Court warns Olmert could be suspended
High Court rejects petition calling AG Mazuz to force prime minister into suspension pending results of police probes; but warns suspension may be unavoidable if PM delays process
The High Court of Justice on Monday rejected a petition filed by reporter Yoav Yitzhak, in which he asked the court to order Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to instruct the government to immediately suspend Prime Minister Ehud Olmert from office, pending the results of the criminal investigations against him.
Yitzhak also asked the court to order Olmert to present the police with his personal journals.
The court threw out the petition, but noted that Mazuz had the judicial authority to force the prime minister into suspension; and should the case against him drag on, such a move would have to be considered.
The ruling was handed down by Judge Asher Grunis and the honorable Eliezer Rivlin and Yoram Danziger. Grunis quoted Basic Law – The Government, citing the precedent set when former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was declared unable to perform his duties due to health reasons.
"Under certain circumstances, the attorney general can declare the prime minister temporarily unable to perform his duties," said Grunis, adding that forcing a prime minister into suspension is a rare move, "But a criminal investigation against an acting PM falls under the definition of rarity.
"In the case before us, however, the court sees no reason to intervene on the attorney general's decision at this time… The court also does not see any reason to grant the petitioner's request to make the prime minister's private journals available."
As for the ongoing delays in the police investigation against Olmert, the court noted that "both the police and the Attorney General's Office must find a way to reconcile their need to interview the prime minister, with the understandable scheduling difficulties deriving from his position. The prime minister, on his part, must find a way to cooperate with the police."
