|
Ramallah – Upon
the initiative of a number of credible and community supported civil
society organizations operating in the field of democracy, human rights
and good governance, the Coalition for Integrity and Accountability
“AMAN” is launching a national program to
combat corruption. This program is aimed at
advocating and consolidating the values of integrity, transparency and
accountability in the Palestinian public labor sectors in order to build
a national culture of anti-corruption and a system for national
integrity.
AMAN has recently begun the
implementation of the project for strengthening the efficiency and
independence of the judicial authority with the funding of the EU at a
value of 229,850 Euros. This project comes within the framework of AMAN’s objectives and directives
which are intended to consolidate the
principles of the rule of law and judicial independence in accordance
with articles 97 and 98 of the Palestinian Basic Law.
The project will last
for two years and target the three components of justice: the
Supreme Judicial Council, the Ministry of Justice and the Public
Prosecution. It seeks to consolidate the integrity systems in the
judicial authority and its role and status in building national
integrity. It further aims at consolidating public
confidence in the judiciary and strengthening the right of citizens to
resort to justice without any discrimination, favoritism or other
impartial channels. Additionally, the project seeks to contribute to
enhancing the abilities of judges and operators in the judiciary and the
public prosecution in their fight against corruption by developing the
Palestinian legislative system in harmony with the spirit of the UN
convention to combat corruption. The project will also prepare young
cadres who are expected to be involved in the judiciary, in particular
law and public management students in local universities.
In this context, the AMAN
coalition held an important meeting with the Head of the Supreme
Judicial Council Faruid Al Jallad in the presence of Judge Azmi Tunjar
(Head of the department of Judicial Search)
and Mr. Majed Al Aruri (Head of
the Media Judicial Center). The coalition also held another
meeting with the Minister of Justice Dr. Ali Khashan during which Dr.
Azmi Shu’eibi, the coalition’s anti-corruption commissioner,
along with Ghada Al-Zughayyar, the executive Director of the project
and Mr. Wael Al
Haj, the project manager, outlined the main objectives and benchmarks of
the project as a step in preparation for its implementation in
partnership with all the stakeholders.
On 5 May 2010, AMAN held
a workshop for 4th year university (senior) law students at
the An-Najah University. The workshop was attended by 22 students and
dealt with the code of conduct-blog related to the judiciary, and
legislation and mechanisms of combating corruption. The students and the
university administration lauded the role of the
AMAN coalition in raising the awareness of the Palestinian public about the
importance of getting involved in combating corruption,
cooperating
with civil and academic organizations and joining efforts in order to
reach the goal of a society void of corruption.
In the same context, Mr.
Wael Al Haj, the project manager, presented a detailed outline of the
work undertaken by AMAN’s various programs and projects. He thanked
the university administration and students for hosting AMAN and
expressed AMAN's gratitude towards the EU for its help and assistance to the Palestinian people and
its organizations.
Strengthening the
efficiency, independence and accountability of the judicial authority
This EU funded project
aimed at strengthening the efficiency, independence and accountability of the
judicial authority falls within AMAN’s objectives and scope
and is
being implemented since February 2010. It targets one of the most
important Palestinian sectors, namely that of justice with its three components:
the Supreme Judicial Council, the Ministry of Justice and the Public
Prosecution. AMAN views the sector of justice as one
of the most important
pillars of national integrity, particularly
considering the
fact that it is this institution that consecrates the rule of law, which
in turn must be the overarching principle over a sound society.
The project is based
on AMAN’s conviction of the importance of
judicial independence, which is
guaranteed by article 97 in the Basic Law
as well as articles 75 and 76 which
definethe relationship between the executive and judicial authorities.
Through this project, AMAN seeks to implement and support the Basic Law
and the Judicial Authority Code of 2002 as well as to
consolidate the role
and status of the confidence of the Palestinian public in the judiciary.
It further strives to enhance judicial accountability and contribute to the
support of the supreme judicial council in its efforts to build and
improve the capacity and efficiency of the Judiciary and those who
occupy judicial posts in the field of fighting corruption.
In its efforts to
prepare young cadres who are expected to be involved in the
Judiciary,
AMAN is targeting 100 4th year (senior) law students in
Palestinian universities to sensitize them to the code of conduct-blog
related to the Judiciary. AMAN will also work with the Palestinian
public in order to raise their awareness and confidence in the
Judiciary
by conducting awareness campaigns in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Additionally, AMAN expects to come out with a legal terms of reference
that will regulate the work of the stakeholders of justice within this
project.
AMAN seeks to achieve
these objectives through a number of meetings, workshops, training and
analytical reports, hearing sessions and national conferences
as well as other
interventions that seek to assist the Supreme Judicial Council to adopt
a number of written and declared mechanisms to strengthen integrity,
transparency and accountability in the related council’s sections.
|
