9 Justices of Israeli Supreme Court to Hear Anti-Boycott Law case
9 Justices of Israeli Supreme Court to Hear Anti-Boycott Law Case on Sun. 16 February
(Haifa, Israel) On Sunday, 16 February 2014, at 9:00 am, an expanded panel of nine justices of the Israeli Supreme Court will hear four petitions against the anti-boycott law.
Adalah and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) filed a petition on behalf of leading human rights organizations in Israel - the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, HaMoked - Center for the Defence of the Individual, and Yesh Din as well as Adalah and ACRI – and three organizations that promote an economic boycott as a means to end the Occupation: the Coalition of Women for Peace, the High Follow-up Committee for Arab Citizens in Israel and the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center.
The Anti-Boycott Law, enacted by the Knesset in 2011, allows claimants to seek to recover damages through tort lawsuits from those who called for a boycott. The law also empowers the Minister of Finance to impose severe economic sanctions on Israeli individuals, groups, and institutions that receive any state support if they call for a boycott or agree to participate.
In the petition filed in 2012, Adalah Attorneys Hassan Jabareen and Sawsan Zaher, and ACRI Legal Advisor Dan Yakir argued that the law must be cancelled as it imposes a "price tag" on legitimate political expression, and thus, undermines public debate on the most controversial issues in Israeli society. The law violates the constitutional rights of freedom of expression, dignity and equality. The petitioners argued that the law, due to the severe sanctions imposed, has created a "chilling effect" that deters all those wishing to express a political stance by calling for a boycott.
Both the law itself and its impact on constitutional rights have been sharply criticized by civil society organizations in Israel, the European Union, the United States government, and international human rights organizations. The Knesset's legal adviser also expressed his strong stance against the law, stating that it constitutes "injury to the heart of free political expression in Israel."
Case citation: HCJ 2072/12, The Coalition of Women for Peace, et al v. The Minister of Finance, et al.
For more information, see: Human Rights Groups Call on Supreme Court to Revoke Anti-Boycott Law, 12 March 2012
