Blow to Yariv Levin in Military Prosecutor General Affair: High Court Closes the Door

The High Court of Justice rejected the petition in the Military Prosecutor General affair, ruling that there is no grounds to intervene in the management of the investigation or to prevent the State Attorney from deciding on the case. It also ruled that Justice Minister Yariv Levin should not be given additional time to appoint an external supervisor. Justice Mintz, in a minority opinion, held that a conditional order should be issued requiring the minister to explain why he should not appoint a supervisor.

The Supreme Court rejected the petition in the Military Prosecutor General affair, ruling that there is no grounds for judicial intervention in the management of the investigation or to prevent the State Attorney from deciding on the case. In a majority opinion by President Amit and Justice Kabub, it was determined that there is no grounds to intervene in the opinion of the Attorney General for the Ministry of Justice, according to which the State Attorney is no longer barred from handling the investigation of the affair. It was further ruled that Justice Minister Yariv Levin should not be given additional time to appoint another supervisor over the investigation. Justice Mintz, in a minority opinion, held that a conditional order should be issued requiring the minister to explain why he should not use his authority to appoint a supervisory body. The petition was filed against the backdrop of the affair of the leaking of the video from the 'Sde Teiman' facility by elements in the military prosecution. President Amit noted that the petitioners raised claims about the need to appoint a supervisor only after the investigation yielded conclusions not to their liking, and that their petition suffers from delay. It was also emphasized that conditioning the completion of the investigation on the appointment of a supervisor by the minister grants him power to influence the pace of the investigation, in a manner inconsistent with the desire to prevent politicization of criminal investigations.