The Current Situation:
In the Gaza Strip, justice is impeded by several obstacles and challenges that preclude summary disposition of most cases…
this refers to the serious threats affecting the justice sector; the main inflicting threats are the political and financial siege imposed on the Gaza Strip by the Israeli occupation, and the frequent Israeli attacks on Palestinian institutions during the last three assaults launched on the Gaza Strip during the recent six years.
The internal political division and geographical split between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip since June 2007, left a heavy burden on the criminal justice bodies and institutions, and further complicated an already fraught situation, which is presented in the fact that the staff of the judiciary authority abandoned their functions in the aftermath of the June 2007 events, which has gravely impacted on effective litigation procedures for citizens. As well as, the majority of judges appointed to bridge the resulting gap have not received necessary training to exercise judicial functions. Locally, qualified and experienced trainers are lacking. In addition, the government is incapable of delegating judges on training courses abroad due to the closure and the restrictions imposed on the crossings of Gaza. The number of judges appointed after June 2007 does not cover the significantly short human resources, which impacting negatively on the summary disposition of cases and generating an even greater case backlog throughout judiciary institutions.
Moreover, the judiciary authority experiences a severe shortage of human resources and inadequate financial and logistical resources required for an optimal performance of all justice institutions. In addition to: the ineffective cooperation and integration between judiciary bodies, the limited programs tailored to train and enhance the performance of judicial, and the unclear administrative point of reference of the judicial authority and working relationship with the Ministry of Justice.
This extraordinary situation made the judiciary authority operate under unstable political and security situation, thus the criminal justice becomes so underdeveloped and obstructed to keep pace with other social structures and deliver on the development process.
Hence, the need for holding such conference becomes urgent – it is the first conference since 2007 – in order to improve the effective and efficient functions of criminal justice institutions with a view to consolidate the principles of the rule of law, good governance, respect of human rights and security sector reform, which helps in developing an operational plan to address deficient functions, raise awareness, and enhance skills and performance of all criminal justice actors.
Action:
Therefore, the House of Wisdom calls for an international conference on 26th November 2015 with local and international participation over one day, the conference will be convened at the Gaza Strip, and will be addressing The principle of judiciary independency according to the International standards and norms, The guarantees of having a judiciary environment supportive to Justice, and The Criminal Justice System in Palestine and its role in achieving security, rule of law, and protecting public rights and liberties.
Three months prior to the conference, a call for academic papers will be announced among (legal experts, judges, lawyers, Parliamentarians, Civil Society Activists and university lecturers) in order to be presented during the conference sessions, to submit papers addressing the topic of the conference, which is entitled “Supportive Judiciary Environment to the Full Justice”. A scientific committee and preparation committee will be formed by the Judiciary Authority and supervised by the House of Wisdom in order to review and to evaluate the submitted papers.
Objective
The conference seeks to enhance the independence principle of the Judiciary authority, and adhering to the International standards that support the independency of Judiciary Authority. As well as, it seeks to enhance the values of Justice and to create the best environment that supports the effectiveness of the Judiciary work with its utmost efficiency, in addition to the following goals:
- Strengthening the principle of judiciary independency based on International standards and norms and highlighting the challenges the Judiciary Authority faces, by which its independency is threatened.
- Promote values of transparency and integrity, which govern litigation procedures by providing adequate self-defense guarantees to adversary parties and enhancing oversight among judges.
- Uncover impediments to justice administration and develop perspectives to promote access to full justice.
- Reviewing progress and achievements made by the judicial authority over the past years.
- Exploring coordination between justice actors (Judiciary Authority, Public Prosecution, Police, and correction and rehabilitation centers), with a view to maintaining citizens’ rights and freedoms.
- Discussing the challenges to reach a safe society free from crimes
- Presenting recommendations and solutions for all the above mentioned challenges.
Conference Sessions
| Session 1: The Principle of Judiciary independency | |
| Background | Judicial independency plays a pivotal role in the three governance areas. However, in all these areas judicial independence give rise to the following challenging issues:
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| Questions of the papers will be discussed | |
| Question 1 | What are the basic elements of the Judiciary independency in Islamic Sharia?
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| Question 2 | How can the institutional independency of Judiciary be evaluated basing on the Palestinian law and the International standards?
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| Question 3 | How can the judges’ independency be guaranteed?
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| Session 2: Guarantees for a judicial environment supportive to Justice | |
| Background | Structural reforms and capacity building are substantial components of the justice sector reform process. These should be in place so that the State can ensure effective, transparent and accountable service delivery and justice administration for all citizens. In reality, however, the justice sector is challenged by many structural problems and logistic obstacles. Difficult access to justice, case backlogs and inadequate technical experience are all challenges that impede access to justice or better judicial service provision to citizens. |
| Questions of the papers will be discussed | |
| Question 1 | How are the litigation procedures being handled in line with the Palestinian law and what is its effect on achieving the full justice?
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| Question 2 | What are the physical challenges impeding the achievement of full Justice and how could they be treated?
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| Question 3 | What is the role of information technology in promoting the full justice?
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| Session 3: The Criminal Justice System in Palestine and its role in achieving security and protecting citizens’ rights and freedoms | |
| Background | A healthy criminal justice system have to be made up of strong institutions which guarantee the independence of the judiciary, and the balance of powers between the three main branches of government is vital for the prevention of internal conflicts and the guaranteeing of security for citizens living under its jurisdiction. Moreover, the government must work closely with all the key criminal justice institutions in order to guarantee the democratic process, protect the independence of the judiciary, and enhance service delivery of criminal justice institutions to the Palestinian people. |
| Questions of the papers will be discussed | |
| Question 1 | What is the role of the penal procedures in achieving security and preserving citizens’ rights and freedoms?
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| Question 2 | What is the role of the Restorative justice in promoting the Criminal Justice System in Palestine?
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| Question 3 | What is the role of the alternative penalties in reducing the overcrowding in the correction and rehabilitation centers?
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