Subscribe to Print Edition | Sat., August 09, 2008 Av 8, 5768 | | Israel Time: 04:16 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
  Back to Homepage
Rosner's Domain
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File
Last update - 21:22 04/08/2008
ANALYSIS / As important as Olmert may be, he's not above the law
By Ze'ev Segal, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: High Court, Olmert 

While the High Court of Justice rejected the petition of journalist Yoav Yitzhak, who asked that the attorney general be instructed to declare the prime minister "temporarily" incapacitated in order to allow the premier to be completely available for police questioning, an analysis of the court's ruling, which is worded more delicately than normal, reveals that the prime minister could easily be saying "one more victory like this one and we're finished."

The court's ruling embodies primarily a warning directed at the prime minister. It reminds him, very politely, that as senior a position as he may hold, he is still not above the law, as Thomas Fuller famously said.

The High Court justices made it clear that there is a possibility that "the attorney general will have room to declare the prime minister temporarily incapacitated," so that he will become more available to police investigators.
Advertisement
This ruling means that the attorney general has the authority to suspend the prime minister not only in the event of a dramatic decline in health, as was the case with Ariel Sharon. The attorney general, for his part, has recently asserted in a letter to the legal forum that there is "doubt" whether he has the legal authority to suspend the prime minister. However, in his response to the petition submitted by Yitzhak to the High Court he did not rule out taking such a step under a number of different circumstances.

The High Court ruling means that not only does the attorney general have the authority to act, but also that it is likely that he will exercise this authority if the time consuming nature of the prime minister's job will keep him from being investigated. The ruling did "for the time being" leave the suspension question within the political and public realm, but it can be seen as having given a green light for the attorney general to immediately exercise his authority in light of the delays in the investigation.

The court ruling specifically stipulates that the authority to determine the date and the length of police questioning sessions lie solely with the attorney general, and not the prime minister, as he seems to think. This decision on determining interrogation dates corresponds with the basic law that the government cannot decide to launch an investigation against a prime minister without the express authorization of the attorney general.

The justices' ruling that "the prime minister must cooperate with the investigators and act in the expected manner under these complex circumstances," requires the prime minister to make time to be available for questioning at any time, and for any length of time, which will be determined by the attorney general. The police, for their part, are to coordinate the questioning sessions with the attorney general, and are not to decide upon their dates and lengths on their own accord.

Since the law enforcement authorities announced that the investigation will "proceed as planned," and in light of the court's ruling, it is now expected that all the pending criminal investigations against the prime minister will proceed without delay, regardless of his announcement that he will step down from his post in about a month and a half. One can only hope that the formal rejection of Yitzhak's petition, and the mild language of the justices' ruling, won't prevent the true message of the ruling from sinking in, which is equality before the law.
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Iranian row
Rice on possible IDF Iran strike: U.S. has no veto over Israeli military operations.
Hamas movie set
Hamas transforms former Gaza settlement into movie production house.
  1.   The Real "Big Bang" In Israeli Politics Has Arrived 22:00  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 04/08/08
  2.   THE ONLY PEOPLE MERT IS IMPORTANT TO IS HIS TWO GROWN SONS HE IS 03:24  |  glenna 09/08/08
 Read & React
Israel slams Turkey over Ahmadinejad plan to visit
Responses: 95
Israel: We'll hold Lebanon responsible for Hezbollah's actions
Responses: 169
PRC: Open crossings within 3 weeks or we'll end Gaza truce
Responses: 54
Ze'ev Sternhall: Burying the Jewish state between Hebron and Yitzhar
Responses: 58
Ultra-Orthodox 'Modesty Guard' suspected in beating of J'lem woman
Responses: 78
Rosner's Domain
The reassuring candidacy of Eric Cantor (WTR)
Congress likely to see record number of Jewish legislators
Israel looking for leader and agenda, but finds neither
On Peter Rodman, Lebanon and Syria


More Headlines
01:07 EU tightens sanctions against Iran over nuke program
00:12 Peres joins 80 world leaders at Olympics opening ceremony
01:28 Russia sends tanks into South Ossetia in bid to wrest control from Georgia
03:10 Three-star middleman
03:28 Anti-Semitic graffiti prompts Sarkozy's son to take legal action
04:05 Controversial far-right leader Haider to head Austrian rightist faction
21:58 'Israeli Miracle' is developing strong ties with Communist China
03:43 U.S. Jewish lawyer accused of links to KKK wins racially-charged primary
15:17 Israel at the Beijing Olympic Games
17:00 Beijing can help stop Iran threat, Peres tells Jintao
01:13 Police question Olmert for 5th time in graft probe
15:04 Ultra-Orthodox 'Modesty Guard' suspected in beating of J'lem woman
22:59 Bernie Brillstein, producer of 'The Muppets' and 'Ghostbusters,' dies at 77
Previous Editions
Special Offers
Advertisement
Fattal Hotel Chain
Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel.
Isaac Maimon at Dreamshoppe
Special summer sale. Make an offer now. You will be surprised.
MBA in Israel in English
APPLY NOW! Limited spaces available
Israel's Premier Real Estate Website
www. israel-property.com
Yossi Avrahami Presents:
New Luxurious Projects in North Tel Aviv & Eilat
Your vacation starts here
Israel Travel Center Guaranteed Lowest Rates
Hebrew Summer courses
From $39.95
ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel
Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |
Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel
birthright Israel | Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved