High Court unanimously annuls firing of attorney general

In a major decision, the High Court of Justice rules unanimously seven to zero to annul the government’s decision to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, asserting that the government failed to legally justify why it used a new process for firing her rather than the traditional one, and determining that the new system it designed was fundamentally flawed.

The ruling, written by Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, is backed by the six other justices on the expanded panel, including the court’s two most trenchant conservatives, Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg and Justice David Mintz.

The government’s decision earlier this year changing the way an attorney general is fired “was approved in a hasty process,” and “without an appropriate factual or legal basis; without consulting with professional bodies; and without considering other alternatives,” the court rules.

This contrasted with the lengthy, years-long process involving a public commission that established the method for firing the attorney general in 2000 which the government abandoned earlier this year in order to fire Baharav-Miara, the court says.

The court decision means that Baharav-Miara will remain in office as the attorney general, despite the government’s opposition.