The Legislative Branch and Constitutional Authority

1. The Legislative Branch is the Knesset, and it is empowered as the Constitutional Convention.

Basic Laws

2. Basic Laws are legislated by the Knesset, by its authority to establish a Constitution, including instructions in the matter of order of government, institutions of government, founding principles and human rights.

Proposing a Basic Law

3. A Basic Law will be submitted to the Knesset by the Government or by the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, publicized in Reshumot [the official government gazette], and placed before the Knesset.

Legislation Procedure

4.     (a) A Basic Law will be passed in four readings in the Knesset plenum.

(b)     A Basic Law will be passed in a first and second reading in the Knesset plenum by vote of the majority of Members of Knesset who voted, and abstentions will not be counted.

(c)A Basic Law will be passed in a third reading in the Knesset plenum by vote of the majority of all Members of Knesset.

(d)     A Basic Law will be passed in a fourth reading in the Knesset plenum, in wording identical to that passed in the third reading, by a majority numbering 70 Members of Knesset; the fourth reading will be held at a special session devoted solely to this matter and held no less than six months after the third reading.

Annulment and Change of a Basic Law

5. A Basic Law will not be annulled or changed, except by a Basic Law.

Stability of Basic Laws

6. State of Emergency regulations are not empowered to change a Basic Law, or to temporarily invalidate or set conditions for it.

Laws

7. Laws are legislated by the Knesset, by its authority as the Legislative Branch.

Proposed Law

8.

(a) A proposed law will be submitted to the Knesset by the government or a Member of Knesset.

(b) A proposed law relating to the Knesset, Knesset elections, Members of Knesset or the State Comptroller may be submitted to the Knesset by a Committee of the Knesset so empowered by the Knesset Takanon [bylaws].

(c) A law proposed by the Government or a Committee of the Knesset shall be published in Reshumot [the official government gazette] and placed before the Knesset.    

Legislation Procedure

9.            (a) A law will be passed in three readings in the Knesset plenum.

(b) A law proposed by a Member of Knesset will be brought to the Knesset plenum for a preliminary hearing. Should the proposal be approved by the Knesset, it will be transferred to a Committee of the Knesset. Should the proposal be approved by the Committee, it will be published, as worded by the Committee, in Reshumot, and tabled in the Knesset.
   

       (c) A law will be passed in the Knesset plenum by vote of the majority of Members of Knesset who voted, and abstentions will not be counted.

Supremacy of Basic Laws

10. A law will not contradict an instruction of a Basic Law.

Validity of a contradicting law -  temporary order

11.

(a)

Should the Supreme Court determine, in accordance with paragraph 15a of the Basic Law: The Judiciary, that a law is invalid as it contradicts an order of a Basic Law (henceforth: “A contradicting law”), the contradicting law will remain valid despite the contradiction if the Knesset shall determine explicitly, in a law passed in its third reading by a majority of 70 Members of Knesset, after receiving the Supreme Court ruling, that the law in question shall be valid despite that stated in the Basic Law (henceforth: “override clause”). 

(b)

The override clause will be valid for five years, unless a shorter term is determined, and it may not be legislated again.

(c)

Upon the end of the period of the override clause, the law in question shall not be valid, as determined by the court.

(d)

In this paragraph, “law” includes an instruction in the law.

(e)

This paragraph shall be valid for ten years from the day this Basic Law becomes effective. Nonetheless, the cessation of effectiveness of this paragraph will not affect the effectiveness of a notwithstanding clause legislated prior to the date of cessation of effectiveness.

New version and combined version

12. The principles for determining a New Version, in Hebrew, of legislation predating the establishment of the state, and for determining a Combined Version of laws, and the methods for editing these, shall be determined in law.

Regulations

13. Regulations are instructions given by authority of a law, and they are of legislative effect.

Enacting Regulations

14.

(a)     A law may empower the government, a member of the government, a  government authority, or one who holds a position or fills a role therein, to enact regulations for the purpose of implementing the law or for any other matter determined in the authorization.

(b)     One authorized to enact regulations may determine therein that the sentence for violation of any instruction in the regulation shall be a fine not exceeding that determined in the law, and may, if so explicitly authorized in the law, determine a punishment of imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months.

