High Court Freezes Key Provisions of Law Restructuring Police Investigations Unit

Israel’s High Court of Justice has stopped the government from taking the immediate steps needed to establish a restructured Police Investigation Department, but it has not struck down the law itself.

Court President Isaac Amit and Justice Dafna Barak-Erez issued the interim order in a 2-1 decision on Thursday. Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg dissented. The order blocks appointments to the department’s new leadership and prevents work on its separate budget while challenges to the law remain before the court.

Four provisions took effect immediately after the law was published on June 15. The court suspended rules covering the appointment of the PID director, the five-member committee that selects the director, a new official who would resolve disputes involving the department, and the separate budget. Most of the wider overhaul is due to take effect eight months after publication, in February 2027, with a possible four-month delay.

The law, approved by the Knesset on June 11 by 43 votes to 39, was proposed by Likud lawmaker Moshe Saada and promoted by Justice Minister Yariv Levin. It would separate the PID, which investigates suspected misconduct by police officers, from the State Attorney’s Office and establish it as an independent unit within the Justice Ministry.

Under the proposed structure, the PID director would assume powers currently held by the attorney-general, the state attorney and district prosecutors in criminal cases handled by the department. The unit would continue investigating suspected police offenses and prosecuting cases arising from those investigations. A new coordinator would handle some appeals and disputes between the PID and other investigative or prosecutorial bodies.

The court said it considered the petitioners’ positions and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara’s support for interim relief, particularly because of the immediate consequences for the PID and the election period. It also considered the Knesset and Levin’s arguments about the standing of legislation passed by parliament. A hearing on three petitions seeking to cancel the law is scheduled for December 28, two months after the October 27 election.