A new version of the controversial legislation to increase government control over the role of the attorney general, which was set to be voted on Tuesday in a Knesset committee, includes a clause that would make it significantly more difficult to indict senior officials, including the prime minister.

The bill, if passed, would require the attorney general to obtain permission from a district court before opening a criminal investigation into politicians or senior public servants.

The new version of the bill, which was introduced by Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Chairman MK Simcha Rothman on Monday, would also require the attorney general to get approval from a special committee to file an indictment against such figures.

The officials listed in the bill are the prime minister, cabinet ministers and deputy ministers, members of Knesset, judges, and rabbinical judges, among others.

The special committee would be made up of a retired Supreme Court or district court judge to be chosen by the Supreme Court, as well as two private lawyers with expertise in criminal law, one of whom would be chosen by the attorney general and one by the Knesset State Control Committee.

Committee legal adviser Gur Bligh said Monday that the clause is problematic since it will create a two-tiered justice system, one where regular citizens can be indicted simply by the prosecutor general, whereas politicians and senior public servants can only be indicted after the approval of three different bodies or decision-makers, which he said would have a chilling effect on filing indictments against such........

© The Times of Israel