2018-02-12

Gaza

Gaza

MUSAWA – The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession, in cooperation with Dr. Haider Abdel Shafi Center, announces the end of a moot court competition in a criminal case which targeted a group of law students from Palestinian universities in Gaza. MUSAWA is proud to say that the last session of the moot court witnessed a wide-ranging audience, consisting of lawyers, law students, and teachers; a total of 90 participants, including 40 women and the two competing teams (“Sarh Al-Adalah Team” from the Faculty of Law at Al-Azhar University and the Faculty of Sharia and Law at the Islamic University; and “Haider Abdel Shafi Team” from the Faculty of Law and Judicial Practice at the University of Palestine.

Before the opening of the session, MUSAWA’s Board of Directors member Ms. Islah Hassanieh gave a speech welcoming the audience, the jury, and the competitors, stressing the vitality of MUSAWA’s moot courts and legal clinics in improving the students and young lawyers’ legal skills along with raising legal awareness among community members and introducing marginalized groups in particular to their rights and the legal tools available for them to maintain these rights. The said activities come as part of MUSAWA’s efforts towards encouraging citizens to know and claim the right to which they are entitled by the Constitution, including the right to equality before the law and the judiciary, the right to access to justice, and the right to fair trial guarantees. Following the speech, the opening of the closing session was announced and both teams were invited to the competition platform.

It is worth saying that MUSAWA and Haider Abdel Shafi Center started preparing for the moot court since the beginning of December 2017. The preparations included 11 meetings, in addition to theoretical and practical trainings delivered to both teams addressing the Penal Procedures Law No. (3) for 2001 and the Palestinian Penal Code No. (74) for 1936 enforced in the Gaza Strip. Upon the end of the training program, a closed penal case was selected and the members of both teams were provided with copies of the entire case file. The aforementioned trainings were facilitated by two deputy-prosecutors: Dr. Sharif Ba’lousheh and Dr. Omar Al-Turkmani, and were held at Haider Abdel Shafi Center, Gaza’s Bar Association, and MUSAWA’s office in Gaza.

The jury consisted of Dr. Tariq Al-Dirawi, Dr. Sharif Ba’lousheh, Dr. Omar Al-Turkmani, Adv. Umayma Faayyad, and Adv. Ghada Abed. At the end of the competition, Ad. Ghada Abed announced “Sarh Al-Adalah Team” as the winner. On Thursday, 22 February, certificates will be distributed to the members of both teams, with a special shield trophy from MUSAWA for the winning team.