2017-08-22

West Bank

West Bank

The Honorable Chief of the Anti-Corruption Commission 
Mr. Rafiq Al-Natsheh,

Subject: the failure to implement judicial rulings, in violation of the Palestinian Basic Law, the judicial Authority Law and the Anti-Corruption Law

MUSAWA – The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession extend their warmest greetings to you, noting that a complaint was lodged on 21/08/2017 by the attorney Mohammad Salem Sakf Al-Hait from Nablus, as a representative of Ms. …………………….. .

The complaint claims that a public official abstained from implementing a final, binding and non-appealable detention order, issued by the Department of Execution in ……………. on case file no. ………………. as of the date of its issuance (04/02/2017) to date. 

The complaint stated that the sentenced person is known in terms of his identity and address, and he is residing in the country. The complainant attached to his complaint the detention order; the letter of travel ban; copies of the correspondence between the Department of Execution in …………….. and the Police Director of the governorate of ………………….; and copies of the complaints that had been lodged by the complainant to your office, the Attorney General and the Chairman of the Bar Association. 

MUSAWA believes that the contents of the complaint lodged by the attorney, if true, and the official documents attached to it require that the appropriate legal action be taken concerning the matter, as it is considered a crime under Article (106) of the Basic Law, stating that “Judicial rulings shall be implemented. Refraining from or obstructing the implementation of a judicial ruling in any manner whatsoever shall be considered a crime carrying a penalty of imprisonment or dismissal from position if the accused individual is a public official or assigned to public service. The aggrieved party may file a case directly to the competent court and the National Authority shall guarantee a fair remedy for him”. This is also clearly stated in Article (82) of the Judicial Authority Law.

Moreover, MUSAWA believes that the contents of the complaint represent a crime of corruption on the grounds that the failure of any public official to perform the duties of his office, or to take any measure or action, which the law requires him to take, for illegal reasons is considered a crime of power misuse, power abuse or departure from the duties of his office. According to the Anti-Corruption Law, this falls under corruption crimes.

The issue at hand is very critical, as the complaint and the official documents attached to it indicate that the judicial ruling that has not been implemented deals with a legitimate right that belongs to the wife (alimony). Also, the ruling had been issued more than a year and a half ago and has not yet been implemented, which severely damages the aggrieved party at the social, psychological and economic levels, and undermines the confidence of citizens in the justice system, as well as threatens their stability and social and family security, which would lead to extremely serious and harmful effects on the public in general.

Accordingly, we ask you to act upon this memo in accordance with your competence and authority. The appropriate legal action should be taken urgently so as to ensure the prompt implementation of the judicial ruling in question, as well as hold accountable anyone who has obstructed, refrained from or procrastinated the implementation of the said judicial ruling. As per the clearly stated provisions of the Basic Law and the Judicial Authority Law, a fair remedy should be duly sought for the aggrieved party.
We hope to receive your response ASAP.

With all due respect,

Issued on 22/08/2017

Chairman of MUSAWA’s Board of Directors
Adv. Yasser Jabr