Democrats party to lead new Knesset committee on repealing judicial overhaul laws

The Democrats, the left-wing party led by Yair Golan, have announced an agreement with Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party that gives the Democrats the chair of a special Knesset committee. That committee's job is to reverse central parts of the judicial overhaul passed under the previous government, The Times of Israel reported. According to that report, the committee is expected to be formed this week.

Israeli broadcaster N12 named the lawmaker in line for the post. Its political correspondent Dafna Liel reported that Gilad Kariv, a Member of Knesset (MK) for the Democrats, is expected to head the committee, which she described as the panel for cancelling the laws concerning the attorney general and the Judicial Selection Committee.

What the committee is meant to undo

The Times of Israel said the new panel will give priority to two sets of laws passed last year by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. The first increased political influence over the Judicial Selection Committee, the body that appoints Israel's judges. The second reduced the powers of the attorney general, among other things by letting the government disregard the attorney general's legal opinions.

N12's description of the committee's remit matches those two areas. Its report uses the Hebrew term yoetzet mishpatit, the feminine form of the title for the government's legal adviser, which in English is usually rendered as attorney general.

What the Knesset and its committees do

The Knesset is Israel's single-chamber parliament. Much of its legislative work happens in committees, which prepare bills before they return to the full chamber for final votes. Alongside its permanent committees, the Knesset can set up special committees for a particular task, which is the format described in this case. Whoever chairs such a committee has considerable say over which bills are taken up and in what order, which is why the allocation of the chair is the subject of a deal between parties.

The judicial overhaul in brief

The judicial overhaul is the name given to a package of legal changes advanced by Netanyahu's government that altered the balance between elected politicians and the courts and legal advisers. The two pieces singled out here go to the heart of that balance: who chooses judges, and whether the government is bound by the advice of its own chief legal officer. The Times of Israel report refers to Netanyahu's administration as the previous government, and the committee is presented as the means by which its successors intend to roll those measures back.

What Golan said

Golan framed the agreement as a first step, describing it, according to The Times of Israel, as the start of an effort at "repairing the damage." He added that his party would repeal the judicial overhaul and strengthen democracy so that events of the past four years could not be repeated.

The parties involved

The Democrats are led by Golan and described in The Times of Israel report as a left-wing party. Yashar is the party led by Gadi Eisenkot. The announcement came from the Democrats, and neither report quotes Yashar or Eisenkot on the terms of the arrangement.

What the reports do not say

Neither report gives the committee's membership or how seats on it will be divided among parties, and neither sets out a timetable for when repeal bills would be brought to a vote. Yashar has not been quoted confirming the agreement, and the naming of Kariv as chair rests on N12's report alone; The Times of Israel says only that a Democrats representative will hold the post. No response from Netanyahu or his allies to the plan has been reported.