The Institute of Law at Birzeit University held a conference in Barcelona, Spain from March 4-7, 2010 on the Anna Lindh Forum. The Institute of Law was established in 1993/1994 to promote the rule of law in Palestine through developing legal infrastructure and building human and institutional capacities. It has 53 employees and focuses on legal research, education, and information. Activities include research publications, legislative drafting assistance, an online legal database called Al-Muqtafi, continuing legal education programs, and outreach. Future plans include new educational programs and collaborations with other legal institutions.

1. Anna Lindh Forum 2010
Barcelona, Spain
4-7 March 2010
Jamil Salem
Institute of Law, Birzeit
University

2. Outline
I. Overview
II. Establishment of the IoL
III. IoL Structure (2005-2010)
IV. Resources
V. Functions of the IoL
VI. Methodology
VII.Activities
VIII.Future Plans

3. I. Overview
• 1993 Law Centre established.
• 1996 MA Programme.
• 2000 Al-Muqtafi online available.
• 2003 Faculty of Law & Public
Administration established.
• 2005 Socio-Legal Research
• 2010- ? (Preparation of a new
strategic & conceptual approach!)

4. II. Establishment of the IoL
Birzeit University established the IoL
in 1993/1994 in order to
Promote the rule of law in Palestine by
• Developing the necessary legal
infrastructures,
• Building human and institutional
capacities on the academic and
professional levels.

5. III. IoL Structure (2005 – 2010)

6. IV. Resources
Financial Resources:
• Donors: (Belgium, CIDA-Canada, France,
Denmark, FFF, KAS, IDRC, UNDP, ...)
• 2 Endowments.
Human Resources:
• 53 employees (24 Core employees, 29
short term contracts)
• 5 PhD Students (Austria, Belgium,
Switzerland and Tunisia)
• 4 MA Students
IoL Montesquieu Library
• The only specialized Law Library in
Palestine

7. V. Functions of the IoL
• Constitutes a centre for legal research,
continuing legal education, and legal
information.
• The IoL serves as a focal centre for
information, scholarly and applied
research on rule of law related issues in
Palestine.
• Challenges jurists, political scientists and
educators to think systematically and
creatively about the problems of the
legal system in Palestine.
• Has extensive international connections.

8. VI. Methodology (a)
• Team Work (Multidisciplinary
Research Team)
• Field Research (Interviews, Surveys,
etc.)
• Workshops
• Training
• Evaluation

9. Methodology & Gender (b)
• A Cross-Cutting Theme in all IoL’s
Activities
• “Women's Rights Charter” in
cooperation with the Ministry of
Women's Affairs.
• Preparing training materials for
Palestinian policewomen.
• Contributing to efforts of the
Ministry of Justice in establishing a
"Gender Department“.

10. VII. Activities of the IoL
1. Research & Publication
2. Legislative Assistance and Legislative
Drafting
3. Establishing comprehensive and modern
legal information and documentation
resources (Al-Muqtafi & Montesquieu
Library)
4. Offering Continuing Legal Education
5. Outreach

11. 1. Research &
Publication
The IoL is focusing on comparative and interdisciplinary
research in the following areas:
• Legislative Support (First Legislative Drafting Manual in
the region, various studies on the Palestinian Legislative
Process, Initiation of a DIPLOMA in Legislative Drafting)
• Law and Society Department (Socio Legal research)
• Constitutional Law (Security Sector Reform and Human
Rights)
• Law and Economy (Guide on How to do Business in
Palestine & a Study on SMEs)
• International Law (Palestine Yearbook of International
Law)

12. 2. Legislative Support &
Legislative Drafting (a)
Theoretical and Applied Research
 First Legislative Drafting Manual in the
Region (1999),
 Legislative Harmony in Palestine: A
Preliminary Survey (2004),
 The Legislative Process between
Theory and Application (2005),
 Legal and Regulatory Framework of
the Government’s Administration of
the Legislative Process: The Palestinian
Context (2007).

13. Legislative Support &
Legislative Drafting (b)
IoL’s experience in drafting laws:
 The Palestinian Basic Law
 Labour Law
 Child Law
 Draft Law on the Cultural Heritage
 Draft Land Law
 Draft Audio-Visual Law
 Draft Company Law
 Reviews of various draft laws

14. Legislative Support &
Legislative Drafting (c)
IoL’s experience in drafting secondary
legislation:
 Regulations and bylaws of the
Labour Law,
 Regulations and bylaws of the Law
on Social Insurances,
 Regulations Concerning Licences of
Medical Professions and Health
Facilities,
 Regulations concerning Public
Purchases.

15. Legislative Support &
Legislative Drafting (cd
DIPLOMA in LEGISLATIVE
DRAFTING
1. Primary Courses
 Policy-Making
 General Legislative Theory in Palestine
 Legislative Harmony and Associated Problems
 Applications of Good Legislative Drafting
 Mechanism of developing a Research Report as a
tool to examine problems addressed by draft laws
 Regulatory Impact Assessment
2. Supplementary Courses
 Legal Research Methodology
 Legal Terminology in English
 Arabic Language – Linguistic Rules in Legislative
Drafting
 Information Technology in Legislative Drafting

16. 2. The Palestinian Legislation &
Court Judgments Database
(Al-Muqtafi)
Al-
Muqtafi
Consolidated Court
Legislation Judgments

17. 2. The Palestinian Legislation &
Court Judgments Database
(Al-Muqtafi)
Content:
– Consolidated legislation since the
Ottoman period available in XML
– Court Judgments (23,000 judgments)
– Legal Dictionary (A/E)
– Court Judgments Classification
Scheme (KASHAF)
– Legal Thesaurus (A/E)
– Ontology (available for Labour Law)

18. 3. Continuing Legal
Education
• KARAMAH Initiative for Judicial
Independence and Human
Dignity
• Professional Diploma in Legal
Practice for Young Lawyers
• Legislative Drafting Diploma
• Training Palestinian Civil Police
• Legal Encounters & Conferences

19. 4. Outreach
• Outreach: targeting key stakeholder
groups, Media and civil society
organizations through KARAMAH and
SSR.
• MoUs with the Council of Ministers,
MoJ, MoI, HJC, and the PBA.
• Conferences and Encounters.
• Offering a neutral forum for debate.

20. VIII. Future Plans
• Launching the Diploma Programme in Legislative
Drafting (Jan 2011)
• Developing a Family Court Judgments Database
(2011-2012)
• Review Labour Law related Legislation in
cooperation with the MoL (2011)
• Developing Curricula for training Judges, Public
Prosecutors and Local Government Staff (2011-
2012)
• Cooperation with the HJC (Al-Mizan & Judicial
Education) and the MoJ (Official Gazette) (2011-
2012)
• Feasibility Study – MA Programme in Law, Society
and Gender in cooperation with the Institute of
Women Studies.
• Preparation of a new Strategic Plan.

21. Thank You
Jamil Salem
Institute of Law, Birzeit University,
P.O. Box 14, Birzeit, West Bank, Palestine
Tel:++ (2) 298 2009
Fax:++ (2) 298 2137
http://lawcenter.birzeit.edu