The government’s decision to alter the method for the hiring and dismissal of attorneys-general is targeted specifically to remove Gali Baharav-Miara from her post as soon as possible, argued the Movement for Quality Government in Israel in its petition to the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

MQG requested the annulment of the decision, as well as a freeze on the summoning of the attorney-general for a pre-dismissal hearing, scheduled for next week.

“The government decision is not a fundamental change in the mechanism, but a targeted move whose sole purpose is to bring about the dismissal of the current attorney-general as soon as possible,” said MQG.

Soon after the decision was passed on Sunday evening, the Mivtzar HaDemocratia group appealed to the court to cancel it. Attorney Dafna Holtz-Lechner argued that the decision is anything but impartial or professional and contains severe legal discrepancies. She requested as well a freeze in the next step in Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s proposal: holding the ministerial committee meeting to discuss the attorney-general’s dismissal.

A government decision in 2000 stipulated that the government appoint or fire the attorney-general based on recommendations by an independent appointment committee.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL Gali Baharav-Miara attends a Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee meeting in April. She says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to advance the appointment of Maj.-Gen. David Zini as head of the Shin Bet is invalid and illegal. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
ATTORNEY-GENERAL Gali Baharav-Miara attends a Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee meeting in April. She says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to advance the appointment of Maj.-Gen. David Zini as head of the Shin Bet is invalid and illegal. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
It is chaired by a retired Supreme Court judge appointed by the chief justice (currently Asher Grunis), and its other members are a lawyer chosen by the Israel Bar Association (Tami Ulman), an academic appointed by university law school heads (Prof. Ron Shapira), a former justice minister or attorney-general appointed by the government, and a member of Knesset chosen by the Knesset Constitution Committee.

The government has not been able to consult with the committee since the Knesset has refrained from appointing its representative to the committee, and no former justice ministers or attorneys-general were willing to join it, either.

Levin’s new proposal is to change the method of firing the attorney-general by replacing the independent appointment committee with a committee made up of ministers appointed by the justice minister. The decision cites a lack of trust with the attorney-general that is too deep to bridge.

Decision made 'without any factual basis'

MQG said the decision was “made in an expedited process of less than a week without any factual basis.”

It pointed to several flaws in the decision, which Deputy Attorney-General Gil Limon noted as well in an advisory opinion penned last week. MQG explained that the decision was “made without a relevant factual foundation; by an unjustified deviation from previous government decisions that were taken after in-depth staff work by the Shamgar Committee; with evident arbitrariness whose clear purpose is to ‘draw the target around the arrow’; and in the absence of a legal opinion as required by government regulations.”

The NGO further noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently on trial for three indictments. “Along with him, nine other government members are under investigation or criminal proceedings in various fields, which puts them in direct conflict of interest with the attorney-general who heads the state prosecution system and is responsible for decisions regarding the filing of indictments against them,” explained MQG.

Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.