The International Association of Legislation (IAL) is pleased to share a new open-access article by Prof. Ittai Bar-Siman-Tov, recently published in the European Journal of Risk Regulation:
Bar-Siman-Tov, I. (2026). Regulating (Ab)uses of Omnibus Legislation through Judicial Review – An Empirical Study. European Journal of Risk Regulation, 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1017/err.2026.10129
The article addresses a question of growing importance across democratic legal systems: Can courts regulate problematic uses of omnibus legislation? More broadly, can procedural judicial review influence legislative behaviour and improve the quality of lawmaking?
Drawing on an empirical study of the Israeli Supreme Court’s landmark decision introducing judicial review of omnibus legislation, the research compares the enactment of Arrangements Laws during the ten years before and the ten years after the judgment. Based on approximately 12,000 pages of parliamentary committee debates, it combines quantitative analysis, qualitative content analysis, and process tracing to examine how judicial intervention affects legislative practice.
Among its principal findings, the study demonstrates that:
- judicial review produced a clear, although largely short-term, reduction in the size and scope of omnibus legislation;
- the legislative process experienced a more significant and lasting improvement;
- judicial influence operated through both persuasion and deterrence;
- even without invalidating legislation, courts can shape institutional behaviour by signalling the possibility of future intervention and encouraging anticipatory compliance;
- the credibility of judicial deterrence remains essential for sustaining these effects; and
- parliamentary actors—including Speakers, committee chairs, and parliamentary legal advisers—play a crucial role in translating judicial decisions into institutional change.
The article concludes that procedural judicial review can meaningfully strengthen legislative deliberation and constrain problematic uses of omnibus legislation, while highlighting that its effectiveness ultimately depends on the interaction between courts and parliamentary institutions.
These findings are relevant well beyond Israel and offer valuable insights for jurisdictions worldwide confronting the increasing use of omnibus legislative procedures.