2019-06-20

West Bank

West Bank

Prejudicing the Property Right is A Constitutional Mistake That Paves Way For Rampant Insecurity

The Decision on requiring the approval of the security services before issuing the heirs’ and disassociation documents shall be abolished immediately

Legal activists and Sharia judiciary specialists circulated two circulars, the first one that holds the number 25/2019 was issued on 30/4/2019, and according to its format as published on Facebook, was appended by the signature of Palestine’s Supreme Judge, Advisor to the President of the State of Palestine on Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations, and was disseminated on the Sharia Courts’ judges providing for “For the public interest and in protection of the rights from being depleted, your Excellency is required to provide us with a weekly disclosure including the four elements of the names of the summoner, the deceased person, the country and ID number of the summoner and to send them to the following fax number …..  In order to be approved by us duly before recording any new heir’s documents”. 

As for the second circular that holds the number 23/2019 issued by the same body on 17/6/2019 addressing the Sharia Courts’ judges, it provides for “In response to our circular no 25/2019 issued on 30/4/2019, and in the favor of the public interest, in protection of the rights from being depleted, in the interests of saving time and efforts and for the convenience of the citizens, your Excellency is required to see the General Intelligence and the Preventive Security Service at your governorate concerning the mentioned regard to collect the approval on registering heirs’ and disassociation’s documents and get the copies of those documents duly”.    

Both circulars were widely opposed, as many law specialists, including Sharia lawyers, considered them as a serious violation of the citizens’ rights, a deviation from the provisions of the Basic Law, an unlawful application of security clearance, although it was explicitly abolished, a restriction of the private property in contradiction with the third paragraph of article (21) of the Basic law, an assault against the heirs’ rights in contravention of the laws and Sharia and civil legislation, an impedance of the citizens’ rights to spend, utilize and own the amounts of money they legally and religiously deserved by the will of inherited, a door for family conflicts that threatens the civil peace, and an unlawful expansion of the security control department’s powers over the rights and properties of the citizens.   

MUSAWA- The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession believes that both circulars deviate from the Palestinian legal and legislative system, and contradicts with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which was signed by the State of Palestine, and thus it is bound by its provisions, and an expansion of the security services’ powers ignoring the legislation governing their work, and a prejudice to an official governmental moratorium on the Security Clearance Procedure, not only that but also an expansion of its scope that now exceeds the public posts and extends to the constitutional rights of the citizens, including the Property Right. MUSAWA also believes that the risks noted by the legal audience entail serious threats to civil peace and security, what requires to abolish the two circulars immediately, and to address their implications, demanding Mr. President to take the needed legal actions to enforce this abolishing decision at once.   

Issued on 20/6/2019

MUSAWA