Knesset Advances Bill To Strip Israel Bar Association Of Its Main Powers

Israeli media report that the Knesset has approved in preliminary reading a bill stripping the Israel Bar Association (IBA) of its key powers and transferring them to a newly created body appointed by the government.

• The move comes just two weeks after anti-judicial overhaul candidate Amit Becher won the election to become new IBA head, defeating the government's preferred candidate by a landslide.
• Becher's victory implied that the government would not be able to pressure the IBA to fill its two seats on the Judicial Selection Committee (JSC) with its loyalists, which triggered speculation that it might advance legislation to weaken the IBA.
• The bill approved by the Knesset today would transfer most of the IBA's main powers, such as licensing authority and representation on the JSC, to a so-called Lawyers Council, which has not been established yet.
• Today's vote represents another step in the government's controversial judicial overhaul plan. Yesterday, the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee gave a nod to a bill removing judicial review of the "reasonableness" of officials' decisions.