'Warning letters are a must'

The Winograd Commission is obligated to send out warning letters, claims chief military defense council Colonel Orna David, Ynet has learned Monday.

David sent a letter to the commission in which she states that should the Winograd report include personal recommendations for any of those involved, the commission is obligated by law to issue advanced warning letters.

The commission has recently started debating whether official letters are indeed necessary or whether the principles of natural justice – which specified the process of its legal proceedings in the partial report – apply.

The partial report onto itself, claimed the commission, can be considered as due warning to those concerned, thus making sending warning letters – a lengthy process that may hinder publishing the final report – unnecessary.

Due process 

The IDF's defense council argued that those that may find themselves under scrutiny when the final report is published, deserve the due process of being warned, so they may prepare their defense.

Should no letters be issued and personal recommendations are made in the final report, many in the legal community warn of petitions to the High Court moving to overturn the report's conclusions.

The commission may have to send warning letters at the end of the day, but for now it has yet to determine whether or not personal recommendations against senior members of the political and military arenas are even needed.

The Winograd Commission had sent its reply to Orna David, saying it holds itself to the principles of natural justice, as evident in its partial report.

Should official warning letters be issued, the publication of the final Winograd report may be delayed again.