After an exchange of letters between Justice Minister Yariv Levin and the Government Legal Advisor, Gali Baharav-Miara, in which Levin claimed that the Government's Legal Advisor did not represent him properly in the discussion regarding the appointment of judges, today (Sunday), Levin is demanding independent representation before the Supreme Court.
"I hereby reject everything mentioned in your letter, and I have no choice but to reiterate the points I made in my letter to you dated August 30, 2023, which speak for themselves," wrote Levin, adding, "Given the situation you have created in the matter of the appeals at hand, due to your extreme and contrary positions as opposed to the government's stance, and in response to the question you posed to me regarding the representation in the appeals under consideration, I must inform you that this time as well, I will require independent representation."
Furthermore, he explained in his letter the role of the Government Legal Advisor from his perspective: "The role of the Government's legal advisor is to represent the government and its members and not to compel them time and time again to seek independent representation."
As a reminder, about a week ago, Gali Baharav-Miara responded to Levin's letter and wrote: "A mistaken impression is created that the government's legal advice, under my leadership, is not continuously promoting, in a diligent, professional manner, and in accordance with the law, the government's policy and its implementation. The reality is entirely the opposite. The role of the Government Legal Advisor is to assist the government within the bounds of the law, and the legal advisory system to the government works hand in hand with every government to advance its governmental activities on all its components. These statements are certainly true concerning the current government as well."
However, Baharav-Miara clarified that "the professional duty of the Government Legal Advisor is to alert the government to actions that are contrary to the law. This is the meaning of maintaining the threshold - it is the role of the Government Legal Advisor. Canceling or ignoring the aspect of threshold preservation in the role of the Government Legal Advisor, for example, by remaining silent when the government acts against the law, severely undermines the rule of law."
"The Government Legal Advisor, under my leadership, will continue to fulfill its role of assisting the government in implementing its policy within the bounds of the law, and will strive, to the best of its ability, to provide legal solutions to promote government actions, even when legal challenges arise," the government's legal advisor added. "However, the expectation that the Government Legal Advisor should deviate from its role and refrain from providing legal opinions on appeals before the Supreme Court or refrain from serving as a threshold guardian - is an illegitimate expectation. Compliance with such an expectation will severely harm the rule of law, the proper functioning of the government, and, in essence, the public."