2018-10-21

Ramallah

West Bank

Memo to the High Judicial Council on the Resolution of Land Issues

The head and members of the High Judicial Council, 

Subject: the Resolution of Land Issues

The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession extends their warmest greetings to you, noting that the center received complaints from lawyers who are agents in proceedings and appeals related to land resolution issues. The complaints state that the consideration of the mentioned proceedings was postponed for a long period, as some were postponed for a year, and the others were postponed for more than one year, noting that these postponements are enforced by the clerk of the courts.  

The complaint referred to the absence of the judge, Mohammad Ghanem, on 18/10/2018, and to the postponement of the case no 360/2017 (Resolution of Abu Falah’s village) to 17/10/2019 by the clerk of the courts. The same thing happened with cases no 12/2018 and 13/2018 (Resolution of Beit Rima), which was postponed to the same date as the first case. As for the case no 136/2018 (Resolution of Bethlehem), it was postponed on 26/9/2018, to 5/2/2020.

The complaint mentioned that the reason behind the repeated postponements of the trial hearings for a term not less than one year, and may exceed it in some cases, to reach a term of a year and four months, is the lack in the number of judges who are responsible of considering and adjudicating such cases, which is not related to the litigators, but to the official competent bodies, foremost among them is your distinguished council. 

As a neutral, non-partisan, and independent Palestinian watchdog civil society organization, MUSAWA believes that postponing the trial hearings for a year or more deepens the gap between the citizens and the judiciary, in addition to what it represents of a delayed justice, which is considered a deep injustice and a denial of justice, besides how negatively it affects the land resolution’s plan, and the damages it causes on both national and civil levels, which should not be passed over in silence, but demands your distinguished council to take an immediate action, and to assign the sufficient number of judges to consider the resolutions of land issues in a way that guarantees justice to be achieved and the desired objective of the national plan on land resolution to be met. 

We are looking forward to the official declaration on the behalf of your distinguished council, on the actioned taken by your side in this regard duly, and warning your side form the aggravation of its consequences. 

With All Due Respect,

Issued on 21/10/2018 

Executive Director
Ahlam Tarayra

-    A copy for the Bar Association’s president and the Bar Association’s members