Supreme Court Deputy President Noam Sohlberg, considered a conservative justice who generally avoids public confrontation, delivered unusually severe criticism of the Supreme Court—and of its “president,” Justice Yitzchak Amit, in particular—in an article in the HaShiloach journal.

In his remarks, he slammed the Supreme Court’s growing intervention in the other branches of government and called for the decentralization of power and a fundamental rehabilitation of public law.

“Our institutional clashes will cease if the groups that wield great power agree to place limits on their own strength,” Sohlberg wrote. “They must allow the decentralization of power within themselves as well—to reduce their footprint and create space for society, an open area through which air can flow and relieve the suffocation.”

He went on to speak in stark terms about the state of public law: “There will be a need for rehabilitation and repair. There is no denying it—its condition is difficult, and more than once questions have been raised as to whether it still qualifies as ‘law.’”

Solberg then addressed the court’s relationship with the government and the Knesset. “Regarding our relationship with the other branches, I have expressed in the past how important it is that the court take great care not to encroach upon their domain. If, chalilah, we replace their judgment with our own—if we decide cases based on what outcome seems best in our eyes—the court could cause serious harm that will not be easily repaired.”

He added that “such judicial imperialism undermines not only the powers legitimately granted to the other branches but also, due to its increasing presence in the public sphere and legal discourse, prevents the flourishing of other powers—decentralized, independent ones.”

Solberg emphasized that decentralization is also needed within the judiciary system itself: “Pluralism has its own power. Even within our own house, we must disperse power wherever possible, not hoard it.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)