Under the theme “Strengthening the role of the oversight bodies in the Palestinian justice system”
House of Wisdom Organizes Third Criminal Justice Conference
The house of wisdom Institute for Consultation and Conflict Resolution organized in cooperation with the Public Prosecution in Gaza, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior and National Security, on Thursday 22/2/2018 at the Museum Hotel in Gaza, the Third Palestinian Criminal Justice Conference.
The conference was attended by the Attorney-General of the Conference, Counselor Zia El-Din El-Madhoun, the Director-General of the Palestinian Security Forces, the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Conference, Major-General Tawfiq Abu Naim, Nafez Al Madhoun, Secretary General of house of wisdom Institute, Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the Conference, Counselor Mahmoud Al Madhoun, and former Egyptian Minister of Justice, Advisor Ahmed Sulaiman, using Skype technology and in the presence of Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice. Mohammed Al Nahhal, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs d. Ghazi Hamad, the President of the Supreme Council of Justice Counselor Abdul Raouf Al Halabi, a number of deputies of the Legislative Council and representatives of the Red Cross and international institutions, members of the judiciary, the prosecution and police officers and human rights and legal figures.
Opening session
Attorney General Ziauddin Madhoun said in a speech that “this conference came in order to enable the security and legal institutions to achieve justice, and that the Public Prosecutor plays its role effectively to preserve the law and guarantee freedoms.”
Al-Madhoun praised the initiative of Dr. Ibrahim Al-Barghouthi, who presented an initiative to the Gaza Prosecution, which was accepted by the prosecution and addressed to the president and members of the Judiciary in the West Bank to build on this initiative to establish one national judicial project in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
In a speech, Maj. Gen. Tawfiq Abu Naim confirmed that the Ministry of Interior and National Security seeks to protect and respect human rights and the dissemination of a culture of criminal justice.
House of Wisdom and its role in the conference
The Conference aims to expand the coordination between the various institutions of the criminal justice system and to increase the efficiency of the institutions of supervision of the justice system under the rule of law to prevent torture and respect for human rights, The role of NGOs and the public towards effective oversight of criminal justice institutions.
He pointed out that the conference is the result of cooperative efforts between the Institute and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior and that the Institute’s conferences are characterized by the formation of technical and advisory committees to follow up on the recommendations of these conferences and that the committees meet periodically and come up with practical solutions to reform the criminal justice system.
“This effort can not be successful without national unity and a popular will to change to a society governed by law, governed by wisdom, accepting the other and safeguarding human rights guaranteed by divine laws and national and international laws,” he said.
Conference Themes
The conference was held under the chairmanship of the deputy chairman of the lawyers’ counsel, Mr. Safi Al-Dahdouh, entitled “National and International Legislations in Enabling and Improving the Performance of the Regulatory Institutions in the Security and Justice Sectors”, and discussed several papers from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The second session was chaired by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs Dr. Hassan Al-Saifi, which was titled “Enhancing the efficiency of the oversight institutions in the security and justice sectors in Palestine and ended with an open discussion with the attendees.
And the third session, chaired by the former head of the Financial and Administrative Control Bureau, Mr. Ismail Mahfouz, entitled “Institutional Challenges for Governmental Oversight of the Security and Justice Sector in Palestine”.
Closing Session
The conference ended with a list of the recommendations, which stated that the legislative duality should be worked out, that the right to information should be enacted quickly, that a national rescue government should be formed and presented to the Legislative Council to gain confidence, The administrative separation of military prisons from the reform and rehabilitation centers, the preparation of unified electronic programs linking the regular courts, and after the list of recommendations were honored researchers and participants in the conference.
It is noteworthy that this conference is held annually and is the third of its kind. The second Palestinian Criminal Justice Conference was held in 2017 to strengthen the criminal justice system, combating crime and combating torture in Palestine. The first criminal justice conference entitled “Judicial Climate in Support of Justice “He said.
