Last update - 00:00 10/06/2007
Cabinet okays compromise on AG selection; Livni votes against
By Yuval Yoaz, Mazal Mualem and Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondents
The cabinet on Sunday approved a compromise proposal on Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann's contentious plan to reform the selection process for the attorney general.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Minister Meir Sheetrit, both from Kadima and both previous justice ministers, voted against the compromise.
Prime Minister Olmert said the proposal reflects the independence of the attorney general both in the appointment procedure and during the actual course of his tenure.
"There isn't now, nor ever was an intention to harm the attorney general, or God forbid fire him. Mazuz works excellently and brings his office considerable estimation. The government also esteems the work and the position of the Supreme Court," Olmert said.
Friedmann acknowledged his proposal has been significantly softened: "In my opinion the government needs to preserve its authority, but I accept the compromise," he said.
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz said the compromise proposal now solves problems in the original one, and maintains the principles of the Shamgar Committee - which sought to limit governmental control over the appointment of the attorney general.
Livni told Friedmann on Thursday that she would raise her objections during the Sunday cabinet meeting. During the meeting she said that Friedmann's proposal was "problematic."
Several Labor ministers also objected to the plan, and have demanded a thorough public debate on the matter.
Cabinet Secretary Israel Maimon had been working on a compromise agreement since early Sunday, ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting.
Friedmann proposed several changes: that the chair of the committee that selects the attorney general is not a retired Supreme Court justice, but rather a former justice minister or attorney general; that the retired judge on the committee is not necessarily from the Supreme Court; that the judge is appointed by the justice minister instead of the Supreme Court president; and that the justice minister is authorized to instruct the committee to submit the names of two or three candidates, not just one.
Under the terms of the compromise, the head of the selection committee will be a retired judge nominated by the Supreme Court president, in agreement with the justice minister.
Over the weekend, Friedmann rejected a request from cabinet members such as Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog to postpone the discussion. Mazuz was to attend the meeting in order to try to persuade cabinet members to oppose the proposal.
In a television appearance Saturday night on Channel 2's "Meet the Press," Friedmann said he has no intention of firing Mazuz, even though he "disagrees with several measures the attorney general has taken and believes they are incorrect."
Asked whether he is worried about being "framed," Friedmann replied: "That is a very remote possibility, but it is certainly possible they will try to get in other ways. Vague threats are in the air. One of the ways is that the attorney general and Justice Ministry staffers go to the press with criticism against me, something that does not exist anywhere in the world," he said.
"The attorney general is not behaving properly; this is a complete disruption of proper management, when he publicly criticizes a decision that has not yet been made. He is not entitled to do that."
The former deputy president of the Supreme Court, Mishael Cheshin, lashed out Friday at Friedmann's initiative. "We have arrived at a new station on the justice minister's campaign of destruction in the field of the rule of law," Cheshin told radio interviewers.
"Since being appointed, all his proposals resemble the campaigns of Sennacherrib, who would move from one place to another and leave behind him piles of ruins and scorched earth. Minister Friedmann understands nothing of public law. He named himself minister in charge of the attorney general. He is not in charge of him at all. Friedmann is mistaken if he thinks he is in charge of Meni Mazuz."
Cheshin added that Friedmann wants to alter the selection committee to give increased weight to its political component. "If that is not undermining the rule of law, then I don't know what is," he said, and urged the cabinet to "take Friedmann's proposal and toss it in the bin, plain and simple."
Friedmann responded indirectly Saturday night when he said, "When you hear the things said by the retired judges, it is unthinkable that somebody who uses such language about government ministers would be appointed to the committee that chooses attorneys general. There are ethics rules; a judge must refrain from expressing an opinion about something in public controversy, and that applies to retired judges as well."
The head of the Israel Bar Association, Shlomo Cohen, appealed to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Friday to refrain from "responding to Minister Friedmann's whims and implementing moves that will be regretted forever." Cohen's deputy, Shai Segal, called Saturday night for Friedmann's resignation, saying he "was chosen to ram the judicial system."