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The Coalition for
Accountability and Integrity- AMAN held on Wednesday,
16/9/2009 at its headquarters in Ramallah, a meeting to discuss the
draft financial disclosure system, which is submitted as a first draft
and to discuss ideas in order to take suggestions and feedback from the
participants before the submission of the draft to the Cabinet to
complete the procedures of approval. This system comes to protect the
public office from the risk of trafficking, exploitation and investment
to serve a public official, through periodically ensuring employees’
accountability on their income until they are sure they did not gain any
wealth from their positions that can be taken by some as a cover to hide
crimes
of illicit gains.
Representatives of the Supreme
Judicial Council, the Judicial Institute, the Legislative Council, the
Cabinet, and the Sate Audit and Administrative Control Bureau – SAACB,
the Institute for specifications of standards,
the Ministries of Interior and Justice & civil society attended this
meeting.
First step ..
Activation of the Illicit Gain Law
The meeting was opened by Dr. Azmi
Shuaibi, General
Commissioner for Anti-Corruption
Affairs - AMAN, noting that this system can not solve the problem of
financial disclosure alone as long as the law of the illicit gain is not
yet verified in terms of appointment of the Chairman’s Commission and
the establishment of the Commission in accordance with the law.
Moreover, he also pointed out that after the Act of Illicit Gain in
2005, we have never heard of any case in which any person was held
accountable on financial disclosure terms, which indicates that the law
was not activated and there is no clear system to set up mechanisms to
follow-up the submission of financial disclosure statements.
From this standpoint,
AMAN Coalition drafted this system as
an initiative in a way that makes it easier for the official authority
to approve it
The financial disclosure
law system includes laws of relevance
Professor Jamal al-Khatib / Head of
Legal Department of the Legislative Council noted that there are several
laws addressing the financial disclosure issue, such as the Illicit Gain
Law and the Judicial Authority Law and others. Thus, he suggested the
preparation of a complete system for all, based on all laws relevant to
financial disclosures.
On his part, H E Judge Ezzat
al-Ramini from the judiciary authority stressed on the importance of
forming a comprehensive system based on a set of laws that provide for
the publicity of financial disclosure. As for the articles of the
system, he confirmed that it was sufficient and good, but there are only
some technical remarks.
Dr. Mahmoud Abu al-Rub Chief of Sate
Audit and Administrative Control Bureau - SAACB affirmed the need for
the institutionalization of "transparency enhancement and combating
corruption commission" and incorporating the financial disclosure.
The participants at the workshop
highly recommended that the project includes the set of proposed
amendments by the draft author, lawyer Bilal Barghouti and to deliver
the final draft to the participants for approval before submitting it to
the Cabinet in the near future and follow up the ratification process.
The system also aims to enhance
confidence in the state apparatuses and personnel through the adoption
of methods and procedures that ensure the protection of public funds,
and the dignity of public office and purposes, in addition to combating
the crime of illicit gain, and the reduction of tampering the public
office values and ethics.
The existence of such a system
supports transparency and forms a protection not only for the public
office and public funds, but also to the person in charge as well. As it
alienates suspicions and doubts in any acquaintance, and protects him
against any suspicions of profiteering and exploitation of the public
office.
Finally, it is of no doubt that the Palestinian situation requires
abidance to issue systems and executive regulations, as its absence is
one of the most important causes in the lack of application and
implementation of laws. On the other hand, because it is necessary in
some developing countries that seek to strengthen the rule of law, even
if it required repeating what is stated in the law, the system took this
issue into consideration
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