Questions and Answers: Tomorrow (Thursday), the Supreme Court will hear an expanded panel on a petition against the amendment to the Incapacitation Law.
So, what exactly is the law of incapacitation?
This is a clause in Basic Law: The Government, according to which a prime minister can be incapacitated only for medical reasons. Incapacitation will be done only if he announces that he is unable to fulfill his duties, or if 75% of the members of the government request that he be incapacitated. In such a case, the request will be brought to a vote in the Knesset, where a majority of 80 MKs will be required for the move.
What are the disadvantages or advantages of the law?
The advantage is setting an objective standard for removing a prime minister from incapacitation, so that the public's democratic decision will not be determined on the basis of an official's decision. The disadvantage is that if there is not 75% of the members of the government who will be incapacitated, then even if, God forbid, the prime minister is in a state of growth, he can continue to "serve" because of the interest of the members of the government not to dismantle it.
Despite the conflict of interest arrangement, Netanyahu declares: "So far, I am entering the event" (Archive) // GPO
Why does the Attorney General oppose the law?
For two main reasons. One is holes, or for example, because the law does not define what medical condition the prime minister will declare and who will determine the medical condition. In addition, she claims that when Netanyahu said after the enactment of the law, "I am entering the event," he admitted that the law was intended to enable him to overcome the conflict of interest arrangement that prohibited him from engaging in reform, and therefore the law should be invalidated because it is personal, even because of its high status as a Basic Law.
If the High Court strikes down the law, can the prime minister be incapacitated now?
Even before the enactment of the law, Basic Law: The Government did not grant the authority to issue the Prime Minister as "functional incapacitation," meaning that the Prime Minister's incompetence to fulfill his duties is not as objective as a serious illness. A passing note in a High Court ruling said that the prime minister could only be incapacitated if he obstructed an investigation against him or a trial.
Are the High Court's options limited to legitimizing the law or merely invalidating it?
Although most of the justices of the High Court of Justice support its ability to intervene in Basic Laws, there is a minority opinion that it does not have the authority to do so. If it recognizes the problems of the law, the High Court has an interim option – to issue a "nullity notice." In other words, instead of invalidating the law because of its holes and problems, it can return the law to the Knesset for discussion so that legislators will consider amending it.
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