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🇮🇱 Israel /Crime & Justice

High Court freezes new media regulator council over state's missed deadline

From Jerusalem Post · (4m ago) English Critical tone

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • The Supreme Court has temporarily frozen the activities of the new Second Authority for Television and Radio Council.
  • This action follows the state's repeated requests for extensions to respond to petitions challenging the council's appointments.
  • The freeze prevents the council from convening or making decisions while its appointments are under judicial review, citing concerns about press freedom and regulatory independence.

The Israeli Supreme Court has intervened decisively, issuing a temporary order to freeze the operations of the newly formed Second Authority for Television and Radio Council. This move by Justice Alex Stein signals a strong judicial stance against the state's repeated delays in responding to petitions that question the legitimacy of the government's appointments to this crucial media regulator.

from the court’s perspective, the April 30 deadline for the state to file its response - already extended more than once after what he described as “great, and perhaps even excessive,” patience by the court - was indeed the final deadline.

— Justice Alex SteinDescribing the court's previous patience and the finality of the deadline.

Justice Stein expressed significant impatience with the state's requests for further extensions, describing them as "not acceptable to me at all." The deadline for the state's response had already been extended multiple times, and the court's "great, and perhaps even excessive," patience had apparently run out. This judicial frustration underscores the gravity with which the court views the state's handling of the matter and the potential implications for the independence of media regulation in Israel.

The new extension requests, submitted on Sunday, “are not acceptable to me at all,”

— Justice Alex SteinExpressing his strong disapproval of the state's latest request for an extension.

The immediate effect of the order is to halt all activities of the council, including the appointment of its chairwoman and members. This decision comes amid petitions filed by various journalistic and public interest groups, including the Union of Journalists in Israel and the Movement for Quality Government in Israel. These groups argue that the government's decision-making process was flawed, politically motivated, and could undermine press freedom. While the court has not yet ruled on the merits of these claims, the freeze ensures that the council cannot act while its composition and the appointment process are under judicial scrutiny. This situation is particularly sensitive given the Second Authority's role in overseeing commercial news broadcasters, placing it at the nexus of government, media, and freedom of the press.

Accordingly,” Stein ruled, “a temporary order is hereby issued prohibiting the convening of the Second Authority for Television and Radio Council and the making of its decisions - until

— Justice Alex SteinIssuing the temporary order to freeze the council's activities.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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