High Court extends freeze on implementation of controversial police investigations unit legislation

The High Court of Justice issues an interim order freezing the appointment of two key officials to the Department for Internal Police Investigations (DIPI), which was recently restructured by contentious Knesset legislation.

The court issued a temporary injunction against the appointments last month, but the interim order will freeze the appointment process and, in practice, the implementation of the new law until a further decision by the court.

Specifically, the interim order freezes the appointment process for the new DIPI director and the investigation disputes arbitrator established by the new law, and also bars the justice minister from preparing the budget for the agency.

The new law controversially gives the justice minister control over the appointment of DIPI’s director, sparking concerns about the politicization of law enforcement. It also creates the post of a new, politically appointed official within the department to arbitrate disputes over investigations between the agency and the State Attorney’s Office.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, which petitioned the High Court against the legislation, says the interim order is important in “protecting the independence of the law-enforcement system” while the court considers the petitions.

“The Department for Internal Police Investigations must be a professional, independent body free from political influence. The solution must not be to place the body responsible for investigating police officers under the authority of the political echelon,” the organization says.