Israel’s Attorney General Asks High Court to Freeze New Police Investigations Law

The legal battle over the Police Internal Investigations Department law has entered a new phase: Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara today (Sunday) asked Israel’s High Court of Justice to issue an interim order freezing implementation of the law until the petitions filed against it are decided. She argues that the law effectively creates a "political prosecution unit" that could undermine the independence of law enforcement authorities and intimidate police officers, investigators, prosecutors, and even journalists.

The law, which was approved several weeks ago in its second and third readings in the Knesset plenum, states that the Police Internal Investigations Department will be separated from the State Attorney’s Office and operate as an independent body, no longer subordinate to the attorney general’s legal advisory system. Under the new arrangement, the department will report to the justice minister.

In her request to the High Court, Baharav-Miara argued that implementation of the law should be stopped immediately because, she said, it harms the institutional protective framework required for law enforcement authorities.

The attorney general also emphasized that "investigators, prosecutors, as well as all sectors of society whose work intersects with criminal law, need the basic institutional security framework that will ensure they are treated fairly, without political bias." According to her, "as emerged from statements by members of Knesset during the legislative process, this is about fulfilling the desire of political actors to 'investigate the investigators.'"

Beyond the request to temporarily freeze implementation of the law, Baharav-Miara said that her position in the main proceeding is that the entire amendment should be struck down. In her view, canceling only certain sections would not be enough, because the alleged flaws stem from the law’s overall structure and not from one isolated provision.

At the close of her response, the attorney general said that "the establishment of the unit for political investigation and prosecution is already underway," and on that basis asked the court to order a halt to any further implementation of the law until a hearing is held and the petitions are decided.

On the other side, earlier today the legal adviser to the Knesset, Sagit Afik, also submitted her position to the High Court, addressing the requests for interim orders against the law. In her legal opinion, there is no reason to freeze either the continued establishment of the department or the process of setting up the search committee that is supposed to operate under the law.