Legal experts decry minister's illegal move in summoning A-G for arraignment
Baharav-Miara has been blamed for intentionally issuing restrictive legal opinions in order to trip up and eventually topple the government.
Diaspora Affairs and Combatting Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli on Monday summoned Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara for an arraignment on June 17, based on a government decision on Sunday that changed the method of firing the A-G that had existed since 2000.
The new rule stipulates that a committee made up of ministers, instead of the previous independent appointment committee, will have the power to arraign and advise the government on firing the A-G.
Deputy Attorney-General Gil Limon and a series of legal experts deemed the Sunday decision illegal as it erased 25 years of precedent without due process and without a clear justification other than the coalition’s failure to fire Baharav-Miara via the existing procedure.
The move is yet another front in the ongoing clash between the A-G and the government. Led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the coalition has blamed Baharav-Miara for intentionally issuing restrictive legal opinions to trip up and eventually topple the government.
Baharav-Miara has argued that the coalition has repeatedly attempted to act illegally and that it was her statutory duty to advise the government on the limits of the law and prevent it from exceeding them.
Sunday’s decision installed Chikli as the head of the newly formed committee, and its other members will be Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Innovation, Science and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel, and Religious Services Minister Michael Malkieli. The proposal did not explain why these ministers, in particular, were chosen.
In the summons, Chikli mentioned the coalition’s March 23 vote to express no-confidence in Baharav-Miara.
Arraignment will allow Baharav-Miara to present arguments
He wrote, “You will be given the opportunity to present your arguments, if any, against the government’s intention to consider your removal from office due to an alleged situation of ‘inappropriate conduct and fundamental, prolonged disagreements between the government and the attorney-general, creating a situation that prevents effective cooperation,’ as stated in the [March 23] decision, which was unanimously approved by the government of Israel.”The Mivtzar HaDemocratia (“Fortress of Democracy”) NGO appealed to the High Court on Sunday evening, requesting that it issue an injunction to freeze the government’s decision until its legality is determined.
A government decision in 2000 set out that the government must appoint or fire the A-G based on recommendations by an independent appointment committee.
The committee was composed of a chair selected by a retired High Court judge appointed by the court’s chief justice (the current chair is Asher Grunis), a lawyer chosen by the Israel Bar Association (Tammy Ulman), an academic appointed by university law school heads (Prof. Ron Shapira), a former justice minister or attorney-general appointed by the coalition, and an MK chosen by the Knesset Constitution Committee.
The government has not consulted with the committee since it has refrained from appointing its representative to the committee, and no former justice ministers or A-Gs were willing to join it either.
In a preamble to his proposal for the new committee, Justice Minister Yariv Levin acknowledged that one reason to change the firing method was his inability to man the existing committee.
However, he argued that the main justification for the change was that the A-G’s conduct has “paralyzed” parts of the government and that the worsening of the relations made the need to consult with the appointment committee “redundant.”
After Baharav-Miara’s June 17 arraignment, a vote to fire her will be brought before the Knesset, which must pass with the support of at least 75% of all ministers.
