Mazuz: Splitting AG post will contribute to its 'politicization'

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz on Friday spoke out against proposal to split his authority into two posts, warning that such a move would contribute to the "politicization" of a legal position.

"| have no doubt that the near immediate result of such a split, of taking prosecuting authority away from the attorney general, will not just weaken the position, it will politicize it," Mazuz said during a conference on the matter in Neve Ilan.

Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman's proposal to split the authority of the attorney general would result in one post for a legal adviser to the government and another to be filled by an official who would serve as chief prosecutor. Neeman's plan calls for the legal adviser to have authority over civil and administrative issues, while the prosecutor would deal with criminal matters.

Mazuz said he did not oppose consideration of the kind, but did not believe that it was being done in the correct form.

"A real examination of such a complicated matter needs to be done by an independent professional committee that could present the different stances and consider them" rather than through "a debate centered on irrelevant slogans," he said.

One possible compromise would involve the convening of a steering committee made up of Justice Ministry representatives, academics and public figures that would examine the issue of the job split and make recommendations within a relatively limited period of time. Under this proposed compromise, the authority of an immediate successor to current Attorney General Menachem Mazuz would not be affected by the recommendations.

Thusfar there has been no agreement on the composition of the committee or the committee appointment process, nor is there consensus on the specific time frame during which recommendations would be forthcoming or whether the recommendations would be binding on the government. Sources close to Justice Minister Neeman have said that he intends to present his original plan on the splitting of the AG's authority shortly to the cabinet for approval.