The High Court of Justice today dismissed two petitions against the cuts in income supplements carried out through Knesset legislation.
Six judges voted against the petitions, with only Judge Edmond Levy voting to uphold. Supreme Court president Aharon Barak wrote the majority opinion, with Judges Dorit Beinisch, Eliezer Rivlin, Ayala Procaccia, and Asher Dan Grunis concurring.
Commitment to Peace and Social Justice (Mechuyavut), the Association for Civil Rights in Israel , and NGO HaLev - The War Against Poverty Movement filed the petitions against the Minister of Finance and the National Insurance Institute. The petitions focused on the question of whether the cut in the rate of income supplements passed by the Knesset under the 2003 Economic Arrangements Law was constitutional.
The petitions asserted that the cut cost 100,000 families an average of NIS 670 per month, amounting to 31% of the allowance to groups below age 55 receiving income supplements, on top of a previous 4% across the board cut in income supplements.
The main argument in the petition was that the law reduced the amount of these allowances below the essential minimum, and thereby harmed the right of those receiving it to live decently. The petition asserted that this harm was inconsistent with the nation’s values, and affected people’s living conditions more than necessary.
The High Court of Justice ruled that it would not determine whether people existed in Israel in severe want to a degree that harmed their ability to live decently. In order to reach such a conclusion, the court said it would require a proper factual basis, which had not been presented to it.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on December 12, 2005