Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman
Photo: Dudi Vaaknin
Justice Noam Sohlberg
Photo: Buchacho, courtesy of the Judicial Authority website
Justice Minister Ne'eman mulling AG candidates
Seven prominent attorneys shortlisted for position of next attorney general, as Mazuz's term nears its end
Who will be the next attorney general? The Justice Ministry has compiled a list of the leading candidates for the AG's position, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday.
Current Attorney General Menachem Mazuz's term in office will end in early 2010.
Jerusalem District Court Justice Noam Sohlberg tops the list and is said to be Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman's favorite for the position.
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The other candidates are Chief Public Defender Inbal Rubinstein, Israel Securities Authority Chairman Prof. Zohar Goshen, Jerusalem District Court Deputy Chief Justice Judith Tsur, Prof. Menachem Mautner and attorneys Yehuda Weinstein and Dan Sheinman.
Sohlberg served as aide to attorney generals Yosef Harish, Michael Ben-Yair and Elyakim Rubinstein, prior to taking the bench.
As such he was involved in some of the tumultuous legal affairs of recent years, such as the Aryeh Deri case, which saw the Shas chairman convicted of bribery charges, the "Bar On-Hebron" controversy – a 1997 scandal which ended with then AG Ronnie Bar On resigning over allegations that his nomination process was tainted – and the various legal proceedings taken against extreme-right activists following Yitzhak Rabin's assassination in 1995.
Justice Sohlberg is considered a hardworking, efficient judge, whose court hears criminal, civil and administrative cases.
He is known to advocate a wide interpretation of freedom of speech principles, and on many occasions has ruled against applying criminal law guidelines in freedom of speech cases.
Sohlberg was also shortlisted by the Justice Nominations Committee for the Supreme Court, but was vetoed by Supreme Court President Dorit Beinish.
The Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee is expected to elect its representative for the Justice Ministry's attorney general locator committee.
The locator committee will eventually submit a list of three candidates for Ne'eman to choose from. Ne'eman will then present the candidates to the Knesset, which will vote on the next attorney general.
