9 - Barak’s Legal Revolutions and What Remains of Them: Authoritarian Abuse of the Judiciary-Empowerment Revolution in Israel

Summary

President Aharon Barak has radically transformed the Israeli legal system. He is considered to be an activist judge who rejects literalist interpretation and, instead, interprets the law in light of its purposes. Yet, in recent years, theorists argue that the legal revolution is being eroded and, most likely, is being overturned by a new generation of politicians and newly appointed judges.This chapter raises doubts about this claim. More specifically, it argues that there were two legal revolutions in Israel: 1) the judiciary-empowerment revolution designed to increase judicial power to facilitate judicial intervention in various legal spheres; and 2) the liberal revolution, which injected liberal values into judicial decision-making. The Court uses its increasing power to promote liberal-individualistic values such as dignity, autonomy and equality. I argue that while much criticism is directed at the judiciary-empowerment revolution, the real target of conservative judges is the liberal revolution. Conservative groups in Israel are using the judiciary-empowerment revolution to undo the liberal revolution and transform Israel into an illiberal democracy.