In Israel, government plans to change judicial selection procedure and weaken powers of supreme court

Israel's president warned on [15 January] that the country faced a constitutional crisis over a contested plan to rein in the judiciary and said he was mediating between parties. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, now in his sixth term, wants to put controls on the Supreme Court, which members of his religious-nationalist coalition accuse of overreach and elitism. Proposed legislation would limit High Court rulings against government moves or Knesset parliament laws, while increasing politicians' sway over the selection of judges. [...] Yair Lapid, centrist head of the opposition contested Netanyahu's claim that the judicial reforms reflect the views of the general electorate but said he was open to a measure of reform that would allow change only with a parliamentary super majority. Whereas Netanyahu, whose coalition controls 64 seats, wants to empower the 120-seat Knesset to override some Supreme Court rulings with a 61-vote majority, Lapid suggested raising that to 70 - including 10 opposition lawmakers.
Read the full article here: Reuters