Israeli Supreme Court hears first challenge to Netanyahu's divisive judicial overhaul

The Supreme court is effectively hearing a case about its own powers being curbed by Netanyahu's government.

Transcript

00:00 Israel's Supreme Court has begun hearing petitions to strike down a law that curbs its own powers.

00:07 For the first time, a panel of all 15 judges convened to discuss eight appeals to the reasonableness

00:13 clause passed by the Knesset in July, which abolished the Supreme Court's ability to overrule

00:19 government decisions.

00:21 It's the first piece of the wider plan by President Benjamin Netanyahu's government

00:29 to weaken the Supreme Court and give more power to the governing coalition.

00:36 Outside the court there was support for the clause. Netanyahu's administration, a coalition

00:40 between his Likud party and extreme right and ultra-orthodox Jewish allies, argues that

00:46 the legal changes will rebalance powers between politicians and the judiciary.

00:53 But opponents have regularly demonstrated against the judicial change, accusing Netanyahu,

00:59 who is on trial for corruption charges he denies, of trying to use the proposed legal

01:04 overhaul to quash possible judgments against him.

01:07 [MUSIC PLAYING]