Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara asked the High Court of Justice to be exempted from responding to seven petitions seeking to cancel the election of attorney Michael Ravillo as state comptroller, and also asked to be removed from a petition filed by the Israel Bar Association in which she was listed as a respondent. On Tuesday, a panel led by Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg approved both requests. As a result, the state position in the hearing on the seven petitions, scheduled for Thursday, will be represented only by Knesset legal adviser Shagit Afik, who opposes annulling the vote.
In a request filed on Monday, head of the state prosecution’s High Court petitions division Aner Helman argued that the comptroller is elected by the Knesset, making it an internal parliamentary process on which legal advice is given by the Knesset’s legal adviser. He said the government, in its executive capacity, has no role in choosing the comptroller. He also noted that Baharav-Miara does not even handle the comptroller’s conflict-of-interest arrangement, which is managed by the legal adviser to the State Comptroller’s Office. Helman asked the justices to exempt her from responding “without needing to address the arguments raised in the various petitions regarding the selection process and the appointment of the prime minister’s attorney to the post of comptroller.”
Current State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman’s term ends later this month. The election was held in the Knesset plenum on June 3. In the first round, retired Supreme Court justice Yosef Elron won 60 votes, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal lawyer, Michael Ravillo, received 57. Since neither candidate reached the required 61 votes, a second round was held, in which only a simple majority was needed. Ravillo then won 61 votes to Elron’s 57.
Seven petitions were then filed demanding that Ravillo’s election be annulled and the process run again. They were submitted by attorney Yehuda Rassler, the Movement for Quality Government, the Blue and White faction, MK Karin Elharrar and Yesh Atid, the Israelis and Brothers in Arms organizations with Yaia Pink, the Israel Bar Association, and MK Naama Lazimi of the Democrats. The petitioners argued that Likud lawmakers were instructed to record their votes, that photographing the ballot is illegal, and that choosing the prime minister’s lawyer was unreasonable. Afik asked the court on Tuesday to reject all seven petitions, saying there was no evidence that Likud lawmakers were instructed to document their votes and that the court’s room to intervene in Knesset proceedings is limited.
