This report aims to assess the state of independence, effectiveness, integrity, transparency, and accountability in the work of the Water Sector Regulatory Council (WSRC) in Palestine, in light of the legal and institutional framework governing its operations, and based on the principles of good governance and the integrity, transparency, and accountability indicators adopted by the Coalition for Integrity and Accountability (AMAN).
The analysis shows that the Water Sector Regulatory Council enjoys legal, financial, and administrative independence explicitly stipulated under Decree-Law No. (14) of 2014 on Water and its amendments. The Council possesses legal personality as well as financial and administrative independence, and exercises its regulatory and oversight powers directly. The distribution of powers between the Council and the Council of Ministers reflects a model based on functional separation, whereby the role of the Council of Ministers is limited to the final approval of water tariffs and prices and the issuance of licenses for regional water utilities, based on reasoned technical and regulatory recommendations issued by the Council, without interference in day-to-day operational or oversight functions.
