The High Court of Justice has issued an interim order instructing Justice Minister Yariv Levin to halt all actions to advance the appointment of a new director for the Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIID). The order, issued during deliberations on petitions filed against the DIID Law, dictates that no new steps shall be taken to promote the relevant appointments until further notice is given regarding interim motions presented to the justices. The decision follows a tender issued by Minister Levin for the position, a move that has been the focus of legal and public controversy in recent weeks.
According to ynet reports, Minister Levin argued that the law was approved prior to the official announcement of elections, and therefore the governmental restraint required during election periods does not apply. The Minister compared the situation to previous appointments made during transition periods, such as the appointment of the Chief of Staff in 2022. Conversely, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara joined the petitioners and requested the process be halted. The Attorney General's position is that the promotion of the appointment is in itself an implementation of a law whose application was supposedly deferred to the next Knesset. Baharav-Miara argued before the High Court that the appointments committee, currently being established, presents a veneer of a professional body while being, in her view, a political committee in essence. She warned that appointing a new director would lead, in conjunction with the political echelon, to the dismantling of the current DIID structure and the establishment of a new enforcement body under increasing political influence.
The Movement for Quality Government, one of the petitioners, stated that this is an important decision protecting the independence of the law enforcement system. The practical implication for candidates and professional staff at the Ministry of Justice is a total freeze on tender processes, as any progression of the selection process is prohibited by the highest judicial authority until further notice. This issue raises broad questions regarding the scope of ministerial authority during election periods to perform senior appointments, especially when they involve significant structural changes to law enforcement agencies. All parties are now awaiting the High Court's ruling on the interim motions, which could dramatically impact the future of the DIID and the influence of the political echelon on its professional activities.