2020-11-01

West Bank

West Bank / Core Program / position paper

His Excellency the President of the Palestinian Bar Association, 

The Members of the Palestinian Bar Association’s Council, 

Subject: MUSAWA's Monitoring Report on the Exam of Practicing the Legal Profession- October 2020

MUSAWA- The Palestinian Center for The Independence of the Judiciary and the Lega Profession extends it warmest greetings to you, noting that further to the letter sent by your distinguished association, containing an invitation to take part in overseeing the procedures of the Exam of Practicing the Legal Profession, held on 28/10/2020, between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm, at the buildings of the Graduate Studies, the Faculty of Art, the Faculty of Administrative Sciences, the Faculty of Law, the Diploma Faculty, and the Independence Building at Al-Isteqlal University/Jericho, MUSAWA delegated a team to monitor the mentioned exam, headed by Adv. Shorouq Abu- Qare’, while its membership was shared among five members of Lawyers, namely: Adv. Oday Shaker, Adv. Rolan Mezher, Adv. Fatmeh Abu Nejem, Adv. Moayad Abu Assaf, and Adv. Ghadeer Dahadha, who monitored the examination procedures from the beginning to the end.

MUSAWA applauds the positive atmosphere of the exam, as it stood convenient, quiet, and organized for most of the time. However, the committee prepared a list of observations for your perusal:

1. The observers and examiners adhered to health safety procedures and social distancing. However, MUSAWA’s monitoring team noted that no one was responsible for taking the temperature of the attendants at the university entrance or the entrances to the halls and that not everyone wore masks.
2. The distribution of examinees was not organized, as some small halls had over 18 examinees, while wider halls had a much smaller number, noting that this point was previously mentioned in one of our monitoring reports sent to your Excellency. 
3. The Examination Commission’s selection of observers was not fair in terms of gender, since some halls did not have female directors, noting that this point was previously mentioned in one of our monitoring reports sent to your Excellency.
4. In some halls, examinees were not allowed to go out to the bathroom, whereas in some other halls, examinees were allowed to. Noting that in some halls, female examinees were not allowed to go to the bathroom because there were no female observing members to accompany them.
5. Some observing members were trainee lawyers or newly practicing lawyers, which is unlawful. This point shall not be overlooked in future exams, to preserve the efficiency and integrity of the exam, which may not be monitored by a trainee lawyer. 

We thank you for inviting us to participate in the supervision of the exam, hoping that you take our observations seriously and to consider them in the future, wishing you continued progress and success in the preservation of human rights and the embodiment of the principle of the rule of law.

With All Due Respect,

Issued on 1/11/2020

The head of MUSAWA’s Monitoring Team

The Legal Awareness & Training Officer

Adv. Shurooq Abu-Qare'