Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli submitted a response to the Supreme Court on Sunday morning regarding the petitions against the proceedings to remove Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and called on the court not to interfere in the process.
Minister Chikli is the chairman of the ministerial committee established by the government to replace Baharav-Miara.
The ministers’ response was not submitted as an official legal response with legal arguments but as a “statement on behalf of the government,” after Levin decided to deny the Supreme Court’s authority to stop the Attorney General’s ouster process.
The government’s response stated, “For a long time, the Israeli government has not been granted a fair legal process in cases where there is a dispute between it and its legal advisor. The government sees no point in continuing this charade and expects the Supreme Court to recognize the magnitude of the absurdity and the perversion of justice and due process.”
“The attempt to impose on the government the continued tenure of a political and adversarial legal advisor who works to thwart government policy on matters most essential to fulfilling its role, and as a result, to impose on the public a decree that contradicts the essence of democracy by paralyzing and severely harming the work of the government, should be dismissed outright.”
The government noted Baharav Miara’s clear conflict of interest, as she herself is directly involved in the petitions but is preventing the government from legal representation while instructing prosecutors to submit positions that express only her personal opinion. “This is an upside-down world,” the response states. “Public legal service is not the private property of the Attorney General but is intended to represent the government. Expecting the government to respond to petitions when it is disconnected from its legal representation undermines its right to a fair process.”
“She demands that the government refrain from distant and speculative conflicts of interest, while she herself stands before the court with her own blatant conflict of interest.”
The response stated that the very existence of the legal proceeding sin the Supreme Court, it which the government does not have sufficient legal representation, illustrates the absurdity of the problem that the Attorney General created.
The response also noted that Baharav-Miara refused to respond for months to the documents submitted to her and did not attend the government meeting to respond to the claims made against her. However, the government notes that its decision to hold a hearing is “far beyond what is required.”
At the end of the announcement, it was reported that two accompanying documents were submitted to the court detailing the reasons for the dismissal, including documentation of repeated attempts to bridge the differences with Baharav-Miara. These attempts failed, causing “enormous damage to the management of state affairs and the public as a whole.”
The government demands that the court dismiss the petitions and requests for interim orders “outright,” saying it is unacceptable to dictate to it continued work with a legal official who acts out of political motives.
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
