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The hour of the judge By Alexander Yakobson Tags: courts, Israel "A gesture to Abu Mazen? I'm not convinced," said Justice Edmond Levy to the representative of the State Prosecutor's Office during a discussion in the High Court of Justice on a petition against the release of Palestinian prisoners. The petition was rejected in the end, but justices Levy and Ayala Procaccia greatly criticized the government's decision. Levy said he was not convinced by the prosecutors' declaration that the government wants, for diplomatic reasons, to make a gesture to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The justices complained that the diplomatic considerations had not been clearly presented to them and that what was said was unconvincing. According to Justice Procaccia: "There is something new in this release process. First, because we are getting nothing in exchange, and second, because it diverges from the criteria adopted in the past: no release of prisoners with blood on their hands. Therefore the question arises: What lies behind this move?" The absence of diplomatic compensation bothered the justice: "When there is nothing in exchange for the release, questions arise." The prosecution's representative explained that the government wanted "to convey a message that we don't release prisoners only after kidnappings and threats, but also out of a willingness to conduct negotiations in the context of a diplomatic move." Advertisement But Justice Levy was not convinced that the move would be good for Israel: "After all, we know that constant pressure leads to the release of prisoners. What happened this time?" All this was not written in a public relations article, was not said during a living room conversation or in a television studio, or on a public platform or during a parliamentary discussion, but in a legal discussion in the High Court of Justice. A legal discussion? There is nothing legal about this discussion. It is not the justices' job to monitor the wisdom of diplomatic moves and ensure that Israel receives proper compensation for them. The opinions and political assessments of justices Levy and Procaccia carry no special weight just because they are justices, beyond the weight attributed to the opinions and assessments of every citizen. While every citizen is allowed to criticize the government's diplomatic moves, the justices are not allowed to do so. Moreover, the relationship between Israel, Abbas and Hamas, like other issues relating to foreign relations and particularly in conflict situations, is such that often it is not at all possible to reveal all the considerations behind decisions without causing Israel diplomatic harm. In court one must tell the whole truth; in complex diplomatic moves with unfriendly entities, and occasionally even with friendly ones, one says and does all kinds of things for all kinds of reasons. Whoever doesn't understand this and demands that the government show all its cards and reveal all its diplomatic considerations in court - as though an order to close a marketplace stall were in question - proves he has no basic diplomatic and political understanding. Nor is diplomatic understanding required of judges. In any case, they must refrain from involvement in diplomatic issues. In response to the claim by the prosecution's representative to the effect that the court must not intervene in a diplomatic decision, Justice Levy said: "There is no legal obligation for the High Court not to intervene in diplomatic issues. It's a dam that the High Court has constructed for itself." In other words, if we wish to do so, we'll intervene. Next time perhaps we'll overturn a diplomatic decision that in our opinion is not worthwhile for Israel. The truth is that the dam is not really a dam. Justice Levy has already ruled that the evacuation of Gaza was illegal, one reason being that it contradicted Likud's platform, and thus the Sharon government's promises to its voters. On the other hand, a court majority ruled at the time that the disengagement was in keeping with the values of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. What do these two viewpoints have to do with the law? The judges' time is precious. Above all it is precious to litigants awaiting a decision on their cases. The hour devoted in court to a clash with the government on clearly diplomatic questions, on which no court in the world aspires to rule, was an hour not devoted to doing justice - the real job of the judges. Bookmark to del.icio.us   World War III A top Iranian general says an attack on Tehran would ignite a 'world war'. Raising the price Hamas says won't compromise, Israel must free 1,000 prisoners for Shalit.

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