Rothman Clashes with Justice Ministry Over Bill to Split Attorney General Role

The Knesset Constitution Committee met on Wednesday for a heated discussion of a bill to split the attorney general’s post, focusing in part on rules governing government grants to nonprofits. Committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman told Justice Ministry representatives, “The Attorney General’s Office is violating the law, you have turned a duty to ‘consult’ into a duty to ‘agree.’” He said that if the attorney general does not approve a grant, contrary to the law, the ministry treats that as a violation, adding, “I am ending that, the fact that the attorney became the decision-maker and manager. He is now a veto player.”

MK Yoav Segalovich pushed back, saying there is “no professional or other possibility” for the official who orders investigations of the Registrar of Associations to be a political attorney general appointed by the government, especially “when you see how nonprofits are being marked here.” The committee continued preparing, for second and third readings, the bill on the attorney general and state prosecutor, as well as a Basic Law bill on investigation and prosecution authority. Lawmakers also kept working through a list of statutes that refer to the attorney general.

Earlier this month, the Knesset plenum approved the bill in first reading by 65 votes to 47. The proposal would divide the role into two offices, an attorney general and a state prosecutor. Under the bill, the state prosecutor would head criminal prosecution, serve six years, be chosen by a public committee, and be subject only to the law.

The attorney general would be appointed by the government on the recommendation of the prime minister and justice minister, and would serve for the same term as the government that appointed them. The bill would let ministers reject the attorney general’s legal opinions, allow the government to exempt ministries from following the legal advice, and hire private counsel in court instead. Its explanatory notes say the aim is to prevent excessive concentration of power and an inherent conflict, because the current post both advises ministers and leads criminal investigations against them.