2018-10-07

Ramallah

West Bank

Legal Department at the Office of the President,

Subject: Declaring the Recommendations of the National Committee for Developing the Justice System and Reviewing the Judicial Legislation System

MUSAWA – The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the legal profession extends its warmest regards, expressing that the recommendations of the National Committee for Developing the Justice System have not been appropriately declared, and they have not been put forward for community discussion, nor have their content and formulation been known yet, although the Committee’s work was completed over a month ago, and its members circulated, over traditional and social media, that the recommendations have been submitted to the President.

In keeping with the rules of transparency and integrity, and in safeguarding the right of the community to examine the outcomes of its work, considering the Justice System a basic right of citizen; and since the Committee did not meet the requirements of Article 3 of the decision for its formation, and did not abide by its commitment to present these results to the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), in order for them to express their opinions before they are submitted to the President, and did not make these recommendations public, and did not act on the principle of feedback while performing the task entrusted to it; and since things are now with the President, we ask your esteemed Department, in accordance with its competence, to declare these recommendations before the President makes a decision on them, in guaranteeing and committing to the rules of transparency, and in safeguarding the right of citizen, hoping that no action will be taken in their regard before presenting them to citizens and civil partners, in order to bring the social dialogue to maturity on the future of the Justice System, and the most effective mechanisms for reforming it, especially in light of the obvious divergence in views on the ideas and informal proposals, which was attributed to one of its members saying that they were included and in light of the issuance of an interim decision of the Supreme Court of Justice to suspend the implementation of the decision of its formation and all actions taken by it until a decision is made on its legality.

With all due respect,

Issued on: 7/10/2018                                                                 “MUSAWA”

Executive Manager
Ahlam Tarayra