Winograd Commission
Photo: Avi Ochayon, GPO
Justice Dorit Beinisch
Photo: Gil Yohanan
High Court orders publication of Winograd protocols
Court rules commission investigating Lebanon war must disclose all the materials obtained during probe, save for confidential documents. Judges cite public's right to know as top consideration
The testimonies and protocols of the Winograd Commission investigating the war in Lebanon should be published in full even prior to the submission of the commission's final report to the government, the High Court ruled Wednesday.
However, the court stated that the ruling should not apply to confidential documents which may compromise the state's security.
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The court rejected Wednesday, albeit on technical grounds only, an appeal by Knesset Member Zahava Gal-On (Meretz) to have the testimonies before the commission opened to the public, and have the commission's protocols disclosed.
High Court President Dorit Beinisch said, "We therefore presume that the Winograd Commission will exercise its judgment in accordance with the ruling… and prepare to publish the parts of the protocols whose publication was approved, within a reasonable period and prior to the submission of the final report to the government."
Beinisch stressed that the state failed in convincing the court that the protocols should remain sealed.
"We emphasized the great importance of the publicity of the discussion and of the public's right to know. We noted that the flow of information is a vital condition for the formation of opinions, without which democratic rule cannot be realized… in light of the national importance and great public interest roused by the issues discussed at the Winograd Commission," Beinisch added.
