Attorney General of Israel
| Attorney General | |
|---|---|
| היועץ המשפטי לממשלה Hayoetz Hamishpati Lamemshala | |
 | |
| Appointer | Cabinet of Israel |
| Term length | Six years, single term |
| Inaugural holder | Ya'akov Shimshon Shapira |
| Formation | 1948 |
| Website | http://www.justice.gov.il |
The attorney general of Israel (
prosecution of the state. The attorney general advises the government in legal matters, represents the state authorities in court, advises in the preparation of legal memoranda for the government in general and the justice minister in particular. Likewise she or he examines and advises upon private member's bills in the Knesset
.
Additionally, the attorney general is tasked with protecting the
Israeli legal system. Owing to the common law tradition of the domestic legal system, the duties of the attorney general are not codified in law and have been born out of precedent and tradition over the years. In February 2022, lawyer Gali Baharav-Miara received unanimous backing from the cabinet to become the first-ever female attorney general.[1]
Duties
The attorney general has four main duties:[2]
- Head of the public prosecution system
- Representative of the state in all legal proceedings
- Chief legal counsel to the government
- Representative of the public interest in any legal matter
History
In 1997 a commission in the chairmanship of the former president of the
justice minister or attorney general, a Knesset member who will be chosen by the Constitutional Affairs committee of the Knesset, an attorney who will be chosen by the national council of the Israel Bar Association
, and a legal expert in the subjects of civil and criminal law who will be chosen by the heads of the university law schools in Israel—in order to ensure the choosing of an appropriate person who possesses the fitting qualifications for the job. This recommendation regarding the selection committee was adopted in August 2000, but the recommendation regarding the title of the position was not adopted.
It is customary that the decision whom to select for the legal adviser position out of the list of nominees that the public commission recommended is done by the justice minister whose selection is brought to the approval of the government, which usually approves the appointment.
The manner in which the Attorney General carries out the duties assigned to his or her position is derived to a large extent from the personality of the person holding the position. Two of the legal advisers,
academia
, were distinguished in the decisiveness that they demonstrated for the guarding of the rule of law in Israel, even when their ideas conflicted with those of the government.
Deputy positions
- Deputy Attorney General for consultation
- Deputy Attorney General for legislation
- Deputy Attorney General for Hebrew (i.e., Jewish) law
- Deputy Attorney General for special assignments
- Deputy Attorney General for civil matters
- Deputy Attorney General for criminal matters
- Deputy Attorney General for fiscal-economic matters
List of attorneys general
| Name | Term |
|---|---|
| Ya'akov Shimshon Shapira | 1948–1950 |
| Haim Cohn | 1950–1960 |
| Gideon Hausner | 1960–1963 |
| Moshe Ben-Ze'ev | 1963–1968 |
| Meir Shamgar | 1968–1975 |
| Aharon Barak | 1975–1978 |
| Yitzhak Zamir | 1978–1986 |
| Yosef Harish | 1986–1993 |
| Michael Ben-Yair | 1993–1997 |
| Roni Bar-On | 1997 |
| Elyakim Rubinstein | 1997–2004 |
| Menachem Mazuz | 2004–2010 |
| Yehuda Weinstein | 2010–2016 |
| Avichai Mandelblit | 2016–2022 |
| Gali Baharav-Miara | 2022– |
Comparison with government legal advisors in other countries
The position of binding advice and representational monopoly in Israel is exceptional and even unique by global standards. According to Eitan Levontin, the legal situation in Israel is not a minority opinion, but rather a single opinion.[5]
References
- ^ "Amid spyware crisis, ministers approve Gali Baharav-Miara as new attorney general." The Times of Israel, February 7, 2022.
- ^ "תפקידי היועץ המשפטי לממשלה" הנחיות היועץ המשפטי לממשלה 1.0000 (90.000) (התשס"ג) [Roles of the Attorney General, Attorney General Directive 1.0000 (90.000)] (PDF) (in Hebrew), retrieved 27 August 2014
- ^ "Attorney General of Israel Official Webpage". Attorney General of Israel. 2016.
- ^ Israeli Attorneys General Through the Generations. PDF(2016)
- ^ Levontin, Eitan. "Critical Introduction to State Representation before the Courts" (PDF). Mishpatim.
Further reading
- Zilber, Dina. In The Name of The Law. Kinneret, Zmora Bitan, Dvir. 2012 (in Hebrew).
External links
- Attorney General on the Israeli Ministry of Justice website
- Barzilai, Gad and Nachmias, David The Attorney General: Authority and Responsibility. Israel Democracy Institute 1997.
- Bakshi, Aviad Legal advisers and the government: analysis and recommendations Kohelet Policy Forum, February 2016
- Bob, Yonah Jeremy; Hoffman, Gil Shaked: "A-G has no veto over what is legal", The Jerusalem Post, October 26, 2016
- [1] videos in Hebrew from Kohelet Policy Forum Conference The legal advisers and the government 7 October 2015
- The Attorney General 25.09.2000 at embassies.gov.il
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