The Comparative Project: A Synopsis of Presentations from Panel One of the ISCP's inaugural conference, Constitutional Conflicts and the Judicial Role in Comparative Perspective
*Prepared by Orly Rachmilovitz
William Ewald (University of Pennsylvania School of Law)
In a landmark decision handed down in April, Avneri v. The Knesset, HCJ 5239/11, the Israeli Supreme Court upheld the bulk of the Anti-Boycott Law while striking down one important provision. That law, passed in 2011, empowers the finance minister to fine, withhold funding from, or bring suits for damages against Israeli NGOs that call for boycotts of businesses in Israel.
The recent retirement of President Asher Grunis would probably not be viewed by the legal community in Israel as the end of an era in the history of the Supreme Court. Justice Grunis has always been considered a sophisticated and cautious jurist who specialized in private law. It is also a well-known fact that during his short three-year tenure as President he focused primarily on procedural reforms in order to deal with the heavy caseload pressures on the judicial system.
