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2008 Assessment

West Bank: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

West Bank : Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Rule of Law
Indicators		Score
77	Is there an appeals mechanism for challenging criminal judgments?	92
78	Do judgments in the criminal system follow written law?	100
79	Are judicial decisions enforced by the state?	50
80	Is the judiciary able to act independently?	63
81	Are judges safe when adjudicating corruption cases?	100
82	Do citizens have equal access to the justice system?	79

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is there an appeals mechanism for challenging criminal judgments?

77a: In law, there is a general right of appeal.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law No. 3 of 2001, article 274, [ LINK ]

Law No. 5 of 2001, article 22, [ LINK ]

77b: In practice, appeals are resolved within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: The new law of criminal procedure comes from the Egyptian tradition while criminal law is based on Jordanian traditions. This makes it difficult for justice practitioners to utilize the appeals process.

References: Dr. Ghassan Faramnd, Director, The Institute of Law at Birzheit University (BZU), Sept. 23, 2008, interview at his office.

Justice Hani Natour, member of the High Judicial Council (HJC), The Judicial Authority, Sept. 23, 2008, interview by phone to his residence.

77c: In practice, citizens can use the appeals mechanism at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Dr. Ghassan Faramnd, Director, The Institute of Law at Birzheit University (BZU), Sept. 23, 2008, interview at his office.

Justice Hani Natour, member of the High Judicial Council (HJC), The Judicial Authority, Sept. 23, 2008, interview by phone to his residence.

Do judgments in the criminal system follow written law?

78: In practice, do judgments in the criminal system follow written law?

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Dr. Ghassan Faramnd, Director, The Institute of Law at Birzheit University (BZU), Sept. 23, 2008, interview at his office.

Justice Hani Natour, member of the High Judicial Council (HJC), The Judicial Authority, Sept. 23, 2008, interview by phone to his residence.

Are judicial decisions enforced by the state?

79: In practice, are judicial decisions enforced by the state?

Score:

100

Comments: There are cases where judicial decisions are not enforced by the state.

References: Dr. Ghassan Faramnd, Director, The Institute of Law at Birzheit University (BZU), Sept. 23, 2008, interview at his office.

Justice Hani Natour, member of the High Judicial Council (HJC), The Judicial Authority, Sept. 23, 2008, interview by phone to his residence.

Is the judiciary able to act independently?

80a: In law, the independence of the judiciary is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law No 1 of 2002, article 1, [ LINK ]

Law No 1 of 2002, article 2, [ LINK ]

Law No 1 of 2002, article 3, [ LINK ]

80b: In practice, national-level judges are protected from political interference.

Score:

100

Comments: The law guarantees judicial independence, but the perception is that interference still occurs.

References: Dr. Ghassan Faramnd, Director, The Institute of Law at Birzheit University (BZU), Sept. 23, 2008, interview at his office.

Justice Hani Natour, member of the High Judicial Council (HJC), The Judicial Authority, Sept. 23, 2008, interview by phone to his residence.

Peer Review Comments: Judges mostly lean toward the ruling party, and cases related to corruption and to human rights are mostly influenced by high officials' interference.

80c: In law, there is a transparent and objective system for distributing cases to national-level judges.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The law does not mention how cases are to be assigned to judges.

80d: In law, national-level judges are protected from removal without relevant justification.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law No. 1 of 2002, article 27, [ LINK ]

Law No. 1 of 2002, article 56, [ LINK ]

Are judges safe when adjudicating corruption cases?

81a: In practice, in the last year, no judges have been physically harmed because of adjudicating corruption cases.

Score:

YES

Comments: There were no cases of judges being physically harmed. However, Two judges were kidnapped for several hours. The motives of the kidnappers were not established fully. Corruption is not very likely as a motive on both these cases because of the type of courts they presided over.

The attorney general was targeted with a bomb planted in his car. There were strong suspicions that this was related to a corruption investigation. However, this incident took place after the time frame of this index.

References: Dr. Ghassan Faramnd, Director, The Institute of Law at Birzheit University (BZU), Sept. 23, 2008, interview at his office.

Justice Hani Natour, member of the High Judicial Council (HJC), The Judicial Authority, Sept. 23, 2008, interview by phone to his residence.

81b: In practice, in the last year, no judges have been killed because of adjudicating corruption cases.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of judges being killed related to their involvement in a corruption case during the study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases where a judge was killed because of his/her participation in a corruption trial. The relationship between a mysterious death and a judge\'s involvement in a case may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is a reasonable assumption that a judge was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: Dr. Ghassan Faramnd, Director, The Institute of Law at Birzheit University (BZU), Sept. 23, 2008, interview at his office.

Justice Hani Natour, member of the High Judicial Council (HJC), The Judicial Authority, Sept. 23, 2008, interview by phone to his residence.

Do citizens have equal access to the justice system?

82a: In practice, judicial decisions are not affected by racial or ethnic bias.

Score:

100

Comments: Racial or ethnic diversity is not an issue in the court. The only possible diversity issue might relate to foreign citizens. No cases of bias were reported.

References: Dr. Ghassan Faramnd, Director, The Institute of Law at Birzheit University (BZU), Sept. 23, 2008, interview at his office.

Justice Hani Natour, member of the High Judicial Council (HJC), The Judicial Authority, Sept. 23, 2008, interview by phone to his residence.

82b: In practice, women have full access to the judicial system.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Dr. Ghassan Faramnd, Director, The Institute of Law at Birzheit University (BZU), Sept. 23, 2008, interview at his office.

Justice Hani Natour, member of the High Judicial Council (HJC), The Judicial Authority, Sept. 23, 2008, interview by phone to his residence.

Peer Review Comments: Still, traditions against women affect judges to some extent.

82c: In law, the state provides legal counsel for defendants in criminal cases who cannot afford it.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law No. 3 of 2001, article 244, [ LINK ]

Law No. 3 of 2001, article 245, [ LINK ]

82d: In practice, the state provides adequate legal counsel for defendants in criminal cases who cannot afford it.

Score:

100

Comments: It is not a duty of the state, but rather a duty of the Bar Association.

References: Dr. Ghassan Faramnd, Director, The Institute of Law at Birzheit University (BZU), Sept. 23, 2008, interview at his office.

Justice Hani Natour, member of the High Judicial Council (HJC), The Judicial Authority, Sept. 23, 2008, interview by phone to his residence.

82e: In practice, citizens earning the median yearly income can afford to bring a legal suit.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Dr. Ghassan Faramnd, Director, The Institute of Law at Birzheit University (BZU), Sept. 23, 2008, interview at his office.

Justice Hani Natour, member of the High Judicial Council (HJC), The Judicial Authority, Sept. 23, 2008, interview by phone to his residence.

82f: In practice, a typical small retail business can afford to bring a legal suit.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Dr. Ghassan Faramnd, Director, The Institute of Law at Birzheit University (BZU), Sept. 23, 2008, interview at his office.

Justice Hani Natour, member of the High Judicial Council (HJC), The Judicial Authority, Sept. 23, 2008, interview by phone to his residence.

82g: In practice, all citizens have access to a court of law, regardless of geographic location.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Dr. Ghassan Faramnd, Director, The Institute of Law at Birzheit University (BZU), Sept. 23, 2008, interview at his office.

Justice Hani Natour, member of the High Judicial Council (HJC), The Judicial Authority, Sept. 23, 2008, interview by phone to his residence.