Superiority of Basic Laws and Ordinary Laws

15. A regulation will not contradict an instruction in a Basic Law or ordinary law.

Knesset oversight

16. The Knesset will oversee the enactment of regulations, as shall be determined in law.

Procedure for proposal and debate

17. Instructions regarding the procedure for submitting proposed Basic Laws and proposed laws, and the procedure for their debate, to the extent not determined in this Basic Law, shall be determined in a law or in accordance with a law.  

Publication

18.

(a)     Basic Laws, laws, and regulations shall be published in Reshumot [the official government gazette].

(b)     The version of Basic Laws, laws, and regulations, as published in Reshumot, shall be the binding version.

(c) Directions regarding the procedure of publication, and of correcting errors, shall be determined in law.

Commencement

19. A Basic Law, law or regulation shall take effect the day it is published in Reshumot, unless it contains instructions directing otherwise.

Transition instructions

20.

A Basic Law which was in effect immediately preceding the effectiveness of this Basic Law, shall be considered to have been enacted in accordance with this Basic Law. 

Legislation of Basic Laws during the Transition Period

21.

(a)

During the Transition Period, in paragraph 4(d), in place of “by a majority numbering 70 Members of Knesset” the text shall read “by a majority of the Members of Knesset”, and at the end of the paragraph shall come the text “unless the Knesset, by a majority of the Members of Knesset, decided, after the third reading, that the fourth reading shall be held at an earlier date, as the Knesset will determine.”

(b)

In this paragraph, “transition period” shall mean the period beginning the day this Basic Law takes effect, and ending at such time that the Knesset decides, by a majority consisting of seventy Members of Knesset, in a session devoted exclusively to this matter, that the transition period has ended.

Validity of laws

22.

(a)

This Basic Law shall not affect the validity of a law in force prior to the commencement of the Basic Law.

(b)

A law which was in effect immediately prior to the commencement of the effect of this Basic Law, shall remain in effect even if it contradicts a Basic Law which was also in effect prior to the commencement of the effect of this Basic Law, unless the contradicted Basic Law stipulates that any change or harm to rights in said Basic Law shall only be accomplished under certain specified conditions, and the contradicting law did not fulfill those conditions.

(c)

10. This Basic Law shall not affect the validity of regulations enacted in accordance with the Palestine Order in Council as in effect prior to the commencement of this Basic Law.

Amending the Basic Law: The Knesset

 
23.

 In paragraph 9a of the Basic Law: The Knesset, sub-paragraph (a) shall be followed by:

(a1)

“The Basic Law: Legislation notwithstanding, sub-paragraph 1 of this Basic Law, as well as this subparagraph, may not be changed except by a Basic Law passed with a majority of 80 Members of Knesset in the fourth reading.”  

Amending Basic Law: The Judiciary

24.

In Basic Law: The Judiciary:

1. Paragraph 15 will be followed by:

“15a

(a)

No judicial authority will decide that a law is not valid, except the Supreme Court, with a quorum of no less than nine Justices.

(b)

Should a judicial authority encounter a real doubt regarding the validity of a law, and should the judicial authority find that a decision in the matter before it is impossible without first deciding regarding this question of validity, and the judicial authority is unable to remove this doubt and uphold the validity of the law, it shall bring the question before the Supreme Court.

(c)

A question referred in accordance with subparagraph (b) shall be brought before the Supreme Court with a quorum of three judges. Should the Supreme court decide that there exists a real doubt regarding the validity of the law, and that determination in the matter is necessary to enable a decision in the matter before the referring authority, the question shall be brought before a quorum of at least nine judges.

Should the Supreme Court decide that there is no need to discuss the question referred by the judicial authority, the judicial authority shall continue its hearing in the matter, in accordance with the decision of the court.

(d)

Should the aforementioned doubt of sub-paragraph (b) arise before the Supreme Court, in a quorum of three judges, the court will decide whether to bring the question before a quorum of nine judges, as detailed in sub-paragraph (c).

(e)

Should the Supreme Court decide that a law is invalid, it may order any remedy which it deems necessary under the circumstances, including a determination in the matter of the commencement of the invalidation.

(f)

The instructions of this paragraph will apply as well to claims of invalidity of a Basic Law due to a flaw in its enactment process.

(g)

In this paragraph, “Basic Law” and “law” include instructions in a Basic Law or law.