Case Number
HCJ 4797/07
Date Decided
3-3-2015
Decision Type
Original
Document Type
Full Opinion
Abstract
[This abstract is not part of the Court's opinion and is provided for the reader's convenience. It has been translated from a Hebrew version prepared by Nevo Press Ltd. and is used with its kind permission.]
Facts: The petition concerned the security procedures for screening Israeli citizens at Israeli airports. The Petitioner’s primary claim was that Israel’s Arab citizens are generally subjected to stricter security checks than Israel’s Jewish citizens. The Petitioner argued that employing ethnicity as a criterion for the rigorousness of airport security screening of Israeli citizens is fundamentally unacceptable. The petition was submitted in 2007, but the decision was delayed in light of changes that the Respondents implemented in the security procedures, primarily comprising the introduction of new technology for the inspection of checked baggage, which was the subject of main concern of the passengers, as well as additional steps adopted to reduce distinctions among passengers in the security procedures. In light of those developments, the Respondents argued that the petition should be dismissed. In their view, the claims in regard to the security procedures in place at the time the petition was submitted were no longer relevant, while the claims advanced in regard to the new procedures were not yet ripe for decision. The Petitioner demanded that Court decide upon the fundamental issue it had raised, and advanced additional claims in regard to the changes that had been adopted.
Held: The High Court of Justice (per Chief Justice (ret.) A. Grunis, Chief Justice M. Naor and Deputy Chief Justice E. Rubinstein concurring) dismissed the petition for the following reasons:
The Respondents had made considerable progress towards increasing equality in the security procedures. It was clear that significant efforts were being devoted to the implementation of technological solutions that would reduce, to the extent possible, the differences in the security procedures applied to different passengers, and significantly limiting the public element that formerly characterized the screening of certain passengers, while maintaining the appropriate level of security that is indisputably required in regard to air transport. It is only natural that such changes require time, and are dependent upon the cooperation of many parties. Under the circumstances, the Court ruled that the petition had exhausted itself. The authorities should be permitted to complete their work and collect data in regard to the effect of the changes that had been made before subjecting the fundamental question to judicial review. In this regard, the Court emphasized that achieving the correct balance between the need for air transport security and the reasonable functioning of the airports, and the protection of individual rights is an especially difficult task, particularly in Israel’s current security situation. It should also be borne in mind that a terrorist attack upon an airplane could result in the loss of many lives.
If, in the future, the Petitioner finds that the changes instituted have not brought about the desired result, and that the distinction – particularly the public distinction – among Israeli citizens persists in the airports, the Court’s gates will remain open. That will also be the case if the implementation of the planned changes in the airports does not proceed at a reasonable pace, in accordance with the timetable presented by the Respondents.
The petition was therefore dismissed without prejudice. In light of the important contribution of the petition to advancing the changes in the field of security procedures in Israeli airports, the Respondents were ordered to pay the Petitioner’s costs in the amount of NIS 30,000.
Keywords
Constitutional Law -- Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, Constitutional Law -- Equality Before the Law, Constitutional Law -- Freedom of Movement, Constitutional Law -- Right to Privacy
