Livni says power of the courts greater than majorities in Knesset

Justice minister reminds newly sworn-in judges of duty to hold Knesset accountable.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
Tzipi Livni at the President's residence 370 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Tzipi Livni at the President's residence 370
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni on Tuesday empowered a newly sworn-in group of judges, reminding them of their duty to hold the Knesset accountable.
“[The] Knesset operates according to the principle of the majority, but the job of the Supreme Court is to ensure that the Knesset abides by the values of justice, and therefore, one needs to defend it.”
Livni said her comments were directed at “those who want to claim that the power of the majority in the Knesset is greater than the power of the courts,” at the annual swearing in ceremony for new judges.
The justice minister recently told The Jerusalem Post that she believes the courts are under attack by an alliance of haredim who do not recognize the court’s authority in general, along with those who wish to impose their policy views on the country regardless of minority rights and justice without the courts interfering.
Livni indicated that she would strongly defend the courts against such outside interference and attacks on their authority.
She added that the new judges should ignore what is said about them by “politicians and in the media” and focus on their “inner conscience” to know what is right in each case.
At the same time, Livni said that the judges should not be afraid from oversight within the system to encourage positive trends and remove negative trends and those judges responsible.