Panel drafts ethical code for MKs, recommends harsh penalties

Knesset members who violate the legislature's code of ethics and behave inappropriately should be harshly sanctioned, according to the recommendations of a public committee headed by retired Supreme Court justice Yitzhak Zamir.

The committee, set up by former Knesset speaker Reuven Rivlin to formulate a code of ethics for MKs, submitted its recommendations to Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik yesterday. Its recommended sanctions include docking MKs' monthly pay and banning them from plenum or committee meetings for up to six months.

The committee recommends docking MKs' pay for days on which they are unjustifiably absent from work for over a month, or for a sixth of the term's total days of debate. It also recommends a gag-order on MKs in the plenum or committees for up to 10 days.

One of the panel's central recommendations is to set up an "ethics commissioner" who would be appointed by a public committee. The commissioner would be responsible for all ethical matters involving MKs and for selecting which complaints to pass on to the Knesset's Complaints Committee from among those submitted against MKs.

"All those who appeared before the committee spoke of the damage that some MKs' behavior has caused the Knesset and MKs' image," Zamir said at a news conference yesterday.

"The Ethics Committee is a passive body that only responds to complaints. It both probes and judges, and this is not proper," he added.

He cautioned that a new ethics code would not solve the problem of MKs' conduct, and said the MKs must accept the rules and work on them every day and every hour.

Itzik said she objected to some recommendations and would recommend to the Knesset to adopt those she agreed to and reject others. She said she had asked Zamir to accelerate the committee's work, which has lasted three years. The Zamir Committee's cost reached some NIS 500,000, because every member has been paid NIS 1,250 for each of the committee's 50 meetings.

The following are the code's main points:

* An MK will devote most of his time to his Knesset job and not be absent for more than a month of the course of a year.

* An MK will dress and speak in a manner appropriate to the dignity of the Knesset and its members, be polite, and refrain from obstructing the Knesset's debates.

* An MK will not employ a relative as a parliamentary aide and will not use his immunity and privileges inappropriately.

* An MK may use stationary bearing his Knesset title only for carrying out his parliamentary duties. He may send letters free of charge only on matters pertaining to his duty.

* An MK will use the budget he receives for public contacts only for fulfilling his Knesset duties and refrain from acting for a business concern or attending an event financed by a business concern.

* An MK's relations with journalists will be conducted in a reliable, responsible and decent manner.

* An MK will not disclose classified information imparted to him as part of his role as MK.

*An MK will not approach a public authority on matters such as criminal procedures against a body or person, a public tender, a request for a franchise, license or permit, or a request for financial support or business benefit.

* An MK will refrain from entering into a situation of a conflict of interests between his job and another activity.

* An MK will not initiate any move in or out of the Knesset directly or indirectly on a matter involving conflict of interests and will not be party to such an initiative.

* An MK will not travel overseas at the direct or indirect expense of an Israeli entity, or of a person or entity body that has or will have business relations with Israel.