Deputy AG raises concerns PM’s office deliberately stalling on finding new legal adviser
Gil Limon says ‘no justification’ for delay in replacing Shlomit Barnea Farago, who is retiring in March; warns temporary appointment would harm independence of the post
Jeremy Sharon is The Times of Israel’s legal affairs and settlements reporter
Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara’s office has expressed concern that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is deliberately stalling on appointing a new legal adviser to the Prime Minister’s Office in order to keep the position unfilled, which might reduce the constraints on the actions of his office.
In a letter filed on the attorney general’s behalf on Sunday, Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon told a deputy director of the PMO that there was “no reason or justification” for the failure to begin the process of finding a new legal adviser, and said the hiring process should be advanced “urgently.”
Current PMO legal adviser Shlomit Barnea Farago, who is retiring in March, told the PMO director in December that procedures for replacing her should begin, but officials in the PMO have failed to request the necessary arrangements from the Civil Service Commission to initiate the process.
According to a report by Channel 12 News, Barnea Farargo, who has served in the position for 20 years, has frequently blocked the Netanyahu family from charging personal expenses to the state.
Limon said in his letter that the Attorney General’s Office was concerned that the PMO was deliberately stalling on finding a permanent replacement in order to insert a temporary legal adviser who would be less independent.
Legal advisers are key functionaries within the bureaucracy of a government ministry or agency who can determine if actions, decisions and policies enacted within the department conform to the law.
Their decisions are binding, a fact that has increasingly caused friction between the legal advisers, who come under the aegis of the attorney general, and the ministers they serve.
In his letter to senior deputy director of the PMO Sigalit Gabai, Limon said that appointing a new legal adviser before Barnea Farago leaves was “essential for guaranteeing functional continuity in the PMO’s legal adviser’s office” and for “protecting the professional independence of the legal adviser’s office” in the PMO.
“Filling these positions in a temporary capacity harms the independence of the officeholder and enables the intervention of the political echelon in the appointment,” he added.
“The delay… raises concerns that there is an intention to leave the legal adviser position without a permanent appointment,” asserted Limon.
He requested an update from the department and told Gabai that the tender process should be advanced “urgently.”
