Likud MK petitions court to limit interim gov't power, warns that Olmert may try to secure his legacy.
By JPOST.COM STAFFlimor livnat 248 88(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
MK Limor Livnat (Likud) on Monday filed a petition to the High Court of Justice against Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz, who on Sunday informed her that he would not order the government to stop negotiating with Syria.
Basing himself on a precedent-setting High Court ruling from 2001, Mazuz had ruled that the decision on whether a transitional government can conduct peace negotiations was "political" and "must be made within the political discourse."
In her petition, Livnat wrote that, "Due to the fact that the attorney-general has regrettably evaded a clear, sharp ruling that prohibits a government on the eve of elections from conducting negotiations that could bind the next government, I have no recourse but to appeal to the High Court of Justice."
Livnat also cited in the appeal the fact that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did not even run for the Kadima leadership, asserting that the fact that he would definitely not be Israel's next prime minister also merited intervention on the part of the High Court against far-reaching government moves.
Olmert, she claimed, could try to use his remaining months in office to secure a legacy while setting in motion "processes whose results could have a considerable impact on the country for many years."
Livnat also mentioned last week's decision by High Court justices to cancel a meeting of the Judges Selection Committee. The committee "should not hold meetings whose purpose is to elect new judges in the transitional period until a new government is formed," Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch had said.
According to Livnat, "It is unacceptable that an interim government will not be allowed to elect a magistrate, but will be permitted to make decisions on the ground in far more critical issues."
Livnat's petition came in the wake of reports that Olmert had in effect guaranteed a full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights in exchange for direct talks with Syria.
Dan Izenberg contributed to this report
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