The Supreme Judicial Council proceeds to work on the legal amendments related to the provisions of civil and criminal procedures approved by the President of the Executive Authority, Mahmoud Abbas; in light of obstruction of the Legislative Authority for many years in order to legislate laws that achieve justice and equity for people.
The Lawyers for Justice group is following the start of validity of a set of laws approved by the President of the Executive Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, despite all the problems it faces, especially those related to the penal section that was approved by the executive authority in accordance with the provisions of the state of necessity due to the obstruction of the Legislative Council, and because of the obstacles from holding elections based on decision that canceled it on April last year.
The executive authority was not satisfied with canceling the elections, which had been interrupted for more than fifteen years as a result of political division between the Palestinian political parties, rather, it practiced repression and political arrest on the basis of political affiliation and freedom of speech and expression, also practiced torture in many documented cases.
Lawyers for Justice group sees these repressive measures that have been practiced by the Palestinian Authority and still practice for many years, arrests, repression and prosecutions based on criticism of its internal policies or its relationship with the occupation authorities; as an introduction that has been founded to legalize this repression.
The executive authority was not satisfied with postponing the holding of the general elections, or even setting a new date for holding them, but it has become a new reality in which the human rights situation has worsened with the number of laws it issued during the past two years, but also for what was preceded before, like the adoption of the “Cybercrime Law” in 2018, which is used as a sword in the neck of freedoms. And What followed was the approval of the new Judicial Authority Law, which loses the prestige and independence of the judge and puts him on trial for a period of three years, during which he will be under the influence of illegal oversight for those who want to bind the judiciary and destroy constitutional principles sanctioned by the Palestinian Basic Law.
Accordingly, Lawyers for Justice groups confirms that the adoption of the new amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedures that have entered into force; It fundamentally affects the fair trial guarantees that were guaranteed by the Palestinian Basic Law and the agreements to which the Palestinian Authority has signed and is a party of. Thus, the group considers these amendments as part of the policy of legalizing the repression practiced by the executive forces at a time when the pace of this repression is intensifying.
The group also emphasizes that the continued flow of laws issued by the head of the executive authority, the continuity of these new laws, and the continued obstruction of holding fair legislative elections; It reinforces the prevailing state of repression and abolishes the principle of judicial independence and the separation between authorities without any oversight or accountability for many crimes committed in the name of the law.
