionately focuses on political interests without sufficient consideration for public trust and its protection.”

This is only used in cases that are deemed extremely unreasonable and may be seen as damaging to the democratic foundations of the country.

On July 24th, the Knesset amended the Basic Law: the Judiciary, and repealed the Standard of Reasonableness.

On September 12th, the Supreme Court convened to hear petitions against the repeal of the Standard of Reasonableness. 

 

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Publications Regarding The Standard of (Extreme) Unreasonableness

Articles

Op-ed

The Supreme Court Hearing on Reasonableness: Law without Enforcement

On the question of Unreasonableness, it appears that the dispute is not only between the Knesset and the Supreme Court, but also among the justices themselves. There are many possibilities, but only one ruling, which will be handed down no later than mid-January 2024.

Play
Webinar

Following the Supreme Court Reasonableness Hearing: Where are we Now?

Yohanan Plesner, president of IDI and Prof. Yuval Shany, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Democratic Values and Institutions met with reporters to discuss the historic Supreme Court hearing on the repeal of the reasonableness doctrine.

Article

Three Big Cases in Israel's September to Remember

Three petitions before the Israeli Supreme Court are transforming the usually slow month of September into a pivotal one in Israel’s ongoing judicial crisis.

Explainer

The Supreme Court Hearing on the Revocation of the Reasonableness Doctrine

On September 12, 2023, an unprecedented panel of 15 Supreme Court Justices will convene to hear petitions requesting to strike down the recent amendment to the "Basic Law: The Judiciary."

Podcast

Judicial Reform – What Comes Next?

In the second part of this two-part episode, Jack Omer-Jackman speaks to renowned Israeli legal scholar and IDI expert Professor Yuval Shany to discuss the Supreme Court’s upcoming deliberations on the legislation annulling reasonability; the significance of basic laws; the impact of reservists’ protests on Israel’s military preparedness and the role of a citizen army in a democracy.

Podcast

Judicial Reform – What Comes Next?

In the first part of this two-part episode, Jack Omer-Jackman speaks to renowned Israeli legal scholar and IDI expert Professor Yuval Shany to discuss the Supreme Court’s upcoming deliberations on the legislation annulling reasonability; the significance of basic laws; the impact of reservists’ protests on Israel’s military preparedness and the role of a citizen army in a democracy.

Op-ed

The government must stop the judicial legislation to prevent further damage to the economy

Earlier this year, we published an article warning against the dangers of the judicial reforms, to our regret, many of the negative developments about which we warned at the beginning of the year have already come to pass.

Podcast

Different Laws for Courts & Knesset Would Spell Disaster

Israel’s political system remains in turmoil as the Supreme Court prepares to hear appeals concerning the refusal of the Justice Minister to convene the Judicial Selection Committee and the constitutionality of the unreasonableness amendment at the beginning of September.

Podcast

What Matters Now to former Bank of Israel governor Karnit Flug: The economy, stupid

Prof. Karnit Flug, IDI's VP of Research, William Davidson Senior Fellow and a former governor of the bank of Israel offers data on the current effects of the controversial judicial overhaul and projections for more ripples as the high tech industry begins to unravel. 

Podcast

The Supreme Court of Israel: A Professional or Political Institution?

Comparing Israel's Supreme Court to America's Supreme Court. 64 Israeli legislators, a slim majority of the Knesset, voted on Monday, July 24, to amend one of Israel's Basic Laws, and in so doing, they took away the Israeli Supreme Court's ability to strike down decisions that it finds "unreasonable in the extreme.

Podcast

Haaretz Weekly: What Comes Next?

Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, joins Haaretz Weekly host Allison Kaplan Sommer to discuss what comes next, after the Knesset passed the first law in its planned judicial overhaul. 

Greetings

Message from President of IDI, Yohanan Plesner, Following the Repeal of the Standard of Unreasonableness

On Monday, the Knesset voted 64-0 to amend the Basic Law governing Israel’s judiciary and strip the Supreme Court of its power to block government decisions on the basis of the standard of “extreme unreasonableness.”  The decision has potentially fateful consequences because of its immediate implications,

Op-ed

The Day After Reasonableness

The coalition launched the first stage in its judicial overhaul. The process by which the amendment to the Basic Law: The Judiciary was passed, releasing the government and its ministers from the duty to act with reasonableness, is the best possible evidence for what we can now expect.

Podcast

The Lawfare Podcast: The Judicial Revolution Is Here

The first phase of Israel's judicial overhaul is now law. Huge numbers of people are in the streets, reservists are resigning, the stock market is tanking, and Lawfare Editor-in-Chief Benjamin Wittes assembled an all-star panel to talk about it, including IDI's Prof. Amichai Cohen and Prof. Yuval Shany. 

Article

From All-Out Assault to Salami Slicing Tactics: Israel’s Crisis Continues

The Israeli governing coalition is now “only” trying to strip the Supreme Court of its power to conduct reasonableness review of cabinet decisions.

Play
Webinar

In Anticipation of the Knesset’s Vote on the “Reasonableness Standard” – What Happens Next?

With the Knesset set to hold its final vote on curtailing the “reasonableness standard,” what happens next? What are the implications of removing this type of oversight on governmental decisions, and is there still a possibility for compromise ahead of the vote?

Podcast

Reasonableness in the Crosshairs

Tel Aviv-based journalist and Israel Policy Forum Policy Advisor Neri Zilber hosts Prof. Suzie Navot, the vice president for research at the Israel Democracy Institute, to analyze the renewed push by the Netanyahu government to overhaul Israel's judicial system.

Special Survey

Flash Survey: Most Israelis Assess that the Protest Movement Has Delayed Progression of the Judicial Overhaul

Almost a quarter of Israelis have participated in some form of protest, a majority assess that the protest movement has delayed the progress of the judicial overhaul and Likud voters are divided on the question of continuing its implementation. 

Op-ed

The Reasonableness Issue Requires Serious, Informed, and Consensual Discussion

Only a government that wishes to make extremist and corrupt decisions would be afraid of the reasonableness test. While the test would certainly benefit from discussion of the framing of its boundaries and application, the legislation currently on the table hands the government unrestrained power.

 

Op-ed

No professionalism, no expertise – and no women

The Authority for the Advancement of Women's Status and agencies like it are being gutted along with protections for women

Op-ed

Massive Protests Show Israelis Understand Democracies Die Gradually

In Israel, the equivalent of 70 million Americans have gone out to protest the Netanyahu government's attempt to break the country's constitutional order. Populist politics is at war with the mainstream public opinion that it claims to represent.

Op-ed

Eliminating the Standard of Reasonableness Would be Another Step towards Giving the Government Unlimited Power

Abolishment of the standard of unreasonableness would lead to a further concentration of power in the hands of the executive – a power that is already greater in Israel than in many other democracies.

Special Survey

Unreasonableness and the Judicial Overhaul - Survey Analysis

Data indicates that less than a third of the public supports barring the Supreme Court from intervening in decisions by politicians or public officials.

Explainer

Doing Away with the Standard of Extreme Unreasonableness

The coalition has voted to amend Basic Law: The Judiciary and repeal the Standard of Reasonableness used to review government decisions that are deemed to be extremely unreasonable. On September 12th, the Supreme Court will hear petitions against the constitutionality of this move.

Op-ed

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black

In the case of a MK against whom the attorney-general has decided to file an indictment, the members of his party and of his Knesset bloc vote as one.

Op-ed

A Test of Reasonableness

The bizarre constitutional situation in which we now find ourselves raises a great many legal questions, not all of which have simple answers. Does the law allow the prime minister to fire all the government’s ministers? Can he serve as “the government” by himself?