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Following a series of interventions and lobbying campaigns prompted by
the annual Corruption Report recommendations
and a number of literatures urging the need for an official and
efficient body to combat corruption, AMAN was able to get a promise of
establishing such a commission making it another achievement in
promoting integrity, transparency and accountability in the Palestinian
society.
Three
months later, on 8/3/2010, President Abbas approved the appointment of
Rafiq al-Natsheh as a head of the Illicit Gain
Commission following a nomination from the Palestinian government.
AMAN
went on to introduce an amendment to the Illicit Gain
Law in
order to expand the commission’s jurisdiction, enhance its role and
efficiency and to ensure its capacity to combat all forms of corruption
effectively.
To that
end, AMAN held a small working session with Head of the Illicit Gain
Commission- Rafiq al-Natsheh, Head of the Bar Association, the
anti-corruption prosecutor, the Cabinet’s legal department, the General
Intelligence, the Arab Lawyers Union, as well as Dr. Azmi al-Shuaibi,
AMAN’s General Commissioner and legal consultant for combating
corruption
The
United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC)
The PNA
has already adopted the UNCAC provisions by choice which consequently
makes it abiding to the PNA to create an independent anti-corruption
commission.
Amendments to the Illicit Gain
Commission
Amendments to the law, prepared by AMAN, were discussed in order to
conform the Palestinian legislations to the UNCAC as well as to overcome
difficulties that may limit the work of the Commission and bound it to
the decisions made by the public prosecution, thus, confining the
Commission’s ability to investigate corruption crimes and refer them to
the Judiciary.
In the
same context, the amendments aimed at eliminating some contradictions
with other laws and expanding the Commission’s jurisdiction to include
various tasks including awareness campaigns that address the Palestinian
society on both the official and public levels. The purpose of which is
to educate people on the dangers of corruption its impact, the
precautionary procedures to be taken and means of combating it. Further
steps to be taken are to coordinate with all apparatuses of the State in
order to enhance and develop measures, mechanisms and means to combat
corruption, to coordinate and cooperate with countries and competent
international, regional and Arab organizations, and to participate in
international programs that are designed to combat corruption.
What is
illicit gain?
Illicit
gain is money obtained, for ones self or others, through misuse of
office, position or due to a misconduct that violates a legal provision
or any manner that is illegal. It can also be identified as the illicit
enrichment that reflects on a person, following his assignment, or his
spouse, or any of his minors in a manner that does not comply with their
sources of income while he fails to prove the legality of this source.
AMAN
gets a commitment from the Prime Minister to activate the Commission
AMAN
has already had a commitment from Prime Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad on
5/12/2010 in which he confirmed the importance of combating corruption
referring to it as one of the pillars propping up good governance and
that his government promises to establish an Illicit Gain. He stated:
“we commit to establishing this Commission, and we promise to do so
within the shortest possible period and, further, we will activate it in
accordance with the Illicit Gain
Law.”
This
was pursuant to the march organized by AMAN to mark the International
Day against Corruption dated on December 9th where hundreds
of people from various sectors took part in it.
Tens of
representatives on behalf of the march handed PM Salam Fayyad a
memorandum demanding the establishment of an Illicit Gain
commission pursuant to Article 3 of the Illicit Gain
Law no
(1) for the year 2005.
Provisions of this law which was issued in Ramallah on January 8 2005,
stipulate the establishment of an Illicit Gain
commission that has a legal personality, a financial and administrative
independency as well as to have a specific budget within the General
Budget. The President assigns a head to this commission based on a
nomination from the Prime Minister and is then approved by the PLC with
an absolute majority.
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