The president of Israel in actuality has little authority and for all practical purposes is a figurehead.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the president is the only authority permitted to pardon prisoners and no government minister has the authority to object or seek to prevent his decision. The decision take effect immediately.
In the past, a presidential pardon required the signature of the justice minister. Israeli law expect Prof. Suzy Navot explained that while today, following the landmark decision, the justice minister’s signature is still required, it is clear the minister has no say in the matter and according to the ‘dry law’, he is compelled to sign based on the presidential decision. The minister’s signature is a required formality and not in any way to be interpreted as providing the minister with the right to disagree with a presidential pardon.
In reverse, if the cabinet votes to release prisoners, the president may decide not to sign a pardon for prisoners and the cabinet may not compel him to do so.
The only body empowered to circumvent the president is the High Court of Justice and opponents of a presidential decision may take their case to court.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
The Israeli Supreme Court sees itself as an oversight body, unlike an Anglo-American court which decides cases based on legal precedents. The current court likes the current president. If the president were nationalist or religious or sefardi (or, “heaven forbid” from their perspective, all of them), they would freely change their ruling.
In all fairness, the Israeli Supreme Court is in many ways acting like “beis din” in that it is taking responsibility for the welfare of the community rather than merely deciding who has the best legal argument, even if their policy is to enforce post-zionist socialist atheism. If people sympathethic to yiddishkeit ever take over Eretz Yisrael, and change the courts ideological bias, this might prove very helpful if one wants to establish a Jewish state (as opposed to a state with many Jews living in it).