Weekly Commentary: No Lacunas For AG Mandelblit

Weekly Commentary: No Lacunas For AG Mandelblit
Dr. Aaron Lerner 19 December 2019

Lacuna!

A “gap” in the law.

Every now and then an unusual combination of circumstances develops which
can be exploited by sharp legal minds.

And what does one do in a democratic state in response to such a
development?

Lobby for the law to be changed by the legislature and in the case of a
Government decision lobby for the Government to issue a new decision,

This week Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit argued that Minister of
Justice Amir Ohana was exploiting a lacuna to appoint an interim state
prosecutor of Ohana’s own choosing.

In a remarkable brief to Ohana, Mandelblit openly states that Ohana’s action
complies with the law and then goes on to argue that as Attorney General he
was still vetoing the appointment because he felt like vetoing it.

Again. Mandelblit cites no law to support his position since he concedes
that the law is on Ohana’s side. Mandleblit even goes so far as to point out
that the Attorney General is only consulted with regarding such appointments
while in other instances the Attorney General is explicitly required to
approve the appointment.

I don’t claim to know how the Supreme Court is going to rule on this matter.
And I write that with a very heavy heart.

But I do know that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has provided
Minister of Justice Amir Ohana with an extremely simple example of how
Mandelblit oversteps his authority. If the Supreme Court backs
Mandelblit’s position this will certainly bolster the argument that reforms
are needed to restore the rule of law.
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