Likud to advance bill stripping AG of authority over ministry legal advisers
Bill ‘could derail the coordinated work of the legal advisers to the government’ and curtail attorney general’s ability to protect the rule of law, warns Israel Democracy Institute
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
A bill significantly eroding the authority of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara over the legal advisers to government ministries is set to be approved by the cabinet on Sunday, just over a week before a special ministerial panel is set to hold a hearing on her termination.
According to Channel 13 news, the bill, sponsored by Likud MK Avichai Boaron, is expected to receive the backing of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, paving the way for its advancement through the Knesset.
“Legal advisers have the greatest legal expertise in the affairs of the ministry in which they serve, and therefore it is appropriate that they be independent in the performance of their duties, so that they can advise and act independently in accordance with their professional judgment,” the legislation’s explanatory notes state.
If passed into law, the bill would ensure that ministerial legal advisers working at various ministries would be independent of the attorney general in order to “strengthen their status and independence.”
Rather than being under the authority of the Attorney General’s Office, legal advisers would instead be subordinate to the director-generals of the ministry in which they serve, although they would still be permitted to consult with the attorney general.
In addition, the bill stipulates that the legal advisers would be the “sole authority that guides the state’s representatives in the courts regarding the government ministry’s legal position in legal proceedings.”
The coalition stated in 2023 that, as part of its judicial overhaul plan, it intended to reclassify ministry legal advisers from independent authorities to politically selected counsel whose opinions are explicitly non-binding upon the government and its ministers.
Currently, each ministry’s legal adviser falls under the aegis of the attorney general to preserve their independence from political influence, and their advice is binding upon ministries.
Proponents of the judicial overhaul frequently chafe at the intervention of the attorney general and ministerial legal counsels, whom they say argue too much and frequently override the policy initiatives of elected ministers since their written positions are binding.
Critics of the government’s proposals for remaking the judicial system have warned that undermining the independence of ministerial legal counsels would undercut an important check on executive power.
If passed into law, this bill “could derail the coordinated work of the legal advisers to the government, which could in turn derail the coordinated work of the government in all its ministries,” Guy Lurie, a researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute, warned on Wednesday.
This, in turn, could mean that legal advice provided to the government “may also become less effective in ways that may infringe on the rule of law in the government, and may, at the end of the day, infringe on human rights,” Lurie told The Times of Israel.
“If the bill is legislated, the ability of the attorney general to protect the rule of law will be diminished.”
Boaron did not respond to a request for comment.
Sidelining ‘gatekeepers’
This is not the first time that the current government has taken action to make the legal advisory system more amenable to its interests.
In November, the cabinet voted to implement a resolution that would force the retirement within the next 90 days of ministerial legal advisers who have served for more than seven years, despite opposition to the move by the Attorney General’s Office.
In a legal opinion at the time, Baharav-Miara’s office stated that the government’s move was concerning because it could mean that it intends to remove officials who act as “gatekeepers,” claiming that it was designed to terminate the tenure of legal advisers who have clashed professionally with ministers over the legality of policies and actions sought by the elected official.
Cabinet ministers ultimately rejected the opinion, attacking the stances taken by ministerial legal advisers during a heated cabinet meeting, according to quotes reported by Hebrew media outlets.
Regional Cooperation Minister David Amsalem accused them of acting “like gangsters,” according to the Ynet news site, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir reportedly argued that the legal advisers had “declared war on the government.”
Firing the attorney general
Baharav-Miara herself has been a subject of intense criticism from coalition lawmakers, and on July 14, a five-member ministerial committee will hold a previously delayed hearing to decide whether it supports her firing.
The committee — which was established by the government last month to bypass the existing method for firing an attorney general — was originally scheduled to convene on June 17, a hearing that was canceled due to the 12-day Iran war.
Baharav-Miara’s husband, Zion, died just as the ceasefire came into effect, further delaying any efforts to hold the hearing.
Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.