The Knesset’s Justice Committee hasn’t had a meeting like Monday's in a very long time. On June 25, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked of HaBayit HaYehudi submitted legislation that would allow each minister to select the legal adviser for his ministry. She faced opposition from three senior figures — the current and two former attorney generals. In the administrative hierarchy of government, the current attorney general serves under the minister.
Justices Yitzhak Zamir and Elyakim Rubinstein do not visit the Knesset frequently, while the current attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, is very uncomfortable with situations in which he opposes the justice minister’s position, especially when he rejects it so firmly and so publicly. The three of them cannot be accused of engaging in some political conspiracy. They have very different worldviews, so that their appearance together at the meeting gave a sense that a red line is being crossed.
The whole story seems to be about a rather obscure procedural issue. Today, each ministry’s legal counselor is selected on the basis of tenders. Shaked wants to change this, giving the task to search committees on which the minister would have significant representation. The search committees would recommend candidates to the minister, who would then bring the appointment to the government for approval. In this way, the attorney chosen for the position would be sure to implement the minister’s policies and defend those policies in the courts.
It seems to make sense to have legal advisers in place to defend the minister’s policies. In practice, however, this is a revolutionary change to the current understanding of the legal adviser’s role. As of now, it is an independent position, answering to the attorney general. While the role of legal counsel is to assist the minister on legal issues, the position also serves as a kind of gatekeeper in the ministry. The legal adviser's role is not limited to determining whether a decision is legal or illegal, but involves considering the wider implications of various decisions, subject to court rulings and compared to similar cases around the world. They must also consider who could potentially be harmed by a ministerial decision or proposed legislation.
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