Bar’s resignation throws High Court case against his dismissal toward a new path

Following Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar’s announcement that he will be retiring on June 15, the High Court of Justice needs to decide how to proceed with the petitions before it which asked that it annul the government’s decision to fire Bar.

The court will probably start by asking both the petitioners and the government for their position.

The government will likely request that the interim order freezing Bar’s dismissal be rescinded, citing the importance to Israeli security of having a Shin Bet chief who can work with the government.

The petitioners may either ask that the court nevertheless rule on the merits of the case, or possibly request that the court instruct Netanyahu not to be involved in the appointment of a new Shin Bet head due to a conflict of interest over the criminal investigations the Shin Bet is conducting into the prime minister’s close aides.

It seems unlikely that the court will issue a final ruling on the merits of the case however, since the practical issue, Bar’s tenure as Shin Bet chief, is now moot. The petitioners alleged that procedural flaws with the decision to fire Bar and what they said were political considerations in the decision rendered it unlawful.

But the court will also be disinclined to rescind the interim order and allow the government to fire Bar, given the concern the judges expressed over the procedural flaws in the decision to remove him and a reticence to be seen as affirming the government’s decision.

Even if the court decides to dismiss the petitions, it could still make principled statements in its decision about the obligation for the government to use only professional considerations when hiring a Shin Bet chief, and indeed when firing one.