Coalition to advance bill to gut attorney general position of authority

A bill that would effectively remove all authority from the position of attorney general will be brought for a preliminary reading in the Knesset plenum on Wednesday, and is expected to be approved for passage to committee.

The legislation will likely face severe criticism from the opposition, since the position of attorney general today is one of the few checks on executive power in Israel’s system of government.

The bill, if passed, will split the position of attorney general into three, preserving the role of an attorney general as the legal adviser to the government, as well as creating a position of prosecutor general and a legal representative for the government in the courts.

But whereas, today, the attorney general’s position papers and interpretation of the law are binding on the government and its agencies, the attorney general’s position papers under the new legislation would not be binding, meaning the government would not in any way be required to act in accordance with their determinations.

The running of the Attorney General’s Office would also no longer be under the control of the attorney general; rather, it would be subject to the government and the justice minister.

The attorney general would also not be entitled to automatically attend cabinet meetings, a crucial government decision-making forum, although the prime minister could invite them if he so wished.

The position of attorney general would become overtly political, with the prime minister and justice minister nominating a candidate, and the cabinet approving the nomination. Currently, a public, professional committee headed by a retired Supreme Court justice recommends a candidate for the cabinet to approve.

The role will also be open to candidates who have worked as lawyers for just 10 years.

The position of prosecutor general, who would head Israel’s criminal prosecution service, would be appointed in an entirely political process as well, with the justice minister nominating them and the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee — which is always controlled by the ruling coalition — confirming the appointment.

The only qualification for a prosecutor general would be having served as a criminal lawyer for at least 10 years.

And the justice minister alone would appoint the representative for the government in the courts, who would represent the government in legal proceedings regarding legislation and executive actions.

The government’s legal representative would need to have 10 years of experience as an attorney representing parties in court. They alone would be able to represent the government in court, in a departure from the current situation, which allows the attorney general to refuse to represent the government if opposed to its position.