Response to A-G's Announcement to Indict PM Netanyahu Pending a Hearing

Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute, and Prof. Yuval Shany, Vice President of Research "No democracy can tolerate public corruption or any exception to the principle of equality before the law. It is also vital that we learn lessons from this affair and consider amendments to the existing Basic Laws in order to establish an appropriate system of rapid investigation of suspected wrongdoings on the part of elected officials, and mechanisms for suspension or resignation during the investigation process"

Flash 90

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly stated that the State of Israel’s interests and security are his foremost considerations, should consider carefully what the country’s best interests are at this moment. Is it best for the country to be governed by a leader charged with serious criminal acts of corruption, or is it best for him to resign and focus on proving his innocence in the courts?

There is no legal precedent requiring a prime minister to resign when an indictment pending a hearing is handed down. Nor is there is an explicit legal stipulation that would force him to resign before the completion of all legal proceedings and exhaustion of all avenues of appeal. Nevertheless, we cannot ignore the serious potential damage to the public's trust in the state’s institutions caused by a situation in which the government is headed by an individual charged with criminal misconduct involving abuse of power.

A situation, in which the Prime Minister defends himself against charges by the very law enforcement agencies he oversees, is undesirable, and would inevitably impair his ability to manage the affairs of state while managing his own defense.

Therefore, in our opinion, the proper public norm is that established in 2008 by the public committee on standards of ethics for government ministers headed by former President of the Supreme Court, Meir Shamgar, according to which a government member must suspend himself or resign “in cases where the law enforcement agencies attribute to him, in a formal announcement by the official authorized to issue an indictment, serious violations of the law that [carry the potential to] harm public trust in the government.” In this case, it is worth mentioning the precedent set by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who while under investigation for suspected corruption, announced his intention to resign if an indictment were issued, and who did in fact resign even before the police announced the conclusion of its investigation.

Regarding the timing of the AG’s announcement, we believe that it was announced within a reasonable amount of time before the elections, taking into account both the public’s right to know and the desire not to intervene in the electoral process, and therefore does not constitute an inappropriate influence on the elections.

Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute, and Prof. Yuval Shany, Vice President of Research, concluded: "No democracy can tolerate public corruption or any exception to the principle of equality before the law. It is also vital that we learn lessons from this affair and consider amendments to the existing Basic Laws in order to establish an appropriate system of rapid investigation of suspected wrongdoings on the part of elected officials, and mechanisms for suspension or resignation during the investigation process."