High Court Orders Knesset to Explain Rabillo Appointment as State Comptroller

Israel’s High Court of Justice on Sunday issued an order nisi in petitions challenging the election and appointment of attorney Michael Rabillo, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private lawyer, as state comptroller. The three-judge panel, Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg and Justices Gila Kanfy-Steinitz and Ruth Ronen, ordered the Knesset to explain why Rabillo’s election should not be annulled, citing allegations that the vote’s secrecy was violated, contrary to Section 7(a) of Basic Law: State Comptroller.

The court set deadlines for the case, with all respondents due to submit affidavits by Wednesday, the petitioners due to respond by Thursday, and a hearing scheduled for next Sunday morning. The judges also said the next stage would be handled by an expanded panel of five justices, to be chosen by Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit.

The order came after the Knesset rejected a compromise proposed by the judges at last Thursday’s hearing, which would have required a repeat vote for the state comptroller. Earlier Sunday, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana informed the court that the Knesset would not hold another vote, writing that “the Knesset has had its say.”

The June 28 hearing date is tight because the current comptroller, Matanyahu Englman, is due to finish his term at the end of next week. If the Knesset eventually agrees to vote again, it could still do so next week, but the standoff between the court and the Knesset, along with Ohana’s opposition to a new vote, could leave the state comptroller’s post vacant when Englman’s term ends.