Contextualizing the Legal Reform & State-Building Process in the OPT

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