I.C.S.P.R ORGANIZES WORKSHOP TITLED: THE PARLIAMENTARY IMMUNITY IN PALESTINE BETWEEN LEGISLATION PROVISIONS AND PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Press Release

I.C.S.P.R organizes workshop titled: The Parliamentary Immunity in Palestine between legislation provisions and practical application

International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (I.C.S.P.R) organized workshop to discuss a study titled” The Parliamentary Immunity in Palestine between legislation provisions and practical application” Tuesday morning 14/2/2017 at its headquarter in Gaza city, attended by elite of Jurists and representatives from political parties and civil society institutions, researchers, professors and journalists.

Rami Mohsen, Board of Directors member, opened the workshop and welcomed the participants, stressing: “the importance of this study in our Palestinian condition, due to the raised debate at the Palestinian political and Jurisprudential level first doctrinal and practical consequences  caused to lift the parliamentary immunity of five of the Palestinian Legislative Council, followed by a clear predominance of the Executive to the legislature which is contrary to law”

Karem Nashwan, Director of the legal department, the writer of the study added that:” the study tries to answer the main question, which is: Dose the president have the constitutional competences to lift immunity on members of the Legislative Council OR Not? ”

Nashwan revealed irrelevance of composition of the court in the division state, considering composition of the court must be under unified political system, which provides the respect for the Court and its provisions.

Nashwan considered that composition of the constitutional court and President’s decision to lift the parliamentary immunity, reflects the executive authority tendency to dismantle the Constitutional institutions through disrupt it work, or trying to containment it, the study concluded many results including: The main purpose of parliamentary immunity is to promote the separation of powers, empowering the legislature from functioning freely and independently, and protected from the predominance of the Executive authority and its aims to eliminate its political scores with it opponents which violated the provisions of the basic law clearly.

After the participants highly appreciated the importance of the study as the first legal study, which clarified the dimensions from all angels, as it comes under the continuing crisis within the division of the Palestinian Political system that affected all political, social and economic frameworks.

Participants also recommended the importance of reversing the decision of lifting the parliamentary immunity of the deputies, and to maintain and uphold the constitutional principles, and pressuring to end the Division, and review with  the legal of the Constitutional Court within the framework of a national  and popular consensus, and to strengthen the role and functioning of the legislature and the judiciary under the separation of powers.

In conclusion, Mohsen thanked the researcher and the participants for their notes, which enriched the study.