Political Agreements

תקציר

The legal debate concerning political agreements has lately won renewed interest in Israel, following some disturbing incidents that took place just prior to the establishment of the present government. These events, which were referred to by Justice Elon as "a weakness of political culture" and even "political eclipse," have forced the High Court of Justice to deal with a number of petitions concerning political agreements over the past year. The Legislature also has had to give this matter considerable attention; the Basic Law: The Knesset, Amendment no. 12, allows for amending and even preventing disruptive phenomena such as political defection which tend to occur alongside political agreements. In this article I will deal with two interrelated questions concerning political agreements. The first question is: Is a political agreement a contract? The second question, the response to which is affected by consideration of the first question, is: What set of laws ought to be applied to political agreements?