The attorney general of Israel ( he, היועץ המשפטי לממשלה, ''Ha-Yo'etz Ha-Mishpati La-Memshala'', lit. ''Legal Advisor to the Government'') heads the legal system of the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...

and the public

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal trial ...

of the state. The attorney general advises the government in legal matters, represents the state authorities in court, advises in the preparation of legal memoranda for the government in general and the

justice minister A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in particular. Likewise she or he examines and advises upon

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

s in the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

. Additionally, the attorney general is tasked with protecting the

rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...

and, as such, entrusted with protecting the public interest from possible harm by government authorities. It is an independent appointed position, one of the most important and influential in the

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

, and a central institution in the framework of the Israeli legal system. Owing to the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

tradition of the domestic legal system, the duties of the attorney general are not codified in law and have been born out of precedent and tradition over the years. In February 2022, lawyer Gali Baharav-Miara received unanimous backing from the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

to become the first-ever female attorney general.

Duties

The attorney general has four main duties: # Head of the public prosecution system # Representative of the state in all legal proceedings # Chief legal counsel to the government # Representative of the public interest in any legal matter

History

In 1997 a commission in the chairmanship of the former president of the

Israeli Supreme Court The Supreme Court (, ''Beit HaMishpat HaElyon''; ar, المحكمة العليا) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme C ...

Meir Shamgar Meir Shamgar ( he, מאיר שמגר; August 13, 1925 – October 18, 2019) was the chief justice of the Israeli Supreme Court from 1983 to 1995. Biography Meir Shamgar (Sterenberg or Sternberg) was born in the Free City of Danzig (present-da ...

, had been established for examination of the possibilities of the future legislation on the subject of the attorney general, and recommended that the official title of his or her position will be changed from "the legal adviser to the government" to "the chief legal adviser" to reflect his responsibility for ensuring the rule of law in all of the arms of government, and not only as an adviser to the government itself in matters of law. Likewise the commission recommended that the adviser will be appointed by the government according to the recommendations of a public commission, that will include five members: a retired judge of the supreme court, a former

or attorney general, a

member who will be chosen by the Constitutional Affairs committee of the Knesset, an attorney who will be chosen by the national council of the

Israel Bar Association Israel Bar Association (; IBA) is the bar association for all Israeli lawyers. History The Israel Bar Association is organized as a corporation, with a Central Committee, a National Assembly and five districts. Membership is mandatory for lawy ...

, and a legal expert in the subjects of civil and criminal law who will be chosen by the heads of the university law schools in Israel—in order to ensure the choosing of an appropriate person who possesses the fitting qualifications for the job. This recommendation regarding the selection committee was adopted in August 2000, but the recommendation regarding the title of the position was not adopted. It is customary that the decision whom to select for the legal adviser position out of the list of nominees that the public commission recommended is done by the justice minister whose selection is brought to the approval of the government, which usually approves the appointment. The manner in which the Attorney General carries out the duties assigned to his or her position is derived to a large extent from the personality of the person holding the position. Two of the legal advisers,

Aharon Barak Aharon Barak ( he, אהרן ברק; born Erik Brick, 16 September 1936) is an Israeli lawyer and jurist who served as President of the Supreme Court of Israel from 1995 to 2006. Prior to this, Barak served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of I ...

and

Yitzhak Zamir Yitzhak Zamir (Hebrew: יצחק זמיר) (born in Poland on April 15, 1931) is a professor of public law and Dean of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Faculty of Law, a former Attorney General of Israel, first Dean of the University of Haifa's ...

, who came to the position from

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

, were distinguished in the decisiveness that they demonstrated for the guarding of the rule of law in Israel, even when their ideas conflicted with those of the government.

Deputy positions

*Deputy Attorney General for consultation *Deputy Attorney General for legislation *Deputy Attorney General for Hebrew (i.e., Jewish) law *Deputy Attorney General for special assignments *Deputy Attorney General for civil matters *Deputy Attorney General for criminal matters *Deputy Attorney General for fiscal-economic matters

List of attorneys general

Israeli Attorneys General Through the Generations
PDF(2016)
/ref>

References

External links

Attorney General on the Israeli Ministry of Justice website
*

Gad Barzilai Gad Barzilai ( he, גד ברזילי; born 1958) is a full professor of law, political science and international studies, famous for his work on the politics of law, comparative law and politics, human rights and communities. Barzilai published ...

and David Nachmias, The Attorney General: Authority and Responsibility. Israel Democratic Institute 1997.
Aviad Bakshi: Legal advisers and the government: analysis and recommendationsShaked: "A-G has no veto over what is legal" on the Jerusalem Post websiteKPF conference on AG and the government
{{Attorneys General of Israel Government of Israel