Ministerial committee approves controversial bill to split role of attorney general; AG’s office: Designed to advance personal interests

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation approves a controversial bill that would split the role of the attorney general and create a new prosecutor general position distinct from, and not subject to, the attorney general.

Under the bill, the prosecutor general would be nominated by the justice minister and approved by the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

The law would not affect the attorney general’s authority as the government’s legal adviser, who interprets the law for the government, or the attorney general’s role in representing the government in legal proceedings against its actions and legislation.

The bill will now have the support of the coalition when it is brought for its preliminary hearing in the Knesset plenum.

The Attorney General’s Office says it opposes the bill since it would come into force six months after it is passed, and therefore impact key criminal investigations and ongoing trials, including that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Since the legislation has been advanced as a private member’s bill, however, it does not need the support of the attorney general.

The attorney general’s office says the legislation must not be advanced, due to “a heavy suspicion that it is designed to advance personal interests… which are tied to ongoing criminal proceedings and investigations.”

Justice Minister Yariv Levin says the legislation is being advanced to “clearly define the authorities of the attorney general and the prosecutor general, [and] the way they are appointed.” He adds the bill is also designed to prevent “selective enforcement” by the head prosecutor, in a none-too-subtle attack on serving Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, whom he has frequently accused of targeting figures on the Israeli right.