Government moves to circumvent advice of AG, whose office warns of ‘abuse of power’

The government is planning to approve a cabinet resolution that would allow it to carry out executive actions and advance legislation without the approval of the Attorney General’s Office.

The move would upend a decades-long practice by which the attorney general reviews and approves key government policies and legislation to ensure they comply with the law, before they are advanced.

The Attorney General’s Office said the resolution would enable the government to act unlawfully by avoiding all legal advice, and pave the way for the abuse of governmental power. It said the resolution itself was therefore unlawful and should not be approved.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who initiated the resolution, originally sought to bring it to a vote in Sunday’s cabinet meeting, but his office later said it would be brought to a vote next week.

Opposition leaders denounced the proposal, with The Democrats party head Yair Golan describing the resolution as an attempt by the government “to dismantle the gatekeepers [of the rule of law] in order to stay in power.”

Levin’s effort to pass the cabinet resolution follows a High Court of Justice ruling annulling the government’s dismissal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, and appears to be an effort to partially circumvent that ruling.

At the same time, the government, on Levin’s initiative, is advancing legislation in the Knesset that would strip the attorney general role of most of its powers, and make the appointment entirely political, with the government having total control over the appointment and dismissal process.

Levin’s office did not publish the text of his proposed resolution, and his office refused to release it when asked by The Times of Israel. But a legal brief by the Attorney General’s Office on the resolution laid out the key changes the motion would create.

The resolution would enact changes to the Government’s Rules of Procedure document, which determines the way the government functions, allowing it to bypass the requirement to obtain legal approval for cabinet resolutions, a form of executive action, and formal government legislation.

In a letter sent by Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon to Levin on Sunday, Limon asserted that the resolution would essentially mean the government would no longer need to act in accordance with the law, and represented a “foundational change” to the proper running of government and the rule of law.

“This would do severe harm to the public and create a wide opening for illegal action by the government, for abusing governmental power, and [for] the unlawful use of government budgets,” warned Limon.

The deputy attorney general also noted the timing and expedited advance of the far-reaching resolution, three years into the government’s term and during an election year, and wrote that election years require greater stringencies in order to prevent “the abuse of the ruling power that the government possesses for achieving goals that are not for the benefit of the entire public.”

Added Limon, “The implications [of the resolution]… lead to the government’s renunciation of its obligation to act in accordance with the law,” which he said would “remove guarantees intended to ensure the proper functioning of the public service and the rule of law.”

Limon also wrote that the resolution might violate the High Court’s ruling annulling the dismissal of the attorney general, in which it also stated that unilateral actions taken to undermine the attorney general’s powers and status would be considered a violation of the ruling.

Golan described the proposed resolution as “a coercive and cowardly” measure “by those who have lost the trust of the people and are trying to dismantle the gatekeepers [of the rule of law] in order to stay in power.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a liberal watchdog group, accused the government of trying to circumvent the High Court.

“A government that failed to fire the legal adviser directly is now trying to circumvent her in a roundabout way: changing the government’s Rules of Procedure so that it can make decisions and advance legislation without legal review and oversight,” said the organization.

“This is a crude attempt to remove the brakes that prevent illegal action, discriminatory budget allocations, and abuse of government power — especially in the period leading up to elections.”