Close to midnight last night, the Knesset abolished its members’ automatic immunity. The vote was 36 in favor, five against, and two abstentions. Under the amendment to the Law of Knesset Members Immunity, their Rights and Obligations (5711-1951), the Attorney General will not have to go through procedures to lift an MK’s immunity every time he decides to indict an MK for criminal conduct.
Under the amended law, the Attorney General will file an indictment directly in court, the same as for an ordinary citizen. The procedure for lifting immunity will take place only if the MK challenges the indictment. A request must be submitted with 30 days of an indictment, and a copy must be sent to the Knesset Speaker.
The Knesset House Committee will decide whether to lift or retain immunity, and a decision must be approved by the Knesset plenum. This is on the condition that the MK is convinced that there exist the grounds stated in the law on which he or she should not be put on trial. An MK can claim that an indictment is not in good faith, or that immunity is necessary for the general reason, which is liable to cause problems of interpretation, that criminal proceedings would undermine the functioning of the Knesset or its representation of the electorate.
The amendment was jointly sponsored by House Committee chairman MK Ronnie Bar-On (Likud) and Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee chairman MK Michael Eitan (Likud).
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on July 26, 2005