Subscribe to Print Edition | Sun., May 11, 2008 Iyyar 6, 5768 | | Israel Time: 02:12 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

His fate is in his own hands By Ze'ev Sega According to the Israel Police and the Justice Ministry, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is suspected of "taking money illegally." This is a vague definition that could refer to various crimes, of which the most serious is bribery. Other possibilities include campaign finance violations and falsifying corporate documents. The exact nature of the offenses and the weight of the evidence will obviously determine the legal measures taken. The question of whether Olmert will remain in office during his investigation is very much up to him. The Basic Law on the Government does not mandate any change in the prime minister's status due to a criminal investigation against him, or even due to an indictment. It stipulates only that if the prime minister is convicted of an offense that carries moral turpitude, then the Knesset is permitted to remove him from his post if it so desires. Doing so requires a majority of 61 Knesset members to vote in favor. Advertisement The law also mandates no change in the status of ministers who are investigated by the police or arraigned in court. However, the High Court of Justice has ruled in several cases that the prime minister is required to remove a minister facing a serious indictment from his post. In certain cases, the court went on to say, the mere opening of an investigation may be sufficient to compel the prime minister to remove a suspected minister from his post. The circumstances that would dictate such a move may relate to the seriousness of the crimes that the suspect allegedly committed or to the nature or scope of the evidence against him. It appears that what applies to an ordinary minister would most definitely apply to the prime minister as well. Even if the premier does not resign, the attorney general may set certain restrictions on him in light of the investigation against him. These restrictions may or may not render the prime minister incapable of retaining the post. If such restrictions crippled the premier's ability to do his job, the High Court might require him to step down, should it receive a petition to that effect. Currently, since no indictment has yet been filed against the prime minister, he has several alternative courses of action. Legally, he may retain his position. Olmert's predecessor, Ariel Sharon, chose to pursue this option when he continued to act as prime minister in the shadow of the Greek island affair - which never yielded an indictment. Alternatively, the premier could declare himself temporarily incapacitated from fulfilling his duties. In such a case, Olmert's replacement, Tzipi Livni, would become acting prime minister for a period of 100 days. If the prime minister did not resume his post after 100 days, then the government would be regarded as having resigned. However, the resignation of the prime minister does not legally require national elections. Instead, the president could ask another MK to try to form a new government. In either case, the outgoing premier would continue to serve until the new government is formed. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Siniora vs. Hezbollah The Lebanon prime minister accuses Hezbollah of staging a coup. Plant down - again Palestinians say tha Gaza power plant has closed due to a fuel shortage.

Read & React Hezbollah fighters start withdrawing from Beirut Responses: 601 British PM: Israel`s creation one of 20th century`s `greatest achievements` Responses: 328 Ahmadinejad: Israel is a 'stinking corpse' doomed to disappear Responses: 350 Key witness 'fears Olmert may seek to harm him' Responses: 96 Jews bend over backward to stay neutral in U.S. vote Responses: 127 Jerome Segal: Through tough love, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be ended Responses: 141 More Headlines 01:57 Hezbollah claims victory as Lebanon gov't U-turns 02:09 ANALYSIS: Clashes in Lebanon have yet to affect Israel 22:48 Olmert to appeal move to hear early testimony from key state witness 22:16 21 Qassams hit the Negev on Saturday, lightly hurting five 22:30 Palestinians: Gaza power plant closes due to fuel shortage 01:16 Jewish Republicans are jockeying to win McCain's favor 01:06 ANALYSIS: Hezbollah, Lebanon gov't are boxers girding for next round 22:24 Rabbi testifies in support of Hamas-linked imam facing U.S. ban 14:01 Palestinians: Gaza-Egypt border opens temporarily 07:32 ANALYSIS / Olmert probe shows the media really is the message Previous Editions Select Day 09 may 08 may 07 may 06 may 05 may 04 may 02 may 01 may 30 apr 29 apr 28 apr 27 apr

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