Lavi Petitions High Court Over Approval Rules for Election-Funding Inquiry

The Lavi organization filed an urgent High Court petition on Thursday challenging restrictions on investigating suspected election bribery and foreign funding in the 26th Knesset election. The petition targets the attorney general, state attorney, Shin Bet director and police commissioner, and seeks to remove a requirement for advance approval before parliamentary aides can be questioned. Lawyers Yitzhak Bam and Avishag Schwartz submitted the petition for Lavi. The organization disputes the position that investigating an aide must be treated as part of an investigation of the lawmaker employing that aide. Lavi said: “There is no immunity from investigation.” It argues that parliamentary aides have no statutory immunity from questioning and that lawmakers themselves are not exempt from criminal investigation. As part of its legal argument, the petition invokes an earlier case involving aides to former lawmaker Azmi Bishara. Lavi contends that extending parliamentary immunity to aides would require express legislation. It also argues that the attorney general’s guidelines require investigators to notify her about investigations involving lawmakers, rather than obtain her permission in advance. These are the petitioner’s arguments, rather than findings issued by the court on Thursday. Lavi warns that delaying investigative steps could allow accounts to be coordinated or evidence to be destroyed. It asks the court for an order requiring the respondents to explain why the attorney general’s position should remain in force, and for a declaration that investigators may question lawmakers and aides in accordance with the law and their professional judgment. The organization also requests an urgent hearing and responses within days.