The Law of Politics and the Politics of Law: The Changing Relationships Between the Political Branches and the Legal Institutions in Israel

Abstract

The paper tells the story of Israel’s public legal institutions, particularly the Supreme Court and the Attorney General office, their increasing pivotal role in collective decision making and their relationship with the political branches of government – the law of politics and the politics of law. Between 1948 and the 1990s the public legal institutions in Israel established and crystalized their independence and, invigorated by the high public’s trust (the Supreme Court, until recently, enjoyed the highest approval rate by the public, save the IDF, among all public institutions), gradually and significantly increased their input into public decision-making, and their review of government and of other political institutions. This gradual process has not met real opposition or resistance by the political branches until the 1990s. However, in the last two decades increasing tensions have arouse between the political branches and the public legal institutions, especially the Israeli Supreme Court, which prompted increasing attempts by politicians to curtail the powers, independence and influence of state legal institutions. These resulted recently with a more conservative and deferent approach of the legal institutions, which could affect the vigor of Israel’s liberal democracy